[Eugene Volokh, April 6, 2006 at 6:49pm] Trackbacks
More About Profanities on Bumper Stickers:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:

Denise Grier, who was cited in DeKalb County for her "I'm Tired of All the BUSH—" car decal, has had her case thrown out.

"We couldn't prosecute it," DeKalb Recorders Court Chief Judge R. Joy Walker said because Georgia's lewd decal law was ruled unconstitutional in 1990. Walker said a letter of dismissal was mailed to Grier's home last week....

Indeed.

Related Posts (on one page):

  1. More About Profanities on Bumper Stickers:
  2. Profanities on Bumper Stickers:
stealthlawprof (mail) (www):
It just took a while to read all the way through the Constitution and get to that pesky First Amendment.
4.6.2006 8:10pm
Enoch:
Pah, john McCain couldn't even read that far.
4.6.2006 8:12pm
BU2L (mail):
They got stuck on that 3/5th thing for a while - it was very tempting to do fruther research.
4.6.2006 8:15pm
Anderson (mail) (www):
In related news, study of police ticketing records nationwide has shown that 99.8% of drivers with "Fuck the Police" bumper-stickers were driving with broken taillights or headlights.
4.6.2006 8:19pm
Dave Hardy (mail) (www):
Pah, john McCain couldn't even read that far.

He merely recognized that the Alien and Sedition Acts had still left the "favorable mention of the president or congress" loophole, and wanted to close that.
4.7.2006 1:39am
Some Guy (mail):
Putting a bumper sticker on your car is stupid. Putting any sort of offensive political bumper stickier on your car? Heck, that sticker might as well say, "Please key this car and kick my ass if I look in your general direction."

Somehow, the only people that don't seem to have enough common sense to get it are the Bush haters. Go figure.
4.7.2006 10:35am
Eh Nonymous (mail) (www):
I want to second Some Guy. I've never seen, for example, Die Hippie Scum, or sanctimoniously hateful religious sentiments aimed at homosexuals, or obscenely unfavorable opinions of democrats.

I'm thinking this is the psychological effect where you tend to notice things that bother you, but find unexceptional things that confirm your opinions and beliefs about the world.

Like me with his comment. It struck me as smug, wrongheaded, abrasive, silly, and pleasantly wispy. Go figure.
4.7.2006 10:59am
Caliban Darklock (www):
> Somehow, the only people that don't seem
> to have enough common sense to get it are
> the Bush haters.

I think part of that equation is the idea that Bush *supporters* are not likely to go about keying people's cars and kicking their asses over bumper stickers. That sort of behavior tends to be restricted to the liberal camp.
4.7.2006 11:08am
jimbob (mail):
Prof. Volokh:

Can you comment on a citizens ability to sue for this action? Isn't it a willfull constitutional violation -- if ignorance of the law is no excuse for the public, it shouldn't be for the police either. If a ban on interracial marriage is still on the books in some state, and the police jailed someone under the law, not knowing about Loving, wouldn't that be equivalent to this scenario? I just think you should be able to come down hard on police who act like this.
4.7.2006 12:15pm
Houston Lawyer:
Jimbob

Generally for you to sue, you need damages. In this case the woman was out of pocket for attorneys fees at most. Not much to build a case on. Then you get to go to trial where the defense counsel gets to see how many times he can say "shit" in front of a judge before he gets shut down. I've seen the SouthPark episode.
4.7.2006 12:42pm
CJColucci (mail):
Eh Nonymous:
You ought to get out more.
4.7.2006 2:11pm
CJColucci (mail):
Sorry, that last comment was supposed to be directed to Some Guy.
4.7.2006 2:12pm