Nurse sues over ticket for anti-Bush bumper sticker

[survivor999]

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- A woman who was ticketed for having an obscene anti-Bush bumper sticker filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against a county in the state of Georgia and its officials.

Denise Grier, 47, of Athens, Georgia, got a $100 ticket in March after a DeKalb County police officer spotted the bumper sticker, which read "I'm Tired Of All The BUSH**."

A DeKalb judge threw out the ticket in April because the state's lewd decal law that formed the basis for the ticket was ruled unconstitutional in 1990.

Grier is seeking damages from the county for "emotional distress," according to the lawsuit.

Grier also seeks a declaration in federal court that her bumper sticker is considered constitutionally protected speech because she is "uncertain and insecure regarding her right to display her bumper sticker in DeKalb County," the lawsuit said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/10/16/sticker.suit.ap/index.html

[BOSSHOG]

1. You go Girl

If republicans were honest they'd tell you our kids are dying in Iraq to protect your rights to display that bumper sticker.

Imagine. A republican being honest.

[ThomCat]

2. Good. That case was so blatant that the cop

should have been fired for abusing his position and for harassment.

[LostinVA]

16. Un-american pinko queer

[ThomCat]

18. And damned proud of it, Freeper!

:)

[LostinVA]

20. Freeper TROLL, dammit!

[ThomCat]

21. Oh, exCUSE me. Freeper Troll!

:eyes:







:)

[LostinVA]

23. Way better, thanks

[Donkeykick]

3. The ACLU...

is doing a fantastic job as usual. Good Luck to yah Grier!;-) :headbang:

[truebrit71]

7. Yup. Makes me proud that I just signed up.

Way to go!!!

[ThomCat]

22. Everyone who can afford it should donate to the ACLU!

They are a great organization. The US would be in far worse shape than it is if not for them. Can you imagine how bad that might have been?
:scared:

[swimboy]

43. I've got my card!

I'm proud to carry it!

[NMMNG]

37. You bet--I just renewed my membership

Long live the ACLU!

[Richard Steele]

4. Damn right she should sue- that law was thrown out SIXTEEN YEARS ago!

Given that, this seems like a pretty clear case
of her being singled out for opinion-based mistreatment,
issued a ticket for LEGALLY expressing her opinion.

[Red Right and BLUE]

5. Go Denise!!!! nt

[SCantiGOP]

6. SC still has the law on the books

and they have one for 'family friendly' Myrtle Beach that you can ticket people for obscene t-shirts. Neither would stand up to a court challenge, but most people don't have what it takes to stand up to the system.

[CatWoman]

44. RUSTY, er, Strom Jr!!!

:hi:

I live in DeKalb County.

think I should take my "Democratic Underground" bumpersticker off my truck?

[endarkenment]

8. When did bushit become a dirty word?

There was absolutely nothing right about this case. Is "mishit" banned from stickers too? How about pissant? How about this is beyond stupid?

[AnneD]

9. Don't...I repeat...don't

piss the Nurses off. We just don't give a shit anymore. (or as we like to say-We're here to save your ass, not kiss it).

[MrCoffee]

10. Emotional distress my eye...someone's lawyer is looking to buy a car

i'm a lawyer, i can say that. "insecure regarding her right to display a bumper sticker in DeKalb County"...that's stretching.

[Justice Is Comin]

12. That ticket loses on all counts though.

Willful

malicious

Damages incurred. She had to appear in court.

Her state of mind will be up to the judge to decide. Punitive damages should not be out of the question. The cop didn't even know the law. And the sticker didn't even spell any known form of profanity.

Ten to one, the cop was a puke.

[Swamp Rat]

13. How do you know whether or not she had emotional distress?

The comment about the attorney is pure conjecture and Red Herring to the issue. I think her case has merit, concerning free speech and her right to travel on public roads without impediment.

AND, you don't have to be a lawyer to make jaded and cynical comments. I make them all the time. :D

AND, on the other hand, you might be right about the attorney's modus operandi. ;)

I think the arresting officer should be fined $100.00, pay for court costs, suspended without pay for two weeks in order to take an 80 hour seminar on the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and then be required to teach a few civics classes at local elementary/middle schools throughout the semester.

[MrCoffee]

14. She won the meritorious case...the ticket was dismissed.

The ED claim (and this is only based on the article, i have no first-hand knowledge of this) sounds like total B.S.

[Kingshakabobo]

32. You don't think someone would feel emotional distress..............

......from being stopped, questioned and dragged in to court for their constitutionally protected free speech?....and charged with violation of a law that didn't even exist????

Wow. Authoritarian personality much?

Your f--king right I would be pissed. Yes, that counts too.

[Pacifist Patriot]

39. I have to disagree.

I was party to a civil suit that was frivolous and ultimately dropped. Yet I went through six months of sheer hell losing sleep over the damned nuisance. I cannot imagine how I would have felt in a criminal proceeding, no matter how small.

It also is irrelevant the matter was dropped or ruled in her favor. The idea of being stopped, harrassed and ticketed because of one of my bumper stickers is chilling, and I didn't even experience it directly! I think she makes a good point and it's an issue that needs to be publicized. Not just for Dekalb County, but all over our country.

I don't think the woman needs to win a multi-million dollar settlement by any means, but no one will ever convince me she did not experience emotional distress. I can't imagine people who respect our civil liberties reading the story and not feeling their own twinges. Especially when we consider what may be on the bumpers of our own cars.

[survivor999]

11. So proud of her!

:)

[RebelOne]

19. So am I. These right-wing Georgia cops do anything

to harass you if they know you are a Democrat. I live in a totally red county in North Georgia. During the Presidential election, I had Kerry/Edwards and MoveOn.org bumper stickers on my car. One day, a Cherokee County policeman got behind my car and followed me almost to my house. I know he was just trying to intimidate me.

[RubyDuby in GA]

40. Wow. I thought they just did that out in Newton County.

I've had more things shouted at me than I can recall. I've had obscene finger gestures and trash thrown at my car - just because of my bumper stickers.

Real "compassionate conservatives" we've got here.

[stop the bleeding]

15. awesome

do it while you still can in the land of the free

[WI_DEM]

17. that (assuming here) GOP cop who gave her the ticket must not have

had anything better to do that day.

[midnight]

24. If they are coming after nurses then this story might make sense.

My husband is an R.N. and was on his way home at 1:00 in the morning. He had a Bryan Kennedy sticker on it. He is running against Sennsenbrenner. Cops gave him three breath test, and had a drug specialist test him. You will think this is crazy but the specialist for drug testing told my husband that his tongue looked green and it was a sign that he smoked pot. Then they took blood work from him because they couldn't determine what drug they could claim he was OWI with. They booked him for over three hours. I asked the chief what his rights were. The chief said he had none. I they searched his car after they arrested him, and seized his prescription drugs. I couldn't find him, and went outside,and saw his car at the end of a very long drive way. I thought the worst,and called the police to report a missing person. That is when the dispatcher gave me to her sergent who told me they had arrested my husband. I asked for what and he said he couldn't tell me. I had a friend who is an attorney call the dept. and that is when the police came out and talked to me in the lobby. Very distressing.

[mark414]

25. where is wisco was this?

and what was their reason for pulling him over in the first place?

that sounds like fucking insanity...maybe you guys should have a lawsuit brewing too

[midnight]

27. Waukesha. Home of Homeland Security.

[midnight]

30. Forgot to answer your question as to why they pulled him over.

He was driving a car with a dent in it. Police wanted to know if he was in a accident. He said he wasn't. It went from there. Before it was over he was issued two tickets. Reckless driving,and OWI. I asked police chief what assurance I had that the blood work would not be tampered with, and he assured me that they sealed it in front of my husband.

[mark414]

31. ahh waukesha...now it makes more sense

but that's still batshit insane.

i hope those officers are held accountable

[Subdivisions]

26. Fighting the good fight! Rawk-on Denise Grier!

[Eric J in MN]

28. CNN is being ridiculous by not writng "Bushit."

Like visitors to CNN.com would clutch their pearls in horror at the sight of the word "Bushit."

[survivor999]

33. I agree. Perhaps they're afraid

of getting a ticket... :)

[Breeze54]

34. I thought it said BULLSHIT!!

:rofl:

[Roland99]

29. Thread on my trip to Atlanta this weekend and response to my stickers >>>>

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2408747

:)

[madmusic]

35. BUSH**? I think you mean BUSHIT?

[jarnocan]

38. No BU**SH** Zone is the name of my blog and I use BU**SH**

on signs all the time.
He's coming to GREENSBORO tomorrow, and I'm passing out these post cards and other info.

[followthemoney]

36. Time to call in the army...I hear they always protect our freedom...NOT.

[brg5001]

41. DeKalb is a blue county in a red state: Glad the judge tossed the ticket

Very surprised that she would be cited in DeKalb, Georgia's most diverse county and one of two counties housing the City of Atlanta. As a former DeKalb resident, I'm floored that she was ticketed in the first place but I guess it shows that the DeKalb County Police are as capable of f*&%ed priorities as police anywhere. I have no doubt that a DeKalb County jury will find in her favor.

[Tigress DEM]

42. Maybe (( *ushit )) would be less offensive. Bush is a 4 letter word.

:spank:

[FreeStateDemocrat]

45. Standing up for freedom of speech and police state tactics goes

to the heart of what being a Democrat is all about. Make them pay and they will not do it again or try to harass other law-abiding citizens that are not breaking any laws, real or imagined. Fuck this cop who should have far more important duties than being concerned about a bumper sticker,isn't this yahoo a first responder in our dire war on terror? Who or what would have been harmed if the cop had used some common sense and ignored an offensive bummer sticker just like we all do every day, more authiorty than brains to administer it. This kind of nit-wit behavior wastes far more tax dollars every day in tying up courts and disrupting people's lives than this law-suit besides chipping away at our increasingly restricted freedoms.