By Rene Stutzman, Orlando Sentinel
6:33 p.m. EST, May 22, 2012
A judge in Sanford ruled Tuesday that a Lake Mary man was lawfully
exercising his First Amendment rights when he flashed his headlights
to warn neighbors that a deputy had set up a speed trap nearby.
That decision is another victory for Ryan Kintner, 25, who sued
theSeminole County Sheriff's Officelast year, accusing it of
misconstruing a state law and violating his civil rights, principally
his right to free speech.
He was ticketed Aug. 10 by a Seminole County deputy, but Kintner
alleges the officer misapplied a state law designed to ban motorists
from flashing after-market emergency lights.
Circuit Judge Alan Dickey earlier ruled that that state law does not
apply to people who did what Kintner did, use his headlights to
communicate.
On Tuesday the judge went a step further, saying people who flash
their headlights to communicate are engaging in behavior protected by
the U.S. Constitution.
"He felt the police specificially went out of their way to silence Mr.
Kintner and that it was clearly a violation of his First Amendment
free speech rights," said his attorney, J. Marcus Jones of Oviedo.
Jones has filed a similar but much broader suit in Tallahassee against
the Florida Highway Patrol.
A hearing in that case is scheduled next month.
"This stuff is fun," Jones said after Tuesday's hearing.
Each suit asked that police agencies be ordered to halt writing those
tickets. The highway patrol stopped voluntarily, awaiting the outcome
of the suit. So have theSeminole County Sheriff's Officeand other
agencies.
In addition to Kintner's civil suit against the sheriff's office, he
also is fighting the ticket. It is still pending in county court in
Sanford.
The officer also ticketed him for running a stop sign, saying Kintner
had pulled beyond a stop bar before coming to a complete halt.
In an interview in August, shortly after filing suit, Kintner said, "I
felt an injustice was being done. … I have nothing against officers …
keeping speeding down, but when you cross a line and get into free
speech, I feel it's gone too far."
According to his suit, Kintner was home Aug. 10 when he saw a deputy
park along a street and pull out his radar gun. Kintner then got in
his car, drove a couple of blocks away, parked and pointed his vehicle
at oncoming traffic and began flashing his lights.
He was ticketed a short time later.
--
Jon D. McLaughlin
(309) 319-6206
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