Posted on 12/15/2004 7:24:46 AM PST by Rakkasan1
A retiree who got fed up when a cell-phone user refused to clean up his language in a restaurant in July got three months' probation Tuesday. Unlike many defendants who walk into Ramsey County District Judge Paulette Flynn's courtroom to plead guilty to a crime, 79-year-old Bill W. Stevenson got thumbs-up signs from attorneys and others in the court who identified with his motives, if not his actions. "I felt a lot of sympathy, and they were giving me the thumbs-up when I walked out of the courtroom," Stevenson said after pleading guilty to a single count of disorderly conduct. "I think I could've won my case by going to trial, with a sympathetic jury. I've had over 30 calls and letters and e-mails, and I've not had one negative call. They're all on my side." The bagel bakery imbroglio happened July 15 when Stevenson and another retired 3M engineer, Sten Gerfast, 74, were sitting at a table at Bruegger's in the Sun Ray Shopping Center and going over a design Gerfast had invented. Jesse Russell Tabor, 40, of Minneapolis entered the bakery with his 13-year-old daughter. In an interview after the incident, Tabor said he was talking on his cell phone with a man whose home he was remodeling. Tabor said in the interview he didn't recall cursing while on the phone. Stevenson and Gerfast remember it differently. "He was using the F-word against this guy he was talking to," Stevenson said. "There was an argument on the phone. The third time he walked by our booth where Mr. Gerfast and I were trying to design something, Mr. Gerfast said to me, 'Should I do something about it?' I thought a moment and thought, 'What can you do in a case like this?'
(Excerpt) Read more at twincities.com ...
I would probably never get any work done if I owned one of those things. I'd set out in my vehicle and look for victims. LOL!
Actually, it was at the newer one on Larpenter and Lexington (Roseville).
Even though I live a short distance north of Frogtown, I prefer to stay away from the University/Midway area when it comes to dining. Of course, Taco Bell is not what you call 'fine cuisine', but it'll do during a busy day of errands!
it's a felony to use one intentionally.
not just a fine.
convicted felons can't vote.
often lose their gun rights.
funny to see law and order conservatives advocate such actions, just because they want to restrict someone else's speech, that they find offensive.
priceless.
I don't think the general public should be forced to listen to some cretin spouting off profanity in public hearing.
If the guy was doing it so only the person to whom it was directed heard it, it would be an issue to settle between them personally, and personally, I know few people who wouldn't react to being cursed out by some nitwit.
Its very unfortunate that society has become so "civilized" that people rely on the Courts, slimy greedy attorneys and judges to settle every singel issue which arises between them.
This is a perfect example of why people can get in trouble for as much as defending their family and home.
If some moron wants to sing the praises of Ted Kennedy over his cell phone, as long as it doesn't disrupt my peaceful corner, he's free to do so. But if the same moron starts saying, in the same volume, that he wishes we would lose the war in Iraq or that NAMBLA is a great organization, then that's when I get out of my chair. I will decide on my course of action en route to his location. Afterward I will take whatever punishment the court deems necessary, but I will not sit idly by while the punks take over.
Excuse me, but if you use bad language in a public place around kids or anyone for that matter, you deserve what you get. I did not grow up around that kind of language and I refuse to listen to it or read it on the net. There was one character who used it in a reply to something I had said, and I complained and he was zotted on this site. It just shows that you do not have a very good vocabulary.
I'm no lover of poetry, but your bologna looks like verses out of a high school literature text.
It does show your IQ, though.
So you prefer the concept of free speech to only apply when you agree with the subject? Or, at least don't militantly disagree?
While profanity is used way too easily in today's culture, sometimes the choice word should be the word of choice. I realize each of the profane words have non-profane synonyms. However, at times the profane emphasizes what you truly mean. After all, they are words in the English language and were created for a reason.
Think about it, had Dick Cheney turned and told Pat Leahy to "Go copulate with yourself!", would Senator Leahy truly understood the passion of Vice-President Cheney's feelings? I think not. The Vice-President, a very learned and scholarly man, knew exactly how to phrase it to be completely understood. : )
Amen! I turned the tv on the other day and a show was on where nearly everyone on the screen was using language like that. Why do they think language like this should be on tv?
No, he did not. The guy using that kind of language crossed the line.
If this hearing had taken place where I'm from in Tennessee, the older man would have been warned softly from the becnh and released, with no probation. As it occured in Minnesota, the leftist judge felt obliged to levy some punishment. The blue states can never get it right.
All cell phones should be outlawed.
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