Posted on 06/23/2005 7:57:31 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
Florida High Court: No Crime to Wear Law Enforcement Gear if No Bid to Deceive
Published: Jun 23, 2005 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Supreme Court said on Thursday that it's no crime to wear law enforcement uniforms or clothing with words like "police," "sheriff" and "trooper" - as long as the wearer has no intent to deceive.
The high court, in a 5-2 opinion, struck down a state law against such behavior as "unconstitutionally overbroad" and "vague." The maximum punishment for violating the law was a year in jail.
"The word 'police' on a shirt could mean support for the police, as has been widely seen on clothing in support of the New York Police Department following September 11, 2001," Justice Charles Wells wrote.
It also could be used to express a constitutionally protected negative opinion about police conduct, while the word "sheriff" could have a political meaning when worn to promote candidates for that office, he said.
Wells said the law bans "innocent wearing and displaying of specified words" and "is not tailored toward the legitimate public purpose of prohibiting conduct intended to deceive."
The opinion resolves conflicting lower court decisions.
One dissenter, Justice Raoul Cantero, said he feared the high court was stripping law enforcement agencies of "one important weapon in their battle against crime. ... I only hope that the Legislature acts quickly to fill the void."
AP-ES-06-23-05 2222EDT
The Village People breathe a sigh of relief and go ahead with the planned show in Key West.........
WHAT! Now everybody can run around looking as cool as us?
Andy Griffith is now free to visit Florida.
And Barney, too.
and when little kids and even adults start disappearing because they have been taught to trust those in uniforms or authority, what then?
You nailed it. How about a woman being accosted and assaulted or worse by someone with Police on his Tshirt? This is sick. Who in the hell is going to trust any tactical Police Officer now? It could be a child molester,pervert,etc.
It is already crime to impersonate an officer. This 'law' made it a crime to have the word "police" on your shirt.
What did this law prevent that was not already covered?
If impersonating an officer isn't a crime, it should be. Come on, Florida Legislature! Dressing to look like a law enforcement officer is by its very nature a deception.
The article didn't indicate what the statute in question actually said, but the article seems to suggest that it would forbid any clothing with words like "police" or "sheriff", even if the clothing would not be mistaken for a police or sheriff's uniform [e.g. a shirt with "Bob Smith for Sheriff 2006"]. I would expect that a law more narrowly written to restrict the wear of apparrel that a reasonably prudent person would mistake for a police uniform would be upheld.
'and when little kids and even adults start disappearing because they have been taught to trust those in uniforms or authority, what then?'
Yea, or anybody actually. This would definitely not make me feel any safer.
Well, the police do try to look like Army Rangers but they're not Army Rangers.
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