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Police citation over sign leads to federal lawsuit ("...get the f--- out")
Times Leader (Wilkes Barre, PA) ^ | 7/31/09 | Steve Mocarsky

Posted on 07/31/2009 9:34:16 AM PDT by Born Conservative

SCRANTON – A Hughestown man who was cited with disorderly conduct after displaying a sign in his pickup’s rear window using the f-word is suing the borough, the police officer who cited him and other borough officials.

He’s seeking economic, non-economic, special and punitive damages to be determined at a jury trial, as well as costs, expenses, attorney fees and other relief the court deems just and equitable.

According to the suit, Decker on Nov. 11 received a non-traffic citation for disorderly conduct issued by Patrolman Robert Leombruni because of a sign on Decker’s truck that read: “If your (sic) in America and can’t speak English, get the (expletive) out!”

Although the charge was withdrawn on Jan. 26, the issuance of the citation violated Decker’s constitutional rights in regulating/restricting his protected speech, the complaint states. It goes on to assert the sign was not obscene and did not fall under other categories of unprotected speech.

“The citation also fueled a number of retaliatory acts by the public against Mr. Decker and caused him and his family great cost and distress,” the complaint states.

In addition to spending time conducting a legal defense, Decker sustained damage to his vehicle, including a shattered rear window, slashed tires, a creased bumper, a broken mirror and scratches and dents, the complaint alleges.

Also, as a proximate result of the issuance of the citation, Decker suffered an attempted knife attack by a woman and was forced to install security lights on his house and change his phone number to prevent such further acts and harassment and to ensure the protection of his family, the complaint states.

Named as defendants, in addition to Leombruni and the borough, are Hughestown Police Chief Stephen Golya and Mayor Paul Hindmarsh.

Decker’s attorney, Tullio DeLuca, of Scranton, did not return a call seeking comment. Neither did Golya or Leombruni.

Hindmarsh said he doesn’t think the retaliatory acts cited in Decker’s complaint were related to the citation.

“I think it was a personal issue he had with his neighbors, to the best of my knowledge,” he said.

And Hindmarsh said he still believes the sign was inappropriate for display in an area near the Pittston Area elementary and middle schools.

“To go ahead and advertise it on your truck, it was a poor choice of words. Evidently, he must have felt the same way or he wouldn’t have changed the lettering. … Shortly after we talked with him and issued the citation and the neighbors started complaining, he changed the lettering on the sign,” Hindmarsh said.

Decker had reworded the sign to correct the grammar and replace the expletive with symbols prior to the disorderly conduct charge being withdrawn.

Mary Catherine Roper, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, said it’s “quite clear that he (Decker) had a right to have that sign on his truck and quite clear he shouldn’t have been cited for it.”

Roper said the most famous case that supports Decker’s claim is Cohen v. California, which was ultimately decided in the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1968, during the Vietnam War, 19-year-old Paul Robert Cohen wore a jacket bearing the words “(Expletive) the draft” while inside the Los Angeles Courthouse and was arrested and convicted of disturbing the peace by offensive conduct.

“The U.S. Supreme Court said always, but especially when you’re commenting on political issues, people are not required to be gentile or polite or even refrain from profanity in expressing their political views,” Roper said.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Extended News
KEYWORDS: bc; firstamendment; illegalimmigration; josephdecker
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Pics at link.

Previous thread

1 posted on 07/31/2009 9:34:17 AM PDT by Born Conservative
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To: Born Conservative

If YOU’RE going to put up a sign with that message, you really should use the correct spelling.


2 posted on 07/31/2009 9:37:36 AM PDT by tsmith130
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To: Born Conservative
Gates was yelling that word at a police officer and attracting a crowd (potentially creating a dangerous situation for the officer).

There are freepers who think that Gates was not engaged in disorderly conduct. Maybe so, maybe not. But I'm thinking that US police depts are fairly consistent on this point and that it is not a racial matter.

3 posted on 07/31/2009 9:39:01 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: Born Conservative

AAAAGH! I really hate that! Misspelled words are one of my many peeves anyway, but if you’re going to make a sign like this, for cryin’ out loud, spell it correctly! It kind of loses impact...


4 posted on 07/31/2009 9:42:00 AM PDT by SandWMan (While you may not be able to legislate morality, you can legislate morally.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

I’ll gladly stay the course on this one. Tastless? Check. Crude & Rude? Sure. Off-putting and alienating? Yep. Disorderly to the point of being an arrestable offense? I don’t think so.


5 posted on 07/31/2009 9:42:47 AM PDT by TomOnTheRun
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To: TomOnTheRun
I’ll gladly stay the course on this one. Tastless? Check. Crude & Rude? Sure. Off-putting and alienating? Yep. Disorderly to the point of being an arrestable offense? I don’t think so.

By posting his crap where anyone can see it, he is potentially showing it to my grand children. An ass kicking by an irate parent might be in order and I hope I am on that ass kicking parent's jury.

6 posted on 07/31/2009 9:48:19 AM PDT by Graybeard58 ( Selah.)
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To: TomOnTheRun

Agreed. It was totally without ‘tast’.


7 posted on 07/31/2009 9:48:49 AM PDT by agere_contra
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To: Born Conservative
people are not required to be gentile or polite or even refrain from profanity in expressing their political views,” Roper said.

oy vey!

8 posted on 07/31/2009 9:49:27 AM PDT by don-o (My son, Ben - Marine PFC- 1/16/09 - Parris Island - LC -6/4/09 - 29 Palms - Camp Pendleton 6/18)
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To: Born Conservative

I don’t think his truck was vandalized because of the citation. I think it was vandalized because of the message on his truck, coupled with the character of those it offended.

It is why I don’t have conservative messages on my car here in the Seattle area.


9 posted on 07/31/2009 9:49:38 AM PDT by RobRoy (This too will pass. But it will hurt like a you know what.)
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To: Born Conservative

Looked better in the original French.

Si vous êtes en France et ne pouvez pas parler français, obtenez le F#@K dehors


10 posted on 07/31/2009 9:50:17 AM PDT by edcoil (If I had 1 cent for every dollar the government saved, Bill Gates and I would be friends.)
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To: ClearCase_guy

I think disorderly conduct is a catch all. If they want to take someone in, if nothing else there’s always that.


11 posted on 07/31/2009 9:51:40 AM PDT by DManA
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To: agere_contra

Ahaha. I should turn the spell-check back on. Or pay more attentiuon. But thanks for taking the point and making a joke ;>


12 posted on 07/31/2009 9:51:41 AM PDT by TomOnTheRun
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To: edcoil
Image and video hosting by TinyPic
13 posted on 07/31/2009 9:52:45 AM PDT by don-o (My son, Ben - Marine PFC- 1/16/09 - Parris Island - LC -6/4/09 - 29 Palms - Camp Pendleton 6/18)
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To: agere_contra

“attentioun” was meant to be a poor joke. Sorry. I forgot my humor rarely translates to cyber-world.


14 posted on 07/31/2009 9:53:26 AM PDT by TomOnTheRun
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To: tsmith130

Pic in the linked previous thread indicates that “you’re” is correctly spelled.

Seems that the writer is the one at fault.


15 posted on 07/31/2009 9:55:50 AM PDT by don-o (My son, Ben - Marine PFC- 1/16/09 - Parris Island - LC -6/4/09 - 29 Palms - Camp Pendleton 6/18)
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To: don-o

LOL!


16 posted on 07/31/2009 9:56:01 AM PDT by proud American in Canada (my former tagline "We can, and we will prevail" doesn't fit with the usurper's goals.)
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To: don-o

There is a pic at the article link from the newspaper that shows the sign, and “you’re” is spelled correctly. However, I seem to remember that initially it was spelled “your”, he was chastised for it on local talk radio, and corrected it.


17 posted on 07/31/2009 9:59:07 AM PDT by Born Conservative (Working hard so those on public assistance don't have to.)
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To: edcoil

Well sed Mon Friar
or something furrin sound’n.

Quite clever, actually.


18 posted on 07/31/2009 9:59:26 AM PDT by ASOC (Cave quid dicis, quando, et cui)
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To: SandWMan
It kind of loses impact.

I think he was using the sign as a conversation starter for meeting people of similar background. In that case the misspelling works fine. If someone can't speak English, they probably can't read it either.

The "disturbing the peace" and "disorderly conduct" laws need to be tossed and rewritten more precisely. They are so broad and subjective they are the tools of a police state.

19 posted on 07/31/2009 10:00:10 AM PDT by Reeses (Leftism is powered by the evil force of envy.)
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To: ASOC

Just trying to have a little fun on Friday.


20 posted on 07/31/2009 10:01:13 AM PDT by edcoil (If I had 1 cent for every dollar the government saved, Bill Gates and I would be friends.)
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