In a rather peculiar legal saga, a Florida man named Dillon Shane Webb found himself in hot water due to an “I Eat Ass” bumper sticker on his vehicle. Here’s the quirky tale:
The Bumper Sticker Incident:
- In May 2019, Columbia County Sheriff’s Deputy Travis English pulled over Webb after taking offense to the eyebrow-raising bumper sticker.
- Webb, unyielding, refused to censor the sticker on the spot.
- As a result, his vehicle was searched, and he was arrested and booked in jail for “obscene writing on vehicles” and “resisting an officer without violence.”
- The “resisting” charge stemmed from Webb’s refusal to alter the sticker’s appearance as demanded by the officer.
The Legal Twist:
- Initially, the charges were dropped by the State Attorney’s Office, citing the First Amendment protection.
- However, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida recently ruled that the case isn’t straightforward.
- Judge Marcia Morales Howard opined that while Webb denied the sticker was obscene, he repeatedly acknowledged its sexual nature, albeit as an attempt at humor.
- The court considered whether the erotic message was more than hypothetical and could reasonably be viewed as the predominant message being communicated.
- Ultimately, the court awarded qualified immunity to Deputy English, preventing Webb from suing him for violating free speech rights and falsely arresting him.
The Bumper Sticker and the Law:
- The sticker’s content fell under Fla. Stat. § 847.011 (2), which prohibits “any sticker, decal, emblem, or other device attached to a motor vehicle containing obscene descriptions, photographs, or depictions.”
- However, legal scholar Eugene Volokh argued that this provision is unconstitutionally overbroad and invalid on its face.
- Qualified immunity, designed to protect state actors from accountability, played a role in this legal twist.
In summary, the saga of the “I Eat Ass” bumper sticker involves humor, free speech, and a dash of legal complexity
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