Roberts Upheld D.C. French-Fry Arrest

[Roland99]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050720/ap_on_go_su_co/roberts_french_fry

As a member of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Roberts wrote a decision last year upholding the arrest of a 12-year-old girl who violated the ban on eating food on Washington's subway system, Metro.

But Roberts said that while the arrest was legal, he felt transit officers overreacted by handcuffing and jailing the girl.

"No one is very happy about the events that led to this litigation," he wrote. "Her shoelaces were removed, and she was transported in the windowless rear compartment of a police vehicle to a juvenile processing center, where she was booked, fingerprinted, and detained until released to her mother some three hours later — all for eating a single french fry."

Still, Roberts agreed with a lower court ruling upholding the arrest

VOTE IT UP!!

[Oreo]

1. This isn't something to waste your time with

He was a judge of a case to see whether the arrest was justified... not to see if it was done properly. I think it'd be a mistake to push this one. I think his wife's ties to an anti-choice group are more important.

"The question before us, however, is not whether these policies were a bad idea, but whether they violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution. Like the District court, we conclude that they did not, and accordingly we affirm."

Two months after the arrest, and following a torrent of bad publicity, the transit agency revised its policy and said that children under 18 who committed minor offenses would instead be enrolled in a program run in cooperation with school authorities and other city officials.

[Dr Ron]

2. Agree

He was probably technically righ with regards to the law

[Goldmund]

3. I agree

[Roland99]

4. That's not the point. How do you think the GOP goes on the attack?

They spread stuff they know isn't true or is based upon tenuous information but they make it become truth via their soundbite generation machines.

[imenja]

6. not based on unanimous rulings

they at least do their homework on an issue. Good grief.

[tx_dem41]

8. IMO, the story doesn't make him look bad.

He gives a reasoned, dispassioned opinion, AND he then states that he disagrees with the policy in the case of the 12yo. So, I think the story will backfire on anyone that uses it.

[goclark]

12. Democrats will be afraid to use the french fry ruling

but that is why we lost the election.

The Republicans would be all over this 24/7, calling him Nominee French Fry and all kinds of things.

We will not get dirty like they do , so we are left for God to have mercy on us.

[tx_dem41]

13. No....the Democrats will be smart enough to find a case that will...

actually work FOR them....such as the First Gulf War veterans ruling.

[rinsd]

16. Yup....

...that pill is much harder to swallow.

[imenja]

5. this was a unanimous ruling

and what they decided was that it was not a civil rights violation, not that the arrest was sound.

Didn't anyone read about the potential justices before he was announced? This case has been covered in a number of summaries about Bush's leading candidates.

[4_Legs_Good]

7. Actually sounds like a pretty good ruling and comment to me

Did his comment help change the rules?

david

[Igel]

10. No; I think he even notes that the rules had already

been changed. I don't think the rule changes applied retroactively.

[GarySeven]

9. Where is such activity mentioned in the Constitution?

Apparently he is another one of them activist judges. Not a very good member of the Federalist Society, is he?

[Reverend Smoothfield]

11. Ted Kennedy's going to go nuts over this

he's been ardently pro-fry all his life.

[zara]

14. Now if Roberts had enjoined use of word "French" fries...

that might be good for a donnybrook. But all this means is that he's a hard ass.

[Cronus Protagonist]

15. So the girl couldn't eat a Freedom Fry?

That's... that's.... well, it's downright unpatriotic!

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