No thanks.  As much as I despise many of the police here, I'd just as soon not give them any reason to even look at me.

Trust me, if a cop wants to pull you over, he will find a reason to pull you over.  Keep your finger down and drive safely and legally past the officer.  Then do whatever illegal business you have in mind.

It's always been legal. Now it's simply been recognized by another Circuit Court

It always has been.

/little thing called the First Amendment

It may be perfectly legal to do it, subby, but unless you are absolutely, positively, to a 100 percent degree of certainty sure that there is not any one single tiny violation that you can possibly be pulled over at that moment or during any moment in the immediate future, I'd suggest to you that it's probably still a bad idea.

Yeah, well, they can pull you over for that "busted tail light". It's probably best to stay under the radar and not act like an ass to someone with a badge,

Pocket Ninja

It may be perfectly legal to do it, subby, but unless you are absolutely, positively, to a 100 percent degree of certainty sure that there is not any one single tiny violation that you can possibly be pulled over at that moment or during any moment in the immediate future, I'd suggest to you that it's probably still a bad idea.

Exactly what I was thinking. Even if you are 100% clean prepare to spend the next few hours as they take their sweet time to make sure.

Well, if you're driving, don't flip the bird by sticking your left arm out the window.

You may be giving the cop cause to give you a ticket for illegal use of a turn signal.

"here, pull me finger"

You fly your freak flag high! I'll mind my own illegal business quietly.

Why you got to give a guy the finger just for doing his job, anyway?

SMOKE YOU!

Driving slower than the speed of light is not only a good idea, it's the law.

Flipping off a cop may be OK under the law, but it's not a good idea.

After you get done expressing your Constitutional right of free speech, and after he gets done violating your Constitutional rights via baton and boot, you might be in the hospital and he might get a paid vacation.

Deeper coverage at the NYTimes.

As others have pointed out, legal does not equal smart here. Especially if someone has a serious dislike for police, they should probably avoid taunting them and engaging with them at all costs. Although as it sounds like the couple in the article won (assuming SCOTUS doesn't hear an appeal), if they were trolling for a lawsuit they got exactly what they wanted.

Sure, go ahead.  Then you can find out what a "throw down" joint is.

Our cops here are of the shoot first, ask questions last variety.

Plus, I'm driving while black.

No, thanks.

As a rule, I give the middle finger to everyone I see.

Try this in Prince George's County, MD and your survivors will, after years in court, succeed in getting the cop who murdered you fined a couple hundred bucks.

I think most cops would not care, just as most motorists would not, but why invite trouble when there is no reason to do so? It is not brave to piss off people who can cause trouble for you, and giving the bird to anyone is generally a cowardly and disrespectful thing to do.

I bet the judges would still give a person a contempt charges if you do it in court

Great. I feel so free. Let me know when we can actually tell them to f*ck off.

do not taunt Happy Fun Ball

Go ahead, taunt the dynamite-monkey

StrandedInAZ: Our cops here are of the shoot first, ask questions last variety.

Plus, I'm driving while black.

No, thanks.

THIS.

BeerBear: I bet the judges would still give a person a contempt charges if you do it in court

We have different rules for dealing with judges in a courtroom than dealing with police in the outside free world. You are not free in a courtroom.

Here's what really happens when you do that.

I used to give them the finger all of the time...

I just kept it low enough so that it was covered by my car door
I don't know exactly when it happened but at some point, I realized sometimes they were focused on me because I was focused on them. Now, I just go about my business. By the grace of GOD, it seems to be working out for me lately.

a finger says so much
it says
-I want you to pull me over for 'a reasonable amount of time'-
(same goes for on foot, in order to ascertain your identity)
and a reasonable amount of time can be for so many things
then you contend with the myriad of strange traffic laws, even the archaic ones
vehicle checks..the ability of an officer to articulate that they smelled a substance, or you mumbled something about an explosive, or a rythmic scratching in the trunk
and soooo many other things.
or you just get a bent barney fife who drags you out with his maglight under your nose
and stomps a mudhole in your arse

so it's a bad plan all around

Best policy with cops: Avoid them, and if you pass them or have an encounter with them, be polite and treat them with respect. They're a lot more likely to let you go or let you pass by if you don't draw their attention with asinine behavior.

BeerBear: I bet the judges would still give a person a contempt charges if you do it in court

Probably so.  Contempt of court is my default position, though.  Contempt of police as well.  But I'd just as soon not incur the wrath of either, so I go on about my business in quiet contempt.

approves

H31N0US: You fly your freak flag high! I'll mind my own illegal business quietly.

Why you got to give a guy the finger just for doing his job, anyway?

People who sign up for a job where they are essentially going to be enforcing fines on their fellow community members at the end of a gun don't get much respect. Especially when they are out writing tickets for infractions and speeding that they are also guilty of and will never be fined for.

nekom: No thanks.  As much as I despise many of the police here, I'd just as soon not give them any reason to even look at me.

amen brother

After the cop tasers you or beats you with a baton, he will claim you were doing more than flipping him off, and judges usually believe the cop in a he said, she said. Use this ruling at your own risk.

Sure it's fine to give them the finger, but that (smash!) broken tail light is a good enough reason to get a ticket.

punkhippie: Try this in Prince George's County, MD and your survivors will, after years in court, succeed in getting the cop who murdered you fined a couple hundred bucks.

Try this in college park and you get beat by the police, just because they think beating students is A-OK.

/Fark the local cops.
//Actually, fark the locals too.

Try this in Oregon, and you win the lottery.

Rufus Lee King: BeerBear: I bet the judges would still give a person a contempt charges if you do it in court

[farm1.staticflickr.com image 640x480]

I read that in Frankie MacDonald's voice

Had a good friend who was an officer for many years. His #1 piece of advice:

Don't get noticed.

He also said if you insist on being confrontational, you'll end up with a bullshiat charge and a boatload of red tape misery. Give 'em a reason and they WILL find something to stick on you.

ristst: Had a good friend who was an officer for many years. His #1 piece of advice:

Don't get noticed.

He also said if you insist on being confrontational, you'll end up with a bullshiat charge and a boatload of red tape misery. Give 'em a reason and they WILL find something to stick on you.

Its good that the police don't abuse their authority or anything

Legal? Yes. A good idea? Probably not.

I've still got the mark on my head where the officer slammed me into the hood of his car.

YMMV.

It's legal to flip off your boss, too...why don't you do that and get back to me on how awesome the experience was.

teeny: It's legal to flip off your boss, too...why don't you do that and get back to me on how awesome the experience was.

I got away with it. More than once, I'm not kidding.

Btw, what kind of stupid coont would marry an asshole with sideburns like that... Jesus Christ lady, hard up?

ristst: Had a good friend who was an officer for many years. His #1 piece of advice:

Don't get noticed.

Whereas this is excellent advice, things usually sort themselves out to a balance anyway. If you are the type of person that uses the finger frequently then chances are you are the cause of most of the issues in your life that seem to be times where the finger sums up your feelings. You probably don't even realize that there are people who go years without flipping the bird and then when some situation comes up, sometimes forget it as an option for expression. Whereas in your world it appears it's full of jackholes and doucheknockers that are constantly rubbing you the wrong way or screwing with your style, generally giving you a hard time for no good reason. In reality, the common factor in all these unpleasant encounters has been you. I don't know how or if it can be fixed. I just know that you are more than likely going to have one of your pleasant encounters with the police, whereupon you will get to become the victim again. And you will come to the conclusion that those pigs were put on this planet to harass you.

I was more disturbed by the Sperm Donor Ordered to Pay Child Support link below this story.

/extends middle finger

If you intend to do this, be sure to carry a printed copy of the ruling with you so that you can show it to the police officer. Oh, and be sure to film the incident and post it on YouTube for your fellow Farkers to view!