Fourth Amendment

CASE LAW UPDATE:  Whether flipping an officer the middle finger is protected speech?   

Plaintiff flipped off a traffic officer.  Subsequently, he was subjected to a stop.  Later, he sued the officer for alleged 1st and 4th Amendment violations.  The officer raised qualified immunity.  The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that:   (1) the district court erred in granting qualified immunity on the First Amendment retaliation claim, because flipping the middle finger is protected speech.

Garcia v. City of New Hope, 19-1836, Smith J.   Appealed from the United States District Court, District of Minnesota.

Minnesota Criminal Defense Lawyer Lynne Torgerson was not attorney of record in this case.