STANDISH, Mich. (Reuters)
Jury selection was scheduled
to get underway in what has
become known as the case of the
"cussing canoer" -- a Detroit-area man charged with violating a
102-year-old law against swearing in front of children.
Timothy Boomer, 25, was cited by an Arenac County sheriff deputy
last August after he fell out of a canoe on the Rifle River in
central rural Michigan and shouted a stream of obscenities
within earshot of a family with two young children.
Boomer, a computer programmer from Roseville, Mich., could face
90 days in jail and a $100 fine if convicted of the misdemeanor.
Boomer does not deny using foul language, but has said he did
not know children were present.
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union, who are
helping in Boomer's defense, asked 81st District Court Judge
Allen Yenior to dismiss the case, arguing Boomer's words were
free speech protected under the First Amendment of the U.S.
Constitution.
Yenior rejected the arguments, ruling there is a compelling
community interest "in protecting the morality
of our children."
"If Mr. Boomer's words, when used as they were, were
constitutionally protected speech, then a person could stand on
a crowded public beach and shout those same words all day,"
Yenior wrote in his ruling in February.
Prosecutors contend Boomer's words do not constitute free speech
because he was not trying to communicate an idea. Court TV,
which is covering the trial, reported Thursday about three
people a year are ticketed in Arenac County under the statute.
Michigan judges in other areas of the state have twice ruled the
law unconstitutional, Court TV said.
