Legion
07-20-2005, 03:17 PM
By JENNIFER C. KERR, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 55 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Judge John G. Roberts' views on abortion may be murky, but there's no question where he stands on the issue of girls eating fries in a subway station.
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
"The District court described the policies that led to her arrest as 'foolish,' and indeed the policies were changed after those responsible endured the sort of publicity reserved for adults who make young girls cry," he wrote.
"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."
Those evil kids and their fries.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050720/ap_on_go_su_co/roberts_french_fry
WASHINGTON - Judge John G. Roberts' views on abortion may be murky, but there's no question where he stands on the issue of girls eating fries in a subway station.
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
"The District court described the policies that led to her arrest as 'foolish,' and indeed the policies were changed after those responsible endured the sort of publicity reserved for adults who make young girls cry," he wrote.
"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."
Those evil kids and their fries.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050720/ap_on_go_su_co/roberts_french_fry