Roberts: OK to arrest/handcuff/fingerprint 12-yr-old girl eating on subway

[StefanX]

An appeal came before Roberts where a 12-year-old girl had been arrested, handcuffed, processed and fingerprinted and detained at the precinct for 3 hours - all for eating a single french fry on the DC Metro subway system.

Roberts ruled in favor of the police.

Roberts was quite aware how ridiculous the case was. He himself wrote: "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."

He was also aware that the Fourth Amendment ("unreasonable search and seizure") would have allowed him to throw out the arrest - but he was too dense (or mean) to uphold the Constitution in this case.

Instead, Roberts upheld arresting, handcuffing and fingerprinting a 12-year-old girl for eating a french fry.

Just google Roberts "french fry" and you'll see tons of articles on this.

You wanna derail the Roberts nomination (or at least hang this lousy judge around Bush's neck for the next few decades)? Run a few radio and TV ads featuring this little tidbit. Everyone "gets" this story. And unfortunately, it's true.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Judge Frenchfry - a meme in the making

Liking the sound of it so well, I repeat: Judge Frenchfry

[SpiralHawk]

2. To be patr-idiotic to BushCo, I suppose he is Judge Freedom Fry

pathetic. Judge French fry

[StefanX]

3. If this was a Dem judicial nominee

You know every Repub in Congress would be waving a french fry in the air, and every talking head on TV would be talking about Judge FrenchFry.

Too bad the Dems don't know how to fight these easy battles. We might win a few now and then.

Remember all the purple Bandaids the Repubs had at their convention? Trying to make fun of Kerry's Purple Hearts. If I were to craft a "Rovian" response, I would have had the Dems waving around silver cokespoons.

But Dems play nice. So we lose all the time. What a pity, seeing we have the best policies and all.

[Burma Jones]

4. They are very strict on the DC Metro

To the point of roughing up Pregnant Women. And, by golly, we have the cleanest damn subway, well, between NY, Boston and DC anyway. Montreal keeps a nice clean system without resorting to this sort of police state crap.

The french fry eater was African-American, I haven't heard of any instances where White folks have had trouble with the transit cops - of course, white folks NEVER eat, drink. smoke, talk too loudly, whistle, fart, sneeze or otherwise live too loudly on the DC Metro. I swear, it's like riding in a hearse.....

[StefanX]

9. Interesting that she was African-American

Defining Mr. Roberts

In fact, if I were running a propaganda campaign to try to soften Judge Roberts up before his confirmation hearings, I'd probably go a hell of a lot further than Moveon. I'd call him a fat cat corporate lawyer who made millions catering to wealthy CEOs. A Washington insider who has spent his entire adult life shuttling back and forth between K Street and Wall Street. An arrogant, out-of-touch Ivy Leaguer who probably vacations at posh resorts with other arrogant, out-of-touch Ivy Leaguers. (And I would say it no matter where he actually vacations -- or even if he takes no vacations at all.)

I would dig up every client that Roberts ever represented, and God help him if any have had even the slightest trouble with the criminal justice system. I'd put together ads juxtaposing pictures of him with photos of Bernie Ebbers, Dennis Kozlowski and Ken Lay, and run them in selected media markets, just below the national media's radar screen. And if Roberts has ever issued any rulings that in any way, shape or form have made it more difficult to fight crime or terrorism, some of those ads would morph him into Pedro Escobar or Osama bin Ladin.

I'd make a lot of hay out of Roberts' ruling in the infamous french fry case -- using it as a parable for an eggheaded judge who has plenty of book learning but no common sense. If the girl was African American, so much the better for targeted ads on urban radio stations.

Ditto for Roberts's ruling on the POW damage claims. I'd get some disabled Gulf War I vets to do testimonials and hold press conferences: "Saddam only destroyed my health, but Judge Roberts destroyed my faith in my country." Gulf War Veterans for Truth has a nice ring to it.

And if all this still failed to derail the nomination, then I'd hang it around Bush's neck -- as just another sign of how arrogant and out of touch this White House has become after five years in power. And I'd hang it around the neck of every Republican Senator next year: "Those crazy sons of bitches put a POW hater on the Supreme Court!"

It would be so easy to destroy Roberts. If only we were willing to, well... destroy him. Too bad Dems don't know how to fight.

[ConfuZed]

20. Oh she is then half of DU doesn't care

*sigh* We'll probably see alot of the usual "She was asking for it" comments :puke:

[eleny]

5. Why wasn't a child treated different from an adult?

That's the heart of the matter for me. I would expect a judge to rule with that in mind. Roberts gives me the creeps on several levels.

[jurassicpork]

6. That was her first mistake:

She should've called it a "Freedom Fry."

JP
http://jurassicpork.blogspot.com

[DoYouEverWonder]

7. The problem for me is that the punishment

is well beyond what fits the crime.

There are many other alternatives that the cop could have and should have pursued before he ever gets to arrest stage for a non-violent misdemeanor.

[Karenina]

14. Send in the SWAT team!

Pump 5 bullets into her head! Make an EXAMPLE of her!!! I'm SURE French fry nibblers have taken note!!! :sarcasm:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4179977#4181060

Sorry kids, I'm really beside myself with grief today. WHAT have we become?

[Hubert Flottz]

15. They need to act like that to fight Terra!

EVERYTHING changed after 9/11 except Bush's story! EVERYTHING is all because of 9/11! That little girl might have been hiding a dirty bomb in that bag of fries! Super Barney fights a never ending battle for der Vaterland! There was probably a mugging going on, so the pig pinched the little girl, so he'd be too busy to bag a real hard case and maybe get his ass whipped! Who was that cop "serving" and what did he "protect"? A cop that would hassle a little girl like that is screwed up enough, but A judge who stands behind an Idiot like that cop is just plain no good. I'll bet the little girl will hate the police for the rest of her life because those pigs frightened her like they did! Kids that age are more human than a damned zygote...

[Joan of Arc]

8. "French Fry" Affair

Actually, what he said in his ruling was this: "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".

In other words, although this might be "bad legislation", applied wrongly, it was not his job TO MAKE THE LAW. That's why citizens can elect new council members who CAN change the law. In fact, this is exactly what happened in this case. From an article from the WAPO on 22 July: "In his french fry arrest decision, he sided with authorities but found a lighter side: '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.'"

[StefanX]

10. Yes he did explicitly mention the 4th Amendment in his ruling

Which at least showed that he had read the 4th Amendment.

I guess he missed the part where it prohibits "unreasonable search and seizure."

What a brilliant legal mind.

[Greylyn58]

11. I've been through alot of the stories

but no where does it say "Why this kid was arrested, handcuffed, fingerprinted and held for 3 hours for eatting a single french fry?"

Does someone know why? Is it against the law to eat in the sub-way station? I'm trying to understand this insanity.

Can someone please explain? :shrug:

[Joan of Arc]

12. French Fry

Yes, it is illegal to eat while riding the metro. That's why she was handcuffed. That being said, I think the police should have shown a little grace in this instance.

[LuCifer]

17. Probably cuz...

...if you eat something, it could give you gas, and if too many people fart, it will set off their WMD detectors.

I still don't get that taking shoes off at the airport BULLSHIT. Please! By taking my shoes OFF, now THAT is a WMD! Any scientists reading this, please DO NOT find a way to make a copy of my foot odor! WE ALREADY HAVE ENOUGH DAMN WMDs AS IT IS! And that's just the ones we have called REPUBLICANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FUCK YOU ROBERTS. Yeah, why don't we just shot 'em next time!? That really worked in London, didn't it?! Nice to see the UK is turning into an N.W.O./PNAC NAZI police state like the USA. GOD BLESS AMERICA! LAND OF THE FREE...just don't eat a FREEDOM FRY on the DC Subway!
Unfuckingbelievable.

Lu

[Burma Jones]

22. It's against the law to eat, drink, play music or otherwise be

interesting on the DC Metro.

[Eloriel]

13. Let me guess: she was black

[DoYouEverWonder]

16. I'm willing to bet she ain't no snowflake baby

like the ones Roberts adopted for himself.

[Mairead]

21. You got it in one, E: Black she is.

And the cops treating her as they did weren't in any way overreacting at all, at all. They were just doing their hard, dangerous, thankless job.

That child-criminal should feel grateful that she wasn't tasered.

[deadparrot]

18. Is it because it was a "french fry" and not a "freedom fry"? nt

[Deja Q]

19. Well, the fascists have spoke. Don't break any rules or they'll

take your shoelaces.

[Burma Jones]

23. Here's a little History......via the WP.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/19/AR2005071902106.html