Yay Texas!!
 

Giving a fellow motorist the finger may be rude, but it's not necessarily a crime, an appeals court said in throwing out a man's conviction.

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Robert Lee Coggin, 34, was charged under an obscure state law that says it's a crime — disorderly conduct — to make an offensive gesture in a public place if it "tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace."


Last year, a jury found him guilty of disorderly conduct. He was fined $250.


In its ruling issued last Thursday, the 3rd Court of Appeals in Austin said that Coggin's gesture was crude, but evidence did not establish it could cause an immediate breach of the peace. It ordered that he be acquitted.


"It vindicates me," Coggin told the Houston Chronicle for Wednesday's editions. He has denied making the gesture, and spent $15,000 in legal fees to fight the conviction.


According to court records, in October 2001, Coggin was tailgating a car in Caldwell County, flashing his lights and motioning for the driver to move to the right lane. When the driver, John Pastrano, pulled over, Coggin allegedly raised his middle finger while passing.


Pastrano — who, as it happens, was a Caldwell County jailer — called 911, and Coggin was cited by police.


In a dissenting opinion, Chief Justice Kenneth Law wrote that "one must ignore the reality of modern life to not recognize that many instances of `road rage' begin in such a manner."


Calls seeking further comment placed to Coggin's lawyer, Donald T. Cheatham, and to Pastrano were not immediately returned Wednesday.

wait... is that donald cheatham of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe?

sorry.... i couldn't resist.


as far as this case goes, i suppose there's no laws against bad taste, so this guy got lucky.

When I was in high school, I got a $100 disturbing the peace fine for calling a woman a bitch and flipping her off after her shithead kid heaved a rock at my car when I was driving by

I'd agree with Chief Justice Kenneth Law . (ironic last name - no?) I think it could tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.

I notice the courts did not find that he had not flipped off the other driver, only that his guesture was not illegal. For a guy who is denying flipping the bird, I'd hardly call him vindicated.

I'd say $15,000 in legal fees is punishment enough.

I have to start flipping the bird more often :)

In that incident I can see why someone would be upset. Cause that was just plain rude the of the guy. But for other instances of danger I think the finger should be allowed. If people do stupid careless shit on the highway that could get somebody killed then they deserve the fucking finger among other things. Especially if they almost hit you and there isn't a fuckin police officer in sight. Giving someone the finger is no different than violently honking your horn at the idiot. It's just a more "appropriate" way of calling them an asshole without sticking your head out of the window and screaming it at the top of your lungs. They gonna remove car horns too? If they're too immature to understand why you would possibly give them the finger for doing something like that and quite possibly wanna go on a road rage and start ramming your car for it and endangering other drivers in the process than perhaps maybe they shouldn't be driving at all.

Asta!!

This should have been thrown out as a word vs. word case. This should never have gone to trial in the first place, but because the accusing witness works in a police department, it not only went to trial but resulted in a conviction.

The "court" looks out for its own to the detriment of those of us who aren't one of Them. Equal protection and equal justice my black ass.

^^ haha brilliant man!

Asta!!

^^What he said, except with-out the whole "Asta!!" thing.

So I run into another that has a problem with the Asta eh? For the life of me I can't understand why the fuck anyone would. Just a fuckin word.

Asta!!

I often give hand signals when driving, but not in the way you are talking about. Simply applauding somebody as you drive by is the best way and annoys them a hundred times more.

Except for this weekend when this old lady nearly killed me with her dodgy driving :( I lost my rag a bit then.

^^ Old people probably shouldn't be driving anyway.

Asta!!

If people do stupid things to intention piss me off they deserve the finger.And if that is offensive to them,they should reconsider their role as an asshole.