Sixth Circuit judges in Michigan unanimously ruled that a police officer in the Detroit area was wrong to give a woman a more serious ticket after she gave him a finger at a roadside check.
The incident began when Debra Cruise-Gulyas was intercepted in the city of Taylor, Detroit suburb, in 2017.
The officer gave his ticket. But rather than give up, Cruise-Gulyas gave Agent Matthew Minard the bird.
Apparently upset by this, Minard then took her away a second time and replaced her with a more serious speed offense.
Cruise-Gulyas took the case to court, arguing that his rights to freedom of expression and his rights to wrongful seizure had been violated.
Wednesday, the court ruled with a decision of 3-0, despite the disrespectful gesture of the driver. The decision authorizes a prosecution by the woman.