Woman sues DeKalb County over ticket for anti-Bush bumper sticker

<p>An woman who was ticketed for having an obscene anti-President Bush bumper sticker filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against DeKalb County and its officials.</p><p>Denise Grier, 47, of Athens, Ga., got a $100 ticket in March after a DeKalb County police officer spotted the bumper sticker, which read "I'm Tired Of All The BUSHIT."</p><p>Although a DeKalb judge threw out the ticket in April because the state's lewd decal law that formed the basis for the ticket was ruled unconstitutional in 1990, Grier is seeking damages for "emotional distress" against the county, according to the lawsuit.</p><p>Grier also seeks a declaration in federal court that her bumper sticker is considered protected speech under the First Amendment because she is "uncertain and insecure regarding her right to display her bumper sticker in DeKalb County," the lawsuit said.</p><p>The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. Her attorney, Frank Derrickson, did not immediately return a phone message for comment Monday. A phone message to the office of DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones was not immediately returned Monday.</p><p>Grier, a nurse who works at Emory University and other hospitals, also is seeking punitive damages against the DeKalb police officer who gave her the ticket because he "acted with reckless disregard" of her rights, the lawsuit said.</p><p>The state law prohibited lewd or profane stickers and decals on vehicles.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/10/115150