A raised middle finger

John Swartz, in May 2006, was a passenger in car in upstate New York when he spotted a police car that was using a radar gun.  Mr. Swartz extended his right arm outside the passenger side window and extended his middle finger.

The driver was pulled over.  Mr. Swartz was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct.  He sued.  The officer who had the radar gun said he saw the finger as a "potential call for help."

In a 14-page opinion, Judge Jon O. Newman wrote: "Perhaps there is a police officer somewhere who would interpret an automobile passenger's giving him the finger as a signal of distress, but the nearly universal recognition that this gesture is an insult deprives such an interpretation of reasonableness."

(I found this information in the New York Times, Jan. 4, 2013, p. A 17.  For every driver who has ever been stopped in a speed trap, I hope Mr. Swartz wins his case.  And to the Franklin Township police who enforce a 45 mph speed limit on 209, I salute you with raised middle finger.)