Koster seeks reinstatement of flag desecration law

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

By JIM SALTER

Associated Press

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster is asking a federal appeals court to reinstate Missouri’s law prohibiting desecration of the American flag, which a federal judge struck down last year.

Koster filed an appeal on Jan. 10 to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A hearing date has not been set.

Frank Snider III of Cape Girardeau was arrested in 2009 for cutting up an American flag and throwing it into the street, blaming the country for his inability to find a job. The case was later thrown out, but Snider was jailed for about eight hours.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of Snider, claiming violation of his right to free speech. U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson issued a permanent injunction in March prohibiting the state, its political subdivisions and officials from “enforcing or threatening to enforce” the law. In December, she awarded Snider $7,000 in damages.

Nanci Gonder, a spokeswoman for Koster, said Tuesday that Missourians have a strong sense of patriotism and don’t want to see the flag burned or mutilated.

“As Attorney General Koster said at the time of the initial ruling, while we understood that defending the statute was an uphill battle, most Missourians have a strong reaction against flag desecration,” Gonder said in a statement. “Our defense of the statute was our attempt to give voice to that patriotic sentiment.”

Snider’s attorney, Tony Rothert, called the appeal disappointing and said the ACLU will continue to fight against it, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the late 1980s that a nearly identical law was unconstitutional.

“I understand people have strong feelings about the flag, but there’s nothing patriotic about infringing on First Amendment rights,” Rothert said.

Snider was standing in his front yard in October 2009 when he tried to set fire to the flag. When that failed he used a knife to shred it.

A neighbor called police and told the dispatcher, “He’s cut the United States flag up with a knife, throw’d it out in the street for the cars to run over. Now, I am a United State citizen and I don’t like it.”

A police officer issued a citation for littering and after learning of the state statute prohibiting flag desecration arrested Snider on that charge.

Cape Girardeau County prosecutors dismissed the charge against Snider after learning of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling deeming Texas’ flag desecration law unconstitutional.

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Paroquet 5 months ago

Mr. Koster,

I believe in the first year of your term a concerned citizen brought to you personally a case with a folder of evidence concerning dereliction of duty by a certain state agency insofar as its charter was concerned, as well as State laws appertaining thereto. Some of it concerning Gov. Nixon's father and the Raintree Plantation over near St. Louis, as well as a major poultry processor in Sedalia, and other department "positions" having statewide implications inconsistent with the Law.

Just saying you have other fish to fry, bub, and the Feds have done put the kibosh on something you're wasting our time and money on. Keep it up at your electable peril.

Ain't saying what the protester did was right, but it was within his rights (except maybe for littering, possibly brandishing). And meanwhile you're ignoring a state agency and commission usurping your authority with evidence and names in hand. Not the best thing to have on a performance review.

Percy was there, at that meeting, if you recall. You know, with the guy in the snappy suit carrying in hand a folder and his anachronistic hat...or maybe you forgot?

FarCry 4 months, 4 weeks ago

Paroquet, IF your referring to the agency I think you are, that would nevertheless be the same agency Mr. Koster has an army of lawyers to dispatch to defend corrupt management of when they retaliate against rank and file employees for sticking their necks out in a futile attempt to carry out that agency's mission. Just a hunch on my part based on what I've witnessed.

wow 5 months ago

Paroquet...please fill us in on the "Paul Harvey"....it don't matter who they are...if they ain't doing the job right...the people need to know...so helps us out.

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