TriMet free speech dispute lands in federal court

Posted: November 2, 2012 at 2:41 am

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) A Portland lawyer has taken a complaint about free speech on Portland's mass transit system to federal court.

Jennie Bricker says that a year ago, she spoke up when a TriMet fare inspector told an argumentative man to stop talking and said he had no free speech fight on a light-rail platform.

The Oregonian reports (http://bit.ly/VaV2jn) Bricker disagreed. She says she raised her voice enough to be heard from about 30 feet away but wasn't yelling.

The fare inspector barred her from the system for 30 days for making excessive noise.

Bricker says it was what she said, not how loudly she said it, that upset the inspector, and the suspension violated her own free speech rights. She's asking that TriMet clarify its rules and train fare inspectors better.

___

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Visit link:
TriMet free speech dispute lands in federal court

Related Posts