Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Court Rules "Zombies" Have Free Speech Rights

Posted by samzenpus on from the we're-not-unreasonable-I-mean-no-one's-gonna-eat-your-eyes dept.

An appeals court in Minneapolis, Minnesota has overturned a lower court ruling, finding that a group of seven "zombies" had been wrongfully detained during a 2006 shopping mall protest. The decision allows the zombies to continue with their lawsuit against police who arrested them for disorderly conduct. "An objectively reasonable person would not think probable cause exists under the Minnesota disorderly conduct statue to arrest a group of peaceful people for engaging in an artistic protest by playing music, broadcasting statements (and) dressing as zombies," the appeals court ruled.

10 comments

  1. Peace through Violence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Instead of arresting them, the police should have shot them in the head. That's the only effective means of dealing with them.

    1. Re:Peace through Violence by VanGarrett · · Score: 1

      Don't forget to double-tap.

      --
      Learning about brewing beer, by brewing beer.
  2. Disappointing. by dsavi · · Score: 1

    I was hoping for a story about how they were actually trying to get a horde of living dead to shut up.

  3. What about the mall's rights? by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    Under the law, the shopping mall management has the right to bar anybody they want to from being on their property. If they refuse to leave, they can then be arrested for trespass. If the protesters were in fact on public property, then the article is correct -- the police should have left them alone.

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
    1. Re:What about the mall's rights? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Under the law, the shopping mall management has the right to bar anybody they want to from being on their property. If they refuse to leave, they can then be arrested for trespass.

      But that's not what happened. They were arrested for "disorderly conduct" because they were dressed as zombies.

    2. Re:What about the mall's rights? by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

      I suspect they would not have been arrested if the mall management had not complained and called the cops. It's not like gangs of cops routinely patrol shopping malls looking for the undead... of course, it is possible that the zombies' mistake was strolling past a donut shop in the mall. Mall security should have ask the protesters to leave, and should only have called the cops if they refused to comply. I don't know all the facts, so I can only speculate on what should have happened, not what actually happened. I'm willing to bet that now that the mall knows these individuals identities, they have issued trespass notices for them. "Disturbing the peace" is just a catch all that cops use when they are too lazy to actually research a proper charge. Carrying a boom-box might justify that charge, but only if they apply it equally to anyone carrying a boom-box in the mall. To be fair, they would probably need to arrest people with obnoxious phone ring tones as well!

      --
      I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  4. Poor zombies by Yosho-sama · · Score: 1

    They were only trying to locate those thieving bastards who were holed up in the mall riding out the zombie apocalypse.

    --
    My kingdom for a donkey!
  5. free speech? by vaporland · · Score: 1

    all they can do is moan and stumble (and bite).

    --
    Ask Me About... The 80's!
  6. Good to know by R3coiler · · Score: 1

    It feels good to know that the court upholds my right to drawl "BRAAAAAIIINNNNSSSSSSSSS"

  7. You forgot Bub by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    He can say aunt Alica.