Is it illegal to flash your headlights to warn of police

#Is it illegal to flash your headlights to warn of police how to#

The crux of defendants' argument is that much like warning others about intelligence operations or an impending police raid, the message that Obriecht conveyed helped others commit an illegal act without getting caught. Although Haig involved a First Amendment challenge, there was no First Amendment claim in Lane, and the court of appeals in that case did not analyze whether the defendant's conduct could be considered protected speech. 1975), in which the Ninth Circuit concluded that a criminal defendant who warned a drug ring of an impending police raid was guilty of aiding and abetting a conspiracy to sell drugs. 280, 308-90 (1981), in which the Supreme Court held that an ex-CIA agent's repeated disclosures of intelligence operations and the names of intelligence personnel were not protected speech under First Amendment because of the 'substantial likelihood of 'serious damage' to national security or foreign policy' and (2) U.S.

#Is it illegal to flash your headlights to warn of police how to#

Although defendants cite some cases involving speech that urges or advocates the commission of a crime or instructs others how to commit a crime, they rely on only two cases in making their crime-facilitation argument: (1) Haig v.

In a brief argument, defendants contend that because Obriecht's conduct was intended to warn oncoming drivers of a covert law enforcement operation and facilitated the crime of speeding, it does not fall within the protection of the First Amendment. Splinter, decied yesterday by Magistrate Judge Stephen L.