Flashing Headlights To Warn of Speed Traps Permanently Protected in Missouri Town

It’s the happy conclusion to a
free speech battle with potentially broad application: A federal
judge says flashing your headlights to warn oncoming drivers of
speed traps is protected by the First Amendment. Under a permanent
injunction issued in the case, the town of Ellisville, Missouri,
will have to stop hassling drivers considerate enough to give
fellow motorists a friendly heads-up.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri, which
represented Michael Elli, describes
the facts of the dispute:

While driving along Kiefer Creek Road [in November 2012],
Michael Elli, flashed his headlights to warn oncoming traffic to
proceed with caution. He was pulled over by a City of Ellisville
police officer and issued a citation for flashing lights to warn of
radar ahead. When Elli appeared in municipal court, he was told the
standard punishment is a $1,000 fine. The charge against Elli was
eventually dismissed.

A pro-speech outcome seemed certain early on. When
issuing a preliminary injunction against Ellisville, U.S.
District Court Judge Henry E. Autrey pointed out in his decision
that Ellisville’s ordinance forbidding any sort of flashing of
lights by vehicles other than buses directly contradicts Missouri
Department of Revenue advice that lights
should be flashed to signal emergencies.

Autrey also noted that using headlights to communicate makes the
act speech, which is protected on First Amendment grounds. He also
dismissed officials’ promises that they would behave better in the
future if only they were allowed to keep the ordinance on the
books.

With the deck stacked against, city officials folded. They
entered a joint agreement with Elli to make the preliminary
injunction permanent. Autrey obliged
them [pdf]:

It is now the order and judgment of this Court that the
preliminary injunction entered on February 23, 2014, be made
permanent. Defendant City of Ellisville and its police officers are
permanently enjoined from detaining, seizing, citing, or
prosecuting any individual within the City of Ellisville for
communicating by flashing his or her automobile headlamps.

Chalk one up for free speech in Missouri.

Flashing headlights to warn other motorists of speed traps
remains subject to a hodgepodge
of laws across the United States—protected in some places,
forbidden in others, and punished by cops under creative
interpretations of local rules in many jurisdictions.

It’s also good manners.