|
<br />
<br />Doug Grow
<br />
<br />Lawyer says flag is his
<br />way of waving his rights
<br />Is it advertising, as Rose.ville maintains,
<br />or ex~rcise of First Amendment speech?
<br />
<br />~~. ..... ...~................... ..... ............~... .................................... ..... ........................ .........~ ............................ .............. .............
<br /> ........... ..... .............. ........... ,,--..................... .............................. ....... ...................... .....................
<br />
<br />The intersection of Snelling Avenue
<br />and Hwy. 36 in Roseville is an ode
<br />to American ugh. It' s a mass of
<br />pavement and t!:~c; a place where Mc-
<br />Donald's, Target, Burger King, Perkins
<br />and the Colonel all compete for the at-
<br />tention of those passing by.
<br />But when Todd Young. a personal-
<br />injury lawyer, ran a Jolly Roger up the
<br />flag pole in frontofhis building, he
<br />offended the sensitivities - and codes-
<br />ofRoseville. The city said that two ver-
<br />sions of Young's skull and crossbones
<br />were advertising banners and must come
<br />down.
<br />Young complied, but he also hired
<br />free-speech zealot Randall Tigue - ill1
<br />attorney known best for dealing with
<br />free-speech issues surrounding adult en-
<br />tertainment. A suil filed in federal court
<br />
<br />. - on1y the SJrul.l and crossbones. ~UJl,
<br />rl. Roseville rejected YOlmg's pennit re-
<br />quest. The city said Y oun'g was in viola- .
<br />tion of its code, which attempts to do
<br />such things as differentiate between flags
<br />(pretty much OK in Roseville) and ban-
<br />ners (pretty much not OK). Roseville's
<br />multileveled flag code even dips into
<br />areas of international relations. It's OK,
<br />for example. for a Rosevillian to fly the
<br />flag of China, with which the United
<br />States has diplomatic re,lations, but it is
<br />not OK to fly the flag of f:;:uba, because
<br />diploIl1atic relatio~s d.O";J,10t eXist. , '
<br />"I've never seen an ordinance like this
<br />in my life," said Tigue, almost gleefully.
<br />"Flags and banners represent basic free-
<br />speech lights. ..
<br />City Attorney Joel Jamnik says Rose-
<br />ville embraces the First Amendment, but
<br />
<br />claims that Roseville's code infringes on and crossbones in red on a white back-
<br />Y olmg' s First Amendment rights. ground, rather than the traditional white
<br />Roseville city officials say they're com- skull and crossbones on a black back-
<br />fortable with their code, which was ti- ground. His first 12- by 20- foot banner
<br />died up in 1995 after a flap over the way went up briefly in mid-July. Along with
<br />car dealers were using American flags as the skull and crossbones, there was a
<br />attention-getters. They say they i,Jelieve message waving in the Roseville breeze:
<br />Young is just another publicity-seeking Todd Young, personal injury. wrongful
<br />lawyer. death, accident, auto.
<br />Young aqmits that publicity isn't a Within days of the Jolly Roger going
<br />bad thing. But he says his case repre- up, a Roseville inspector knocked on
<br />sentsmore than publicitY. I Young's door. Young was told he must
<br />"I'm interested in helping people ap- .have.a permit for the banner. When he
<br />predate the First Amendment. I'm not applied, it was rejected.
<br />interested in helping me," he said. keep- "I concede that the script on the flag
<br />ing a straight face. "I knew tIris might be constituted signage;" Young said. "I ap-
<br />an issue because people don't like any- preciate the right to control of speech
<br />body who doesn't conform." ' when it's commercial."
<br />Young has requested permits for two So Young came back with a second
<br />different Jolly Rogers. Both have the skull Jolly Roger. This time, his flag included
<br />
<br />"She came into the office and said the
<br />flag was the sign of Satan," said Young's
<br />legal secretary. Corrie Anderson. "She
<br />said she was terribly offended, and she
<br />also said that all of us who work here
<br />should leave immediately bec~use there
<br />must be some~g wroIJ.g with hIm
<br />fYoung).lsajq J.couldn'f1eave, and she
<br />said J must leave, apd she did a blessing
<br />over my head and she blessed America."
<br />Said Young: "I'm not here to affront
<br />this lady, t;hough it tells you something
<br />. whe~)~t t:he~ight9f sowe!:bing differ-
<br />ent trigge~ ~poplexy." H~ a~q~d that
<br />he's not Satan.
<br />He's pretty sure Jolly Roger also will
<br />offend some oHris stuffier brothers and
<br />sisters in the legal lodge.
<br />"I'm sure there are some lawyers who
<br />will say that it's testimony to the detelio-
<br />ration of the quality of the bar, II Young
<br />said. '
<br />If it's not about publiCity, adverl;ising,
<br />Satan or tile deterioration of the bar,
<br />what is the meaning of this Jolly Roger?
<br />{/I' m the harbinger of misery, " Young
<br />said. "People don't cOf!1e to. people like
<br />me when life is euphoric, bucolic and
<br />copacetic. They come tome when
<br />they're hurting. The work 1 do does not
<br />represent the status quo. The Jolly Roger
<br />is partofthat. It's folklore."
<br />And now a federal court action, too.
<br />
<br />"The bottom line is that the city has
<br />adopted regulations that create a fair
<br />environment for business while preserv- '
<br />ing the beauty of the commlmity," Jam-
<br />nik said. "It's a classic balancing situ-
<br />ation."
<br />Given the signs, malls, strip malls,
<br />parking lots and people at H\vy. 36 and
<br />Snelling, .it appears the beauty thing is
<br />off balance in at least one part of
<br />Roseville.
<br />If nothing else. Jolly Roger has
<br />sparked some lively discussion. For ex-
<br />ample, one woman saw Young's flag as
<br />tile dew's work. .
<br />
<br />---~--
<br />.------.
<br />
<br />"---~
<br />
<br />"-:-.......~.,-,-""."-,~--_.._., .
<br />
|