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Resident fights for his rights and wins
By DAVID DiPINO
Forum Publishing Group
December 17, 2008
Dave Armstrong wears a different suit and tie each time he travels to the Palm Beach County Courthouse, 205 N. Dixie Highway, in West Palm Beach. He's been there
nine times since an incident that occurred on Mother's Day. Armstrong,
43, was walking to the beach that morning in May. He was shirtless but
wearing shorts.
"The shorts had a few holes in them," Armstrong said.
An anonymous call was made to the Delray Beach Police Department to stop Armstrong just a block from the beach.
Armstrong, a two-decade resident of Delray Beach, was arrested and charged with exposure of sexual organs and disorderly conduct.
"I wasn't naked," Armstrong said.
The state agreed.
"Mr. Armstrong is not going to face trial on the charge of exposure of sexual organs," said Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Mark Eissey.
But the disorderly conduct charge remained.
Public defender Eric Taylor fought for Armstrong under the grounds that
his First Amendment rights protect him under "these circumstances."
"Nudity is protected by freedom of speech, entitled to First Amendment
rights. Even if he was totally naked and expressing free speech that
would be protected; he wasn't naked," Taylor told Eissey.
The
morning he was arrested Armstrong was carrying a rainbow flag, a sign
of the Gay Rights Movement, a cooler full of signed petitions and
brochures from South Florida beach-goers pushing for a nude beach on
the north end of the Delray Beach Municipal Beach.
"The flag is expression. The First Amendment protects freedom of
expression. He was engaging in free speech and he was never nude,"
Taylor said.
Despite Taylor's hard work, Eissey denied his motion for dismissal.
Armstrong was offered a package to plead guilty, but denied the
offering with a bold "not guilty." Prosecuting attorney Craig Salisbury
represented the state. And the jury was interviewed for a
one-day-trial.
Salisbury had a hard time building a case for
disorderly conduct charge. Taylor impressed the jury with the First
Amendment defense and just seven hours after the trial began, the jury
returned a unanimous not guilty verdict.
"What did I learn today? Not to ever give up and fight for your rights!" Armstrong said.
