[clevfan]

Check cursing may cost jail time

Unhappy with a $10 parking ticket in Berkley, man wrote swearword on check, now faces charges.

Jennifer Chambers and Joe Menard / The Detroit News
June 27

BERKLEY -- Robert Militzer saw the rectangular white parking ticket on his windshield and cursed.

When the time came to pay the $10 fine to Berkley District Court, Militzer grudgingly pulled out his checkbook. He scribbled his name, filled in the amount and -- in a moment of sheer spontaneous gratification -- penned a profane note for the court on the check's memo line:

"BULL---- MONEY GRAB"

Those three questionable words have turned a simple parking ticket with a nominal fine into a criminal charge and have raised questions about Militzer's right to free speech. The 38-year-old computer programmer will go before a judge Wednesday facing a criminal contempt of court charge, up to 30 days in jail and a $250 fine.

Militzer of Allen Park learned that things had taken a serious turn when two Allen Park cops knocked on his door June 8.

"They had badges and said I needed to appear here. They said, 'If you don't, we will have to come back and get you and bring you in.' ... I thought: They were putting all this time toward this minor scofflaw. I was shocked," Militzer said.

Militzer got the parking ticket May 29 after leaving his 1992 white Saturn parked on Oxford Street in front of a friend's home in Berkley where he had spent the night. He said he had not parked in the street in prior visits due to clearly posted signs that prohibit parking on city streets from 2 a.m. to 6 a.m.

But the day Militzer arrived at his friend's house, the signs were gone from the street, he said.

"They had come down ... and a day or two prior a friend had left a car in street overnight without a problem so my friend said, 'Leave it,'?" he said.

Seeing the ticket in the morning before he left for work, Militzer recalled being frustrated.

"I thought they were gaming me, collecting fines without giving people a fair chance to avoid it. If the sign had been there, I knew what the law was. I would take my lumps and move on," he said.

Militzer said he thought about fighting the ticket, then realized it would be more costly to take time off work than to pay the $10 fine. The decision was spur of the moment.

"It didn't solve anything. It let them know I felt they were being unfair. I paid it and forgot about it," he said.

On Wednesday, Militzer will appear before the court with attorney Elsa Shartsis of the American Civil Liberties Union, who said Militzer's speech is protected by the First Amendment.

"He has a right to express his opinion in this case, a legal process in which he is a party," Shartsis said. "His choice of words may not be the best, and it may offend some people, but it is not illegal."

Mike Zychowski, Berkley's court administrator, said a case like Militzer's is extremely rare.

Public Safety Director Richard Eshman said if Militzer had an issue with the ticket, he could have asked for a hearing on it.

"There's an avenue for protesting that kind of thing," Eshman said.

"That's a long-standing ordinance (no parking 2-6 a.m.). It's posted."

Judge William Sauer, who signed the motion, did not return a call seeking comment.