JohnH wrote:


I love it. Of course, the punishment will be thrown out by some activist
judge up the line who considers fake 'Mayday' calls a legitimate form of
expression.

The judge who sentenced this punishment has his head screwed on properly.
--
'Til next time,


That's just plain silly.
Even out here in blue America we don't have judges that sanction
fraudulent emergency calls. I suspect you probably knew that. Pointing
out the shortcomings of the government policies and/or elected
officials on the local, regional, or national level is a legitimate and
useful form of expression worthy of protection and guaranteed by the
Constitution. (even if currently restricted and discouraged). Sending
the police department, fire department, or Coast Guard on a wild goose
chase that costs the taxpayers a lot of money and (worse) ties up
resources that could be required to respond to a genuine emergency is
not.

99% of Americans and certainly 99.9% of judges will agree that freedom
of speech doesn't allow you to holler "Fire!" in a theater, (unless
there's really a fire in the theater).

I think this case reflects the result of lax parental supervision, a
sense of entitlement or being above the law- maybe even a feeling that
"If I own this GD radio I can use it anyway I want to..."

Not only should the kids be required to pay back the full cost of this
search, but they should *not* be allowed to accept money to pay the
fines from possibly wealthy parents.
If I were the judge, I'd put them to work doing every dirty job that
needed doing around the Coast Guard station and credit their time, at
minimum wage, toward the fine.