Contact
Subscribe


If They'd Violated His Second Amendment Rights, He'd Need New Underwear.

Aug 28, 2008
By .
Law, Sports

Bradford Campeau-Laurion had a problem at Yankee Stadium the other night.  He had to go to the bathroom.  The problem was, nature called during the seventh inning stretch, when the Yankees play "God Bless America."

Evidently that's against the law in New York City.

When he tried to leave his seat during the traditional singing of God Bless America, however, he says he was stopped by a NYPD officer who said he'd have to wait until the song was done.

"I then said to him, 'I don't care about God Bless America. I just need to use the bathroom.' As soon as I said that, he immediately pinned my arm behind my back," Campeau-Laurion told CBS 2.

The 29-year-old says two officers pinned both of his arms behind his back and ejected him from the stadium.

"He shoved me out the front gate and told me get out of their country if I didn't like it," he said.

There is a rule at Yankee Stadium that one doesn't leave one's seat during the singing of this song.  And the Yankees, as a private entity in possession of private property, have a right to enforce it I suppose.  But for the New York Police Department to appoint itself the Yankees' agent in enforcing this rule may cross the line into a violation of the First Amendment, I think, in that the police are requiring people like Bradford Campeau-Laurion to honor a patriotic, political song.  It would be like ejecting him for refusing to sing the national anthem, or for refusing to say the pledge of allegiance.  Especially when the police hadn't been asked, specifically, by the Yankees to eject Campeau-Laurion as a trespasser.

And it's not as though he didn't have a good reason, at a stadium that earns much of its revenue selling overpriced beer.

Campeau-Laurion is contemplating a suit against the NYPD (good luck establishing damages buddy), and it will be an interesting one.  A similar suit may prove even more interesting next season, when the Yankees move into their new stadium, which unlike the current one is being financed with the tax dollars of New York citizens like Bradford Campeau-Laurion.

Last 5 posts by Patrick

12 Comments
Tags

12 Comments

  1. KipEsquire  •  Aug 28, 2008 @1:18 pm

    "There is a rule at Yankee Stadium that one doesn’t leave one’s seat during the singing of this song. And the Yankees, as a private entity in possession of private property, have a right to enforce it I suppose."

    Not exactly. The remedy for breach of contract is not the tort of false imprisonment.

    Kick the guy out, revoke his season ticket, ban him for life. But don't pretend you can force him to stay in his seat. Even — especially — during a patriotic song.

    (Note: I am ignoring for our purposes the NYPD's version of the incident and taking the fan's account at face value.)

  2. Patrick  •  Aug 28, 2008 @1:31 pm

    I'm pretty sure we're saying the same thing Kip, but the perspective from which I approach this is whether the Yankees have the power to declare Campeau-Laurion a trespasser if he violates the license that's represented by his ticket, asking him to leave, and to use some level of reasonable force in ejecting him if he refuses to do so, analogous to the "shopkeeper's privilege". As my knowledge of New York law is mainly limited to insurance coverage, I don't actually know whether it's true that a property owner has a privilege to use force at all in ejecting a trespasser in New York. I simply assume so for the purpose of discussing the behavior of the police in this case, which seems out of bounds to me.

    And of course I also don't know whether Campeau-Laurion's allegations are true, but it becomes tiresome to preface every blog post with "assuming X is true," when one is merely commenting on the news.

  3. KipEsquire  •  Aug 28, 2008 @1:57 pm

    Yeah, we're saying the same thing. It was just that your post sorta kinda sounded like the Yankess could compel him to respect their rule, which they actually can't. They can only respond to his not respecting it.

    Cheers…

  4. Sheldon  •  Aug 28, 2008 @7:49 pm

    I hope you're all noticing the irony in this story. The idea behind singing "God Bless America" should be to respect the freedoms this country and its Constitution affords us. One of those freedoms is to take a leak when we damn well feel like it; those NYPD goons need to learn that they don't trump the Founding Fathers, and that Steinbrenner doesn't sign their paychecks.

  5. Mnemonic  •  Aug 29, 2008 @3:56 am

    Here in Europe we are laughing a lot about that notice. What the hell is doing a cop caring about that nonesense? It's only a song, no matters how beauty do you see your flag. There are things so much important to care about! Particular point of view of yankees (americans is not correct, america is the name of the whole continent, from alaska to Argentina) about the flag and politics in general is very funny, appears to be the time stopped for US people in XVIII century…
    Greetings from Spain.

  6. Patrick  •  Aug 29, 2008 @4:06 am

    Thanks for reminding me that I'd been meaning to watch Fawlty Towers again.

  7. Timmy Mac  •  Aug 30, 2008 @4:45 am

    Good point about damages. The Yankees suck so bad this year, not having to watch them play the last couple innings is actually a good thing.

  8. dmcg  •  Sep 2, 2008 @10:25 am

    @Mnemonic:
    Americans aren't trying to claim the whole continent by calling ourselves "Americans," though it sometimes seems like we are trying to take over the world. We call ourselves "Americans" because our official name is the "United States of America." That word is in our name, unlike Brazil or Canada, and it's a logical abbreviation.

    Go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico .
    You'll see that their official name is Estados Unidos Mexicanos
    (United Mexican States), yet they call themselves Mexicanos. Again, a logical abbreviation of their official name.

    It's merely a coincidence that the logical abbreviation of our name is also part of the name of the continent in which we reside.

    Finally, "Yankee" refers to the baseball team as well as a particular region of the USA, not the entire country or all its residents. I live in the western US and am not a Yankee. I'm just a regular Estadounidense.

  9. Dominick  •  Apr 16, 2009 @6:25 am

    Rights versus Respect- the two should go hand in hand! However, in America many Americans (so called Americans) hide behind the very flag they desecrate and certainly have little respect for the blessings bestowed on them.

    For this individual to have stood for two minutes in respect would not have created a major mental and physical health situation for himself or detered his political views- if anything I as an individual would be more prone to listening to views of someone who is respectful.

    Rights versus Respect- they should go hand in hand.

  10. Polo-Go  •  Apr 16, 2009 @11:50 am

    I disagree. The issue of Mr. Campeau-Laurion leaving his seat because of a personal need is, perhaps, at the core of points his suit seeks to address now that it is being pursued in court…

    If I read the CBS-TV story as reported, the person did express a need to go to the bathroom, however 'offensive' it came out of his mouth. In following that course, the officers in question violated his human right for an expressed biological need (which in this country we put a high 'value' upon, I hope), AND his freedom of speech when he expressed the need in however vulgar or disorderly fashion he chose to. Both of these elements have and are protected by our Constitution.

    More compelling, though, is the argument raised by KipEsquire and Patrick about the 'shopkeeper's privilege'. I wonder if it is announced prior to game start that no one may move out of their seats during the 7th inning, or if it is printed in the back of the ticket the spectators purchase. If these conditions are true, then I can see an argument in this case for the private owners to tend with the 'unruly spectator' as they see fit; he had advanced warning. I have seen similar cases here in Florida where private owners at shopping malls, for instance, can summon the local municipality to assist them in enforcing their property rights. This is a jarring prospect to realize in having to be versed to the latest local legislation changes just to go 'hang out' at the mall or shop there.

    Finally, @dmcg: We are 'Yanks' outside of our sovereignty!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yankee

    That is how we are known outside the US, and Europe in particular. From the Spaniards frame of mind, we do sound as arrogant in calling ourselves 'Americans' because from their political and social perspective, they do deal with legitimate 'Americans' outside of our borders in their daily exchanges. They are trying to be precise with their geography, hence we are considered, as you said, 'Estado-Unidenses'!

    Saludos

    PS- Great blog. Will keep an eye out for this site in the future

  11. Orioles Fan  •  Apr 16, 2009 @12:09 pm

    How can Brad be called a tresppaser when BOUGHT a ticket to attend the game? A trespasser is one who DID NOT buy a ticket but got into the ballgame anyway.

  12. Georgie  •  Apr 18, 2009 @6:35 pm

    America's favorite pastime: Tyranny!