BANGOR, Maine - A Greene man has sued two Maine game wardens alleging that they violated his First Amendment right to free speech when they issued him a summons last year for making a rude gesture.
Thomas Dube last month filed the lawsuit against Wardens Michael Boyer and Ronald Dunham in Piscataquis County Superior Court. Last week, the Maine Attorney General’s Office moved the case to U.S. District Court in Bangor because it concerns federal constitutional issues.
Assistant Attorney General William Fisher in his answer to the complaint filed Thursday denied that the wardens violated Dube’s right to free speech. He also said Dube’s own conduct had caused the injuries for which he was seeking remedy.
Fisher, in answering the complaint, said that "a reasonable official in the [wardens’] position could have believed that their conduct toward [Dube] was lawful."
Dube, who is acting as his own attorney, claimed in his complaint that he was falsely summoned and the victim of malicious prosecution and negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He said he was lawfully operating his snowmobile on a trail in Piscataquis County on March 10, 2007, when Dunham "suddenly and without warning sprang out from a concealed location into the path of [Dube’s] oncoming snowmobile and gestured for [him] to stop."
After avoiding what Dube claimed was a "near collision," he stopped his snowmobile on the side of the trail. Dunham then allegedly ordered him to proceed down the trail. Dube said in his complaint that he was so "distraught, anxious and otherwise unsettled" by the way Dunham allegedly pulled out in front of him that he had to stop his snowmobile again to calm his nerves.
At that point, Dube expressed his discontent with Dunham’s earlier travel behavior by displaying his middle finger at the warden. Dunham, Boyer and two unidentified wardens allegedly surrounded Dube and turned off his snowmobile.
Boyer issued Dube a citation for disorderly conduct, a Class E crime that carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, for making the gesture. Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy declined to prosecute the case and dropped the charges.
Dube is seeking a declaratory judgment that the wardens’ actions were unconstitutional, along with compensatory and punitive damages. He said in the complaint that he suffered physical pain, emotional trauma, humiliation and distress as a result of the wardens’ action.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS
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