Clare County settles case over funeral law

By Ed White Associated Press DETROIT (AP) -- A central Michigan county has agreed to pay $122,500 to settle a lawsuit by a couple pulled out of a soldier's funeral procession and arrested in 2007 because signs in their van criticized President George W. Bush, a lawyer said Saturday. The deal with Clare County comes two months after a federal judge said a key part of the Michigan law banning funeral protests was vague, broad and unconstitutional. Lewis and Jean Lowden were humiliated by their arrests in Harrison, 100 miles north of Lansing. They were close to the late soldier, Army Cpl. Todd Motley, who was killed in Iraq, and were invited to his funeral. Jean was his former teacher and Lewis, a decorated Army veteran, had fished and camped with the soldier. Sheriff's deputies pulled their van out of the procession after noticing anti-Bush signs in the windows inside the van. The signs didn't mention the military or Motley, but deputy Lawrence Kahsin said the van was "kind of suspicious in nature." The Lowdens spent 24 hours in jail. Charges eventually were dropped. Court records indicate that Clare County agreed to a deal last Monday, though no amount was listed. Dan Korobkin, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, declined to say how much of the $122,500 settlement would go for legal fees and expenses. Korobkin helped represent Lewis Lowden and the estate of Jean Lowden, who died in 2008. A message seeking comment from the county's attorney was not immediately returned Saturday. In September, U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington in Bay City said the Lowdens' First Amendment rights were violated along with the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure. "This lawsuit was never about money," Korobkin said Saturday. "Lewis brought this case to protect the First Amendment. What happened to Lewis and Jean demonstrates the danger of trying to craft special laws targeting unpopular groups or offensive speech. Eventually, those laws backfire and no one is free to express their views." Michigan's law was adopted in response to members of a Kansas-based group that regularly protests outside the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The anti-gay protesters celebrate the deaths as an example of God's wrath. Korobkin said the state, which defended the law's constitutionality during the litigation, already reached a separate $20,000 settlement in the lawsuit. Published: Tue, Nov 22, 2011