Jefferson County v. Boor

The ACLU of Colorado will provide free criminal defense services to Shane Boor, a 35-year-old Colorado man with no criminal record who faces criminal prosecution and a jail sentence for displaying his middle finger to an officer of the Colorado State Patrol.

In April, Mr. Boor was driving to a work site in Jefferson County when he saw a state trooper pull over a car. As he passed by, Mr. Boor extended his middle finger in the trooper’s direction, a gesture that quietly expressed Mr. Boor’s disapproval of what he regarded as unjustified harassment by members of the trooper’s profession.

Soon after Mr. Boor arrived at his work site, another trooper arrived and questioned Boor about the hand gesture. Boor then received a criminal summons ordering him to appear in Jefferson County Court to answer a criminal charge of “harassment.” The charge carries a possible penalty of six months in jail.