An attorney in south-central Idaho says he will ask a judge to dismiss a flag-mutilation charge filed against a former Minico High School teacher.
“This was clearly an act of free expression,” Keith Roark told the South Idaho Press newspaper. “A political opinion was being expressed. And everybody knows that. I think the school handled this very badly.”
Roark said the Idaho statute that bans flag desecration is “clearly unconstitutional” and the court has no place injecting itself into a racial controversy at the high school.
The educator accused of stomping on a U.S. flag after a Cinco de Mayo incident has been charged with mutilating the flag under a law passed in 1981 by the Idaho Legislature.
Dan Luker was charged late last month in 5th District Court with one count of “public mutilation of the flag,” a misdemeanor punishable with up to 180 days in jail and a fine of $1,000. Luker pleaded not guilty May 23. A pretrial hearing is planned for July 2. The charges stem from an incident on May 5 at Minico High School, where Luker was employed as an English as a second language teacher. He has since resigned.
Luker’s attorney has told the Minidoka County prosecutor’s office that a motion to dismiss will be filed ahead of that date, said Melissa Aston, a deputy prosecuting attorney. She said when that happens, a hearing will be set before July 2.
The U.S. Supreme Court has previously struck down laws forbidding flag desecration.
