Judge: Police Can't Order Gay Man To Leave Rest Area
Associated Press, October 29, 1999
BOSTON (AP) – A Middlesex Superior Court judge Friday issued an
order forbidding the state police from forcing a gay man to leave a public rest area along
Route 6, as long as he isn't breaking the law.
The man, a Cape Cod resident identified only as John Doe, was allegedly asked to leave
the rest area four separate times by Trooper Shawn Walsh.
The trooper acknowledged he asked Doe to leave on two occasions, according to Doe's
attorneys from the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. They said he wasn't doing
anything illegal either time.
Doe filed suit in August, alleging the state police were motivated by anti-gay
stereotypes.
Rest areas are rumored to be meeting grounds for homosexuals who wish to engage in sex,
said John Ward, a lawyer for Doe.
''It is without dispute that Doe is entitled to use public roads and rest areas without
having to fear harassment by police,'' said Judge Wendie Gershengorn in her opinion.
''Doe's actions, even as described by Walsh, were clearly legal.''
A trial is scheduled for January.
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