In
Gingerich v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, (KY Ct. App., June 3, 2011), the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of nine members of the Old Order Swartzentruber Amish sect for violating
KRS 189.820 that requires slow-moving vehicles (such as Amish horse-drawn buggies) to display a fluorescent yellow-orange triangle with a dark red reflective border. Appellants argued that the statute infringed their free exercise of religion, free speech and that the statute was selectively enforced against them. The court rejected arguments by the Amish that the court should use a "strict scrutiny" test in determining whether the statute violated their religious freedom as protected by the Kentucky constitution. The court said that the statute:
does not infringe upon Appellants’ right to exercise their religion by restricting their religious worship rituals or enforcing compulsory conduct to which they are conscientiously opposed. Instead, the statute serves as a condition to utilizing a certain privilege: the use of state roads.
The court went on to observe:
Assuming arguendo that strict scrutiny is the appropriate analysis in this case, KRS 189.820 would still pass constitutional muster. Clearly, the compelling reason of the government is to promote highway safety for everyone who uses the roads. The argument that the Commonwealth failed to show such an interest is unreasonable.
Finally, the court rejected appellants' selective enforcement argument. The
Louisville Courier Journal reports on the decision. (See
prior related posting.)
