[Scanner] interesting Article

[Don]

* Court kicks New York ham's "police radio" case: A New York court has=20
dismissed a misdemeanor charge against ARRL member Richard C. "Dick"=20
Lalone, KC5GAX, for violating =A7397 of that state's Vehicle and Traffic=
 Law.=20
That section prohibits individuals other than law officers from equipping=20
their vehicles with radios "capable of receiving signals on the frequencies=
=20
allocated for police use" without first securing a permit. The section,=20
which also prohibits knowingly interfering with police transmissions,=20
contains an explicit exemption for "any person who holds a valid amateur=20
radio operator's license . . . and who operates a duly licensed portable=20
mobile transmitter and in connection therewith a receiver or receiving set=
=20
on frequencies exclusively allocated . . . to duly licensed radio amateurs."

In a nearly 1300-word decision, Judge John J. Hallet said it was clear the=
=20
legislature never intended the provisions of =A7397 from applying to=
 licensed=20
Amateur Radio operators, and he dismissed the charge August 5. Susan Terry,=
=20
KF4SUE, a former New York assistant attorney general, represented Lalone.=20
ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD,=20
and ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist John Hennessee, N1KB, provided=20
advice or assistance to Lalone.

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