Two members of the Old Order Swartzentruber Amish movement were convicted in Kentucky yesterday for refusing to use safety triangles on their buggies, in violation of state law. The men argue that religious freedom rights protect them from this rule, but as other members of the group have recently found, Kentucky courts are ruling that the neutral law providing for the safety of all on the road applies to them as well.
Theirs are the latest in a series of Graves District Court cases in recent weeks that have already seen eight men serve jail time. The Amish men say state law violates their religious liberty by requiring them to post garish safety emblems in violation of their strict modesty codes.Judge Deborah Hawkins Crooks found Levi Hostetler and Joe Stutzman guilty of the misdemeanor charges in bench trials.
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According to the court clerk’s office, both men refused to pay the fines Monday. Crooks gave them until Jan. 12 to comply or face jail.
More trials involving similar issues with the Swartzentruber group are scheduled to be heard during the next two months.
