A Beaverton man's lawsuit against an Oregon board accused of unconstitutionally applying state law to the governing of engineering practices can proceed, despite the state's request for the court to accept its concession that it had violated the plaintiff's First Amendment rights, a judge has ruled.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman denied the state's motion to enter a judgement in the case based on the state's acknowledgement of wrongdoing against Mats Järlström, and its pledge not to regulate his behavior when he's not acting in a commercial or professional manner. The state also sent a $500 check to Järlström in August, reimbursing him for a state fine it had levied.
The judge found that the court, at this point, can't sufficiently determine whether the remedy offered is sufficient for Järlström, or whether the state law in question should be found unconstitutional as Järlström argues in his lawsuit.
Document: Judge's ruling
Järlström, backed by a lawyer from the national Institute for Justice, wants the court to take a broader look at the state law and its administrative rules and declare them unconstitutional. In the alternative, the state law should be restricted to only regulating engineering communications that are made as part of paid employment or a contractual agreement, he contends.
Järlström , who has a bachelors of science degree in engineering from Sweden, has repeatedly challenged Oregon's timing of yellow traffic lights as too short. He was investigated by the Oregon Board of Examiners for Engineering and Land Surveying for the "unlicensed practice of engineering,'' after he sent his traffic light calculations to the state board, and identified himself as an engineer to local media and the "60 Minutes'' TV news program, or in discussions with the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying. Järlstöm's interest stemmed from a red-light-running ticket that his wife received in 2013.
The state fined him $500 for violating a state law that governs who may call themselves an engineer, finding he wasn't an Oregon-registered professional engineer.
Järlström's lawsuit contends the state board has unconstitutionally regulated others in Oregon based on how they identified themselves in a voter's pamphlet, political advertisement, or in court testimony.
-- Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian