There's an old saying, "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." It's something that everyone should really live by and means if you know something is stupid, illegal, or wrong and you do it anyway, you shouldn't be surprised when it comes back to bite you in the ass. Nor should you really be upset that the bite actually hurts.
It's why I don't get mad at anyone but myself when I hurt myself doing something no nearly 40-year-old should be doing, i.e. jumping a kicker in my backyard down into the gulley below. God, my wrist hurts...
But, apparently, social media influencer David Lesh doesn't think that the age-old adage should apply to him after he was caught riding his snowmobile in a restricted area of Keystone Resort, which partially sits on US Forestry land, and performing "unauthorized work activity" on the land. In both cases, Lesh was convicted in a bench trial and had fines and citations issued though the latter "unauthorized work activity" charge was later overturned.
However, Lesh doesn't believe he should face any consequences of his actions and is appealing to the United States Supreme Court because he believes his constitutional rights were infringed upon due to it being a bench trial and not a trial by his peers, i.e. a jury trial.
Bro.
According to the case summary on New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), not to be confused with the American Civil Liberties Union, which is working with Lesh on the case, the influencer was on a closed section of the Keystone Resort, which was closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and was performing unauthorized work in the area which he did not have authorization for. Accordingly, "Mr. Lesh was sentenced to six months’ probation, 160 hours of community service, and a $10,000 fine," for his actions.
However, "Mr. Lesh seeks to overturn the snowmobiling-outside-designated-routes conviction by showing that prosecutors failed to show that the Forest Service ever designated where snowmobiling was and was not permitted. His conviction for unauthorized work directly violated his First Amendment free speech right, and it was upheld on the tortured theory that posting the photos meant he was performing commercial activity without proper authorization. He was effectively punished for posting photos on his personal Instagram, which is protected speech."
Not only that but because each of his violations only carries a potential maximum prison sentence of six months or less, they could be decided by a bench trial, i.e. no jury is needed, only a judge. The NCLA and Lesh argue that this constitutes an infringement on Lesh's Sixth Amendment rights.
It's worth noting that Lesh was also charged with second degree assault by strangulation and third degree assault after apparently strangulating another snowmobiler he came into conflict with.
I won't comment on the legality of using public lands to engage in business, because that's where I think Lesh actually has a leg to stand on, but if you knowingly go somewhere you're not supposed to and then post you going there on social media, buddy, you're asking for it. I don't know, don't film and publicly post your crimes? Doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
