Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Litigation Blogs -> How Appealing

Litigation

: How Appealing

"Typo vigilantes answer to letter of the law; Crusaders whited-out, corrected historic Canyon sign"

"Typo vigilantes answer to letter of the law; Crusaders whited-out, corrected historic Canyon sign": Last Friday's edition of The Arizona Republic contained an article that begins, "Two self-anointed 'grammar vigilantes' who toured the nation removing typos from public signs have been banned from national parks after vandalizing a historic marker at the Grand Canyon. Jeff Michael Deck, 28, of Somerville, Mass., and Benjamin Douglas Herson, 28, of Virginia Beach, Va., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Flagstaff after damaging a rare, hand-painted sign in Grand Canyon National Park. They were sentenced to a year's probation, during which they cannot enter any national park, and were ordered to pay restitution. According to court records, Deck and Herson toured the United States from March to May, wiping out errors on government and private signs. On March 28, while at Desert View Watchtower on the South Rim, they used a white-out product and a permanent marker to deface a sign painted more than 60 years ago by artist Mary Colter. The sign, a National Historic Landmark, was considered unique and irreplaceable, according to Sandy Raynor, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix."

And in other coverage, The Associated Press reports that "Men banned from national parks after vandalism."

Back on March 28, 2008, The Boston Globe profiled the men and their mission in an article headlined "On the road looking for typos; Grammar-conscious pals set signs straight."

At least it's still lawful to photograph gramatically incorrect signs and mock them on blogs.

Full post as published by How Appealing on August 26, 2008 (boomark / email).