PORTLAND — The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled a woman who refused to get off of her cellphone despite a Portland police officer’s order was correct when she told the officer she did not have to hang up.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the Appeals Court ruled Wednesday that Michelle Renee Bennett was not breaking the law by holding her cellphone to her ear while talking and driving because of an exemption that allows farmers or people engaged in agricultural business to use their hand-held cellphones while on the road.
Bennett works for Sweet Briar Farms in Eugene.
The encounter between Bennett and Officer McCageon Byrd unfolded in May 2014. According to a citation written by Byrd, Byrd pulled alongside Bennett and told her through Bennett’s unrolled window to put the phone down.
