U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III issued an 18-page decision July 19 stating the troopers -- Patrick V. Fetterman, Sgt. John Rigney and Cpl. Gregg Riek -- violated Robinson's rights, and he awarded Robinson $35,000 in compensation and $6,000 in punitive damages.

The troopers, all stationed at Troop J in Lancaster, also were ordered to pay Robinson's legal fees, which exceed $70,000. Attempts to reach the troopers Tuesday were unsuccessful.

"I wanted the state police to bite the bullet and admit they were wrong," Robinson said. "This whole ordeal came down to the fact that the state police didn't want to be challenged.

"It's a don't-mess-with-me-because-I-have-a-badge attitude."

State police have filed for a reduction in the $35,000 Bartle awarded Robinson. They also are seeking to reduce the legal bill submitted by West Chester attorney J. Michael Considine Jr., who represented Robinson.

The troopers charged Robinson with harassment after the incident on Oct. 23, 2002, on Route 41 in West Fallowfield Township, Chester County. The site is about a mile from the Lancaster County line. Robinson had refused to stop videotaping the troopers while they performed truck safety inspections.

The 44-year-old said he decided to take his video camera to the inspection area after his wife told him she nearly had an accident while trying to maneuver through the road, which was congested with stopped tractor-trailers.

Robinson drove from his home to the scene, where he videotaped the troopers as he stood in an open field about 30 feet away from them. He said he planned to show the recording to state Rep. Arthur D. Hershey.

"I felt the troopers should've had signs posted along the road and worn safety vests," Robinson said. "I'm not trying to stop safety inspections, but you don't create a problem to solve a problem."

After a few minutes of recording, Riek approached Robinson, asked him for identification and asked whether he had permission to be in the field.

Fetterman and Rigney later told Robinson to stop taping, according to court documents. When Robinson refused, Rigney took the camera and Fetterman handcuffed him.

Robinson was kept in police custody for about three hours, and his video camera was confiscated. The camera was released the next day, and a harassment citation was issued three weeks later.

To justify the arrest, the troopers cited a 2000 harassment conviction against Robinson. In that case, as he did in 2002, Robinson videotaped troopers conducting truck safety inspections on Route 41.

A Chester County district justice in 2000 fined Robinson and ordered him not to videotape in that area again.

Robinson was found guilty again in 2002, but this time he appealed to Chester County Court, where a judge ruled in his favor.

Robinson then took his case to federal court to protest potential civil rights violations and recoup the money he had spent fighting his arrests and convictions.

Bartle determined the district justice's order that Robinson stay away from the area where he was arrested was wrong.

"Robinson believed the troopers were carrying out their duties in an unsafe manner and decided to make a record of it by filming them," Bartle writes in court papers. "The district justice had no legal justification to tell Robinson he could not be near the truck inspection site on Route 41 in the future."

The two sides met four times to negotiate a settlement. The state police offered $30,000, but Robinson opted for a bench trial.

During the two-day hearing, it was revealed that parts of the videotape had been erased, Considine said. "The tape was altered because there is a big gap in time," Considine said.

Bartle explained his decision with these words: "It is fundamental that persons such as Robinson may not be deprived of their constitutional rights simply because they are unpopular, disliked or resented by the police. The defendants must be punished and deterred from similar misconduct in the future."

After the appeal process is finished, an internal investigation into the troopers' actions could be conducted, said Trooper Linette Quinn, a state police spokeswoman in Harrisburg.

"It's not certain the troopers will be punished," Quinn said. "All this case proved is that troopers doing a public job can be videotaped."