SD: High Court rules cursing at cop was free speech
We read:
"A man who cursed at police officers in Brookings, S.D., engaged in protected free speech, the state high court has ruled. The court voted 4-1 to reverse a lower court decision that had found Marcus Suhn used unprotected fighting words - defined by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 60 years ago as words `which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace.'
The majority, in an opinion written by Justice Judith Meierhenry, examined the origins and development of the `fighting words' doctrine articulated by the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1942 decision Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire... Meierhenry wrote that `the United States Supreme Court has made it clear that in order for speech to fall within the `fighting words' exception, the words by their very utterance have `to tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace' under the circumstances of the case.'
According to Meierhenry, Suhn's profanity about the police did not `tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace,' as the other people standing on Main Street did not react with any type of violence."
Source
9 comments:
Free speach or not, if I were a police officer I would look at this as a bad ruling.
Yep, your right to profanity is now protected. Feel free to use it while I taze you.
If I were the cop, I would tell him, ok, but you better always have your license, and up to date insurance. Never have a broken taillight or any other offence I can cite you for.
This punk would be my entire career. Every misstep he made, I would be there.
Or better yet, exercise HIS free speech rights and assail him with profanity! Off Duty of course!
If you think about it, the decision was based in part because no violence took place after the guy yelled.
The solution is when a guy like this yells at the cop, beat him up.
His words would have then incited violence and are not protected.
Simple.
Question:
Does the same hold true the other way around? (if the cop curses at the civilian) And why not?
"Question":
"Does the same hold true the other way around? (if the cop curses at the civilian)"
"And why not?"
Come on anon.
Police offers are professionals. They don't do things like that.
Could you honestly picture Officer Barney Fyfe swearing at Opie?
Point well taken grainnewale, but it was simply a legal question, one that should certainly be raised by an Officer if ever needed. If that's the law, then it must apply to all!
so police officers are professionals you never curse , lie, falsly accuse or physically or sexually assault a civilian? what planet do you live on? i had all of the above happen to me, by an "officer of the year" who would never do that so i must be the 'lying piece of white trash sh*t" that he called me infront of the judge. never mind the forged confession and signiture. it took all my savings and almost 5 years to clear my name of false charges and no damages awarded because according to the court there was no lasting damage! of course the 'professional officer' walk away with his job and reputation intact.
If the entire televised and print media can spend the last eight years calling the sitting president a Nazi, then I see no reason I couldn't call a cop a fascist asshat. Sorry, but the SCotUS was wrong in the original ruling on this one.
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