A crowd gathers, and Bodie continues to curse. Haulk arrests Bodie for disorderly conduct, but the reviewing court finds the arrest illegal because there wasn't evidence to suggest that Bodie intended to incite the crowd; he didn't interact with it, nor did it become agitated. Shepherd v. As these examples show, the line between protected and unprotected speech can be thin. Those who, knowing the First Amendment's protections, are tempted to antagonize police officers should think twice.
Not only may the speech actually violate the law a resisting arrest charge is among the possibilities , but an offended officer might misrepresent what the speaker said or find some technical violation to justify an arrest.
For example, an insulted officer might arrest a bar hopper for being drunk in public. If you've been arrested after a confrontation with a police officer, consult a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney.
That lawyer can advise you of the applicable law and your options. The information provided on this site is not legal advice, does not constitute a lawyer referral service, and no attorney-client or confidential relationship is or will be formed by use of the site. The attorney listings on this site are paid attorney advertising. In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service.
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Can I be arrested for yelling or swearing at a cop? Talk to a Lawyer Start here to find criminal defense lawyers near you. Practice Area Please select Zip Code. How it Works Briefly tell us about your case Provide your contact information Choose attorneys to contact you. Cursing at police, in and of itself, does not fall in the category of unprotected speech.
However, it depends on what is said. When cursing at the police contains threats, it is no longer protected speech. That may be construed as disorderly conduct or criminal threat.
The speaker may be arrested. Many times, these arrests are made on charges of disorderly conduct. Therefore, it is very handy for the defendant to have a recorded video account of what was said and what was done.
In the absence of a video, witnesses can help substantiate your side of the events. Flipping off a police officer , while considered rude, is protected speech. Ranting and raving expletives at police has been held to be protected speech.
In that case, the defendant, Richard Gonzales, ranted and raved at the police. Police searched him as a result. They found a weapon. He was arrested for disorderly conduct and gun possession. The conviction was overturned. Fighting words are words that tend to incite immediate violence or breach of the peace. In some ways, this standard appears to be subjective.
In the landmark case, Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, U. However, in a contrasting case, Cohen v. California, U. This divergence of case law has led to wildly differing results in lower court case opinions. The court noted that while the boy's "words may have been disrespectful, discourteous, and annoying, they are nonetheless constitutionally protected.
So what is the legal standard for insulting and cursing at cops? The Marshall Project's Ken Armstrong explained:. The court's finding reaffirmed a principle with a long and geographically sweeping history in the United States, to wit: People are allowed to call the police names, even really bad names, and really, it's hard to imagine a name much worse than "motherfucker. There are exceptions to this, of course. But in general — as the examples below attest — as long as people don't resort to conduct that threatens violence, or use "fighting words" likely to incite a violent response, they can go ahead and tell police what they think of them, be it through profanity, gesture, or donut reference.
Armstrong walked through several examples of cases at state and federal courts involving words like "asshole" and "czar" and gestures like the middle finger. In each case, courts sided with the person disparaging the cops as long as the insult didn't threaten violence or wasn't inherently likely to incite violence in a reasonable person.
People should, of course, be respectful to each other and not throw unnecessary insults and demeaning gestures at police officers. But if they do break the Golden Rule, courts have decided that cops shouldn't arrest them for it.
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