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Proof and Defenses in Criminal Cases. Getting a Lawyer for your Criminal Case. The laws regarding cursing police officers or using profane language when addressing an officer vary greatly by state.
In some cases, cities or counties may have local ordinances that govern using profanity to address police officers. Therefore, if you encounter a police officer because of a drug crime , traffic stop, sex crime , or other matters, avoid using profane language. You do not want to add a disorderly conduct charge on top of any other criminal charges. However, First Amendment rights to freedom of speech must also be considered. Opinions from the Ohio Supreme Court have defined the type of statements to police officers that can be a crime under the disorderly conduct statutes.
No, cursing at a police officer is not always considered fighting words. The state court concluded that the juvenile was within his First Amendment rights when he cursed at the cops. 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. He was convicted and sentenced to three and a half to seven years in prison. And yet, some cities and counties still have laws on the books outlawing cursing in public, including at the police. In Fairfax County, an incident involved a journalist who, while covering a political rally, was confronted by an officer who told him to get on the sidewalk.
Ultimately, the journalist was charged with disorderly conduct and avoiding arrest — not with swearing. Police will sometimes charge citizens with disorderly conduct when the real conduct at issue was exercising free speech. This is why having video or witnesses of encounters with police can be so valuable.
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