Hello Tarah,
Under the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, which is applicable statewide,
"disorderly conduct" is a third degree misdemeanor criminal offense:
"PENNSYLVANIA CRIMES CODE ---
Section 5503. Disorderly Conduct.
(a) Offense defined. - A person is guilty of disorderly conduct if,
with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or
recklessly creating a risk thereof, he:
1. engages in fighting or threatening, or in violent or tumultuous
behavior;
2. makes unreasonable noise;
3. uses obscene language, or makes an obscene gesture; or
4. creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act
which
serves no legitimate purpose of the actor."
(Definitions for "public place" can be found further down on the page)
Disorderly Conduct
http://www.twpusc.org/polmain/laws_ord/crm_code/dis_cond.html
Tread carefully. Your neighbor might have offended you, but
attempting to have him arrested for swearing could lead to further
unpleasantness:
"Police routinely misinterpret Pennsylvania’s disorderly conduct
statute, which makes it a crime to use “obscene language.” But while
the courts have been nearly unanimous that this provision applies only
to sexually obscene speech, and that police cannot arrest people for
swearing, far too many police departments allow their officers to
punish people for simple profanity, he said."
ACLU Files Two Free-Speech Lawsuits Against Police
For Arresting People Who Used “Naughty Language”
http://www.aclu.org/news/2002/n070202a.html
Hope this helps!
--Missy |
