Hi, that is an interesting question and I believe it should be
answered in two ways.
Of course, in the strict grammatical sense, you ?can? do almost
anything, but that?s not what you wanted to know.
First, I pose the question, ??Should? you do this?? The answer is,
definitely not for several reasons.
Showing a bad attitude when dealing with even the most polite and
well-trained police personnel can cause them to become suspicious of
what you might have been doing, what you are hiding, and, since
verbally abusing someone who carries handcuffs, a night stick, mace,
and a gun, isn?t a sign of good judgment, whether you may be under the
influence of something. Such actions might well be construed as
probable cause for searching you, your vehicle, or the premises, as
well as possibly detaining you for your own protection.
Of course, meeting up with one of the thankfully rare ?bad? cops and
cursing him or her could lead to a very bad day indeed ? who among us
would really enjoy being hauled into jail in handcuffs, strip
searched, and tossed into a cell overnight with some bad guys? Being
let out with an apology from the police chief the next morning
probably won?t make up for the experience and suing the department or
the municipality could be a very expensive proposition, especially if
you weren?t physically injured.
When deciding whether you ?should? curse a cop, I think you should
first consider the possible consequences very carefully.
Now, on to your actual question, ?Can? I curse police? (I presume this
means, ?Do I have the legal right to curse police??), and, ?where is
the line drawn??
Legally speaking, it probably depends a lot on the precise
circumstances and local laws. If you are in a dangerous or suspicious
circumstance and have been asked or told to ?move along? or something
similar, then the mere act of cursing may be construed as failing to
obey the lawful command of a police officer and this would make you
subject to arrest.
Turning to the First Amendment portion of your question ? Yes, in most
instances you do have a constitutional right to use offensive language
under the free speech provision, but you must weigh the possible
consequences of any action. You probably know the famous quote by
Justice Holmes about not having the right to shout ?fire? in a crowded
theatre. It makes a lot of common sense but is paraphrased. According
to a brief analysis of free speech issues by Associate Law Professor
Garrett Epps of the University of Oregon School of Law,
http://www.law.uoregon.edu/faculty/gepps/flag.php, the actual quote
was, "the most stringent protection of freedom of speech would not
protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a
panic." Professor Epps goes on to say, ?Certainly the government can
caution or even punish those who deliberately spread false rumors or
reveal confidential information.? The law being what it is, a
real-hard nosed judge could decide that your curse, depending on
exactly what it was, could have revealed ?confidential? information
about the officer he or she didn?t want known.
But the real point is that cursing a cop during a riot, during an
arrest, or some similar situation could be construed as resisting
arrest, inciting a riot, or simply disturbing the peace.
The line is always moving and is drawn by the particular officer at
the moment. Most prudent people would suggest that you try to keep
well to the safe side of a line that, after all, can shift from second
to second depending on a number of circumstances.
Other thoughts
In the law there are several things you must consider. The local laws
change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and laws are always open to
interpretation, both those of the police officer involved and those of
judges who set precedents by making judicial rulings. Therefore, there
is no simple answer to your question other than, ?it depends?.
You may find a report, ?Cop-cursing defendant loses free-speech
argument before Ohio appeals court,? interesting reading because it
directly addresses your question.
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=10326
A man was arrested under a Hamilton, Ohio, city ordinance that made it
a crime to "verbally abuse or make derogatory remarks" to a police
officer. Mr. Johnson was convicted and appealed based on First
Amendment ?protected speech? arguments. In City of Hamilton v.
Johnson, the Ohio appeals court criticized the ordinance as being too
broad but upheld the conviction as applying to fighting words.
The U.S. Supreme Court in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) said that
?fighting words,? statements which tend to incite an average person to
violence, are not protected by the First Amendment. (That doesn?t mean
that the person so incited is immune from prosecution for assault.)
The ACLU is deeply concerned with these questions and there is an
interesting letter posted at
http://www.aclu-co.org/news/letters/letter_kramer.htm. This was
written by the ACLU to a police chief in 1998 and concerned ?Section
21-9-412 of the Colorado Springs Municipal Code, which is titled
"Offensive Language,?? and a number of arrests for cursing in a public
park.
The letter contains a number of interesting comments and citations but
the most relevant to your question is:
?Even when profanity is directed against a police officer, it is
constitutionally protected. For example, in Lewis v. City of New
Orleans, 415 U.S. 130 (1974), the Supreme Court considered a New
Orleans ordinance that made it a crime "for any person wantonly to
curse or revile or to use obscene or opprobrious language toward or
with reference to any member of the city police while in the actual
performance of his duty." Id. at 132. The Court held that the
ordinance was unconstitutionally overbroad because its prohibitions
were not limited to what have been called "fighting words," which are
words that "by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite
an immediate breach of the peace." Id. at 133; see also Gooding v.
Wilson, 405 U.S. 518 (1972) (invalidating statute banning "opprobrious
language").?
This letter and the Supreme Court decisions cited directly contradict
the finding by the Ohio Appeals Court as explained above. That isn?t
unusual in the law. The final decision about whether you have a
legally protected ?right? to curse the police in any particular
circumstance always lies with the U.S. Supreme Court. Even precedents
at that level aren?t an absolute assurance that your actions are
protected because decisions do get changed to meet new needs in
society. Hundreds of cases are submitted to the Supreme Court every
year and the justices only accept a few they feel are significant. In
effect, they do rule on all the submitted cases because the mere act
of not selecting one means that they are saying the lower court ruling
is correct.
To summarize, it probably is legal to curse the police but it probably
isn?t a good idea unless you have a lot of free time and extra money.
I hope this answers your question and provides you with enough links
to serious commentary on this important question.
I am not a lawyer and am not offering any legal advice in this reply.
You may find interesting further reading at:
www.firstamendmentcenter.org
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=13092
Google search terms: justice holmes don't shout fire in a crowded
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=justice+holmes+don%27t+shout+fire+in+a+crowded
curse police officer supreme court
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=curse+police+officer+supreme+court
Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U.S. 518 (1972)
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Gooding+v.+Wilson%2C+405+U.S.+518+%281972%29
Lewis v. City of New Orleans, 415 U.S. 130 (1974)
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=lang_en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=Lewis+v.+City+of+New+Orleans%2C+415+U.S.+130+%281974%29 |
