Monday, September 21, 2009



Are you allowed to be rude to a cop?

Yes:
"David Hackbart was mad, and he wanted to show it, but he didn't think he would end up in federal court protecting his right to a rude gesture and demanding that the city of Pittsburgh stop violating the First Amendment rights of its residents.

Hackbart, 34, was looking for a parking space on busy Murray Avenue in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood on April 10, 2006. Spotting one, he attempted to back into it, but the driver of the car behind him refused to back up and give him sufficient room. Hackbart responded in the classic way. "I stuck my hand out the window and gave him the finger to say 'Hey, jerk, thanks,' " says Hackbart. "That's all I was trying to say — 'Thanks, thanks a lot.' "

At that moment, a voice rang out telling Hackbart not to make the rude gesture in public. "So I was like, How dare that person tell me? They obviously didn't see what happened. Who are they to tell me what to say?" he says. "So I flipped that person off. And then I looked, and it was a city of Pittsburgh cop in his car right next to me."

That turned out to be police sergeant Brian Elledge, who happened to be passing in the other direction in his cruiser. Elledge whipped around and pulled Hackbart over, citing him under the state's disorderly-conduct law, which bans obscene language and gestures. And here's where the problem lies, says state American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) legal director Witold (Vic) Walczak: the middle finger and equivalent swear words are not legally obscene. In fact, courts have consistently ruled that foul language is a constitutionally protected form of expression. A famous 1971 Supreme Court case upheld the right of a young man to enter the Los Angeles County Court House wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words "F___ the Draft." (Read about how disorderly conduct is often a cop's call.)

"The law is clear that people have the constitutional right to use profanity, especially when it comes to government officials, because that is a form of political speech," Walczak says. "But despite that, we have police officers regularly misapplying the law to punish people who offend them — that's really what it comes down to."

U.S. District Judge David Cercone ruled in March that the citation, along with the $119.75 court costs imposed by a city court, was clearly unconstitutional.

Source

3 comments:

Malcolm said...

It is interesting to note that, although a person has a right to carry a sign (on a shirt) in a court saying "F- the draft", a major newspaper doesn't feel free to spell it out.
Another point is, even if he were to use a less offensive word expressing his opinion about the draft, does anyone have the right to use a court for the purposes of political campaigning? I would have thought there was a time and place for everything, including speaking your opinion, but Americans never seem to be able to get things into perspective.
That being said, it would appear that the actions of the motorist in question are at the low end of the "disorderly" gamut.

Anonymous said...

They may be attempting not to offend the sensibilities of their subscribers, rather than fear of the government. They might be worried about losing additional subscriptions (and that, no newspaper can afford now days).

Anonymous said...

Well said Malcolm. Actually, in a court room, you are only allowed to say that which the judge will allow you to say. Nothing more.