法律英语:104 Flipping the Bird
时间:2018-12-30 作者:英语课 分类:法律英语 Legal Lad
Hello, and welcome to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful 1 Life. I’m your host, Adam Freedman.
But first, your daily dose of legalese: This podcast does not create an attorney-client relationship with any listener. In other words, although I am a lawyer, I’m not your lawyer. In fact, we barely know each other. If you need personalized legal advice, contact an attorney in your community.
Today’s episode: Flipping 2 the bird – free speech or not?
Tim has sent me an urgent email from … actually, Tim won’t tell me where he’s from, but here’s what he says:
“I was thinking of selling some T-shirts to express our feelings on a ruling by a certain city council. It’s all in fun but I sure don't wan’t to be sued!! Can you give me an idea of what I might expect?”
Attached to the email is a picture of the T-shirt in question – it says, “Hey, Exampletown City Council,” and below that, has a picture of a fist with the middle finger extended upward.
Now, I’m assuming that Exampletown is a pseudonym 3 – like Anytown, USA – meant to protect Tim’s identity. But if it’s a real place can you let me know where that is? Is it close to Sampleville or maybe Paradigm 4 City?
Tim, the quick answer is that messages on T-shirts are entitled to First Amendment 5 protections. That means people generally cannot be arrested simply for wearing your T-shirts in public, unless the circumstances suggest that the shirt’s message constitutes “obscenity” or a provocation 6 to violence.
The First Amendment to the Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law … abridging 7 the freedom of speech.” This noble phrase raises the question of what constitutes “speech?”
Speech Need Not be Spoken
Over the years, courts have interpreted the word “speech” in the Constitution very broadly indeed. Speech encompasses 8 not only spoken and written words, but also non-verbal behavior. The Supreme 9 Court has even held that dancing is “speech” within the meaning of the First Amendment (intended, in the words of the Court, to convey a message of “eroticism”). But there are limits – courts have rejected arguments that smoking cigarettes, riding motorcycles, and wearing baggy 10 trousers are protected by the First Amendment. And yes, all of those arguments were seriously made in federal court.
Extra Protection for “Political Speech”
The good news for Tim is that “political speech” usually gets a heightened level of protection under the First Amendment. In New York Times v Sullivan, the Supreme Court observed that protection of political speech – and in particular, the ability to criticize public officials – is at the core of the First Amendment. And political speech clearly includes non-verbal gestures. In the landmark 11 case of Tinker v. Des Moines, the Supreme Court held that students had a First Amendment right to wear black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.
And so, assuming that Tim’s shirts reflect a genuine political message to the powers-that-be in, er, Exampletown, they would clearly be protected by the First Amendment. The major exceptions to this protection are obscenity and a doctrine 12 known as “fighting words.”
The Obscenity Exception
The government does have greater latitude 13 to suppress “obscene” speech, but what’s “obscene.” Personally, I can’t define it, but I know it when I see it. Under current Supreme Court precedent 14, the word “obscene” refers to material that appeals to the prurient 15 interest, depicts 16 or describes sexual conduct in a way that is patently offensive, and lacks serious literary, artistic 17, or scientific value.[1]
Political speech is usually not considered obscene. In Cohen v. California, another Vietnam era case, a young man named Paul Cohen was arrested for wearing inside a courthouse a jacket on which he had written “F- the draft” (except that he spelled out the entire F-word). In overturning Cohen’s conviction, the Supreme Court stated that “It cannot plausibly 18 be maintained” that the words on his jacket convey any erotic message that would meet the definition of “obscenity.”
Them’s Fightin’ Words
Under the doctrine of “fighting words” a person may be arrested for a “breach of the peace” if his or her words are spoken directly to a person and are likely to provoke violent retaliation 19. Whether the one-fingered salute 20 can constitute “fighting words” has been the subject of various court cases. Unfortunately, the results haven’t been consistent. In 2000, a federal court in Arkansas held that flipping the bird to a police officer was protected speech and did not constitute “fighting words.”[2] However, on January 13, 2009, a federal court in Maine held that the First Amendment did not protect a man who was arrested for “disorderly conduct” for making the same gesture toward two game wardens 21.[3]
Neither of these cases, however, involved a mere 22 picture of an extended middle finger. Whether Tim’s T-shirts are sufficiently 23 inflammatory to drive men to violence would depend upon the situation on the mean streets of Exampletown.
School for Scandal
The State may be able to impose limitations on expression in certain other limited contexts. Under the Tinker v. Des Moines case I mentioned a minute ago, school officials could prohibit, say, the wearing of a provocative 24 T-shirt if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the shirt would “substantially and materially disrupt the educational process.”
Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful Life.
You can send questions and comments to.........or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.
Finally, do you want to get Legal Lad and other great shows from Quick and Dirty Tips streamed to your iPhone? If so, download Stitcher free today at stitcher.com.
- It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
- We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。
- Eric Blair wrote under the pseudonym of George Orwell.埃里克·布莱尔用乔治·奧威尔这个笔名写作。
- Both plays were published under the pseudonym of Philip Dayre.两个剧本都是以菲利普·戴尔的笔名出版的。
- He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
- Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外,本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。
- The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
- The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。
- He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation.他是火爆性子,一点就着。
- They did not react to this provocation.他们对这一挑衅未作反应。
- He's currently abridging his book. 他正在对他的书进行删节。
- First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech." (美国宪法)第一修正案规定议会不应该通过减损(公民)言论自由的法律。
- The job encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. 这项工作涉及的职责范围很广。
- Its conservation law encompasses both its magnitude and its direction. 它的守恒定律包括大小和方向两方面。 来自辞典例句
- It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
- He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
- My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
- Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦,而不是无礼。
- The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
- The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。
- He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
- The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。
- The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
- The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。
- Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗?
- This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。
- She showed a prurient interest in the details of the rape case.她对那强奸案的细节津津乐道。
- We read the gossip written about them with prurient interest.我们翻看他们的八卦时带着不洁的想法。
- The book vividly depicts French society of the 1930s. 这本书生动地描绘了20 世纪30 年代的法国社会。
- He depicts the sordid and vulgar sides of life exclusively. 他只描写人生肮脏和庸俗的一面。
- The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
- These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。
- The case was presented very plausibly. 案情的申述似很可信。
- He argued very plausibly for its acceptance. 他为使之认可辩解得头头是道。
- retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
- He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
- The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。
- Air raid wardens in tin hats self-importantly stalked the streets. 空袭民防队员戴着钢盔神气活现地走在街上昂首阔步。 来自辞典例句
- The game wardens tranquillized the rhinoceros with a drugged dart. 猎物保护区管理员用麻醉射器让犀牛静了下来。 来自辞典例句
- That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
- It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
- It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
- The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。
- She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
- His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。