Pennsylvania residents and visitors now are free to express themselves with "profane or offensive words or gestures" to others and law-enforcement officers without getting a ticket, according to a legal settlement. The result was announced by the Pennsylvania office of the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued over a ticket issued to an upset woman who yelled "a--hole" at a motorcyclist who swerved at her.
"This will affect millions of Pennsylvanians for whom the state police provide the only law enforcement," said ACLU attorney Mary Roper. "Besides being a waste of police resources, these types of citations are often used by police to 'punish' people who argue with them."
But columnist Robert Knight, a senior fellow for the American Civil Rights Union and a senior writer for Coral Ridge Ministries, questioned whether the result really is an advance for society.
"Thanks to the ACLU of Pennsylvania, motorists in that state will be free to swear at and give the finger to police officers and other motorists, thus lowering public decency another notch," he wrote. "Meanwhile, the officers themselves will be forced to undergo 'training' on the 'right' to flip people off.
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"The outcome will alleviate the apparently ongoing shortage of rude public behavior in the Keystone State," he said.
The case stemmed from a ticket issued to Lona Scarpa. It was in 2008 when she and a friend were walking and a motorcyclist who knew them drove past and swerved close as if to hit them. The driver shouted an insult.
The ACLU said Scarpa responded by calling the motorcyclist an "a--hole." When she reported the incident to the Pennsylvania State Police, the trooper mailed the motorcyclist a ticket and also cited Scarpa for disorderly conduct with a penalty of as much as 90 days in jail for her language.
A magistrate later dismissed the charge, and the lawsuit against the police agency followed.
Now, according to the settlement, "No later than 30 days after the execution of this agreement, defendants' employer, the Pennsylvania State Police, will notify each of its troopers through per capita postmaster notice to all members and also by Command Staff Advisory to supervisors that troopers may not issue citations for the use of profane or offensive words or gestures, whether those words or gestures are directed at law-enforcement personnel or at a member of the public. Counsel for the defendants shall provide plaintiff's counsel with written confirmation that this notice has been provided and date and means by which it was provided."
When Roper admitted such actions "may not be very smart," Knight agreed.
"No, it's not smart," he wrote. "The Bible offers this good advice: 'A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger' (Proverbs 15:1)."
He continued, "The idea that abusive speech or gestures would have constitutional protection would have been news to the founding father of the nation. George Washington, as a very young man, wrote this in his book 'Rules of Civility' at a time when people were put in public stocks for such behavior:
"'Use no reproachful language against anyone, neither curse nor revile.'
"That was rule No. 49. The very first rule was: 'Every action done in company ought to be done with some sign of respect to those that are present,'" Knight wrote.
The Pennsylvania legal settlement requires the state agency pay damages and legal fees of some $17,500 and: Provide "additional training to all troopers and cadets on the First Amendment rights of an individual to expression by profane language or gestures and that members of the public may not be cited solely for the use of profane words or gestures, even when directed at law- enforcement officers";
Develop a mandatory training update for new and continuing state law-enforcement officers;
Incorporate the agreement into academy and in-service training;
Revise training materials;
And have supervisors for two years review all citations.
The ACLU announcement said it's important that officers understand "you can't charge someone for sending a message just because it includes profanity."
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