I Salute You Trooper Nassan
By Monte Kuligowski (02/08/05)
When is it unlawful for a motorist to salute a state trooper? There’s an interesting lawsuit brewing in the Quaker State that might answer the question. It involves a disgruntled motorist who says he had a constitutional right to give a middle-finger salute to the trooper who ticketed him.
Stephen Corey received a ticket for following another vehicle too closely on a Pennsylvania thoroughfare and, then, according to Trooper Samuel Nassan, Corey used “an improper hand signal while passing my patrol car, namely middle finger up.”
Corey filed suit in federal court alleging his First Amendment rights were violated. His lawyer, Joel Dresbold, boldly asserts that “it’s lawful under the Constitution to (give the middle finger), and you can’t give a ticket for doing that.” Corey claims the trooper was acting as though he (Corey) committed a motor vehicle violation, when in reality, the officer was trying to punish him for a gesture he’s entitled to use in public.
Protecting the right to express ideas in the public forum is certainly a noble cause, but in this case, we’re not talking about the free exchange of ideas. We’re talking about the crude venting of emotions and feelings.
Everyone knows what a raised middle finger stands for. Under “finger,” the American Heritage Dictionary includes the following: “An obscene gesture of defiance or derision made by pointing or jabbing the middle finger upward.” Mr. Corey wasn’t signaling for the trooper to have a nice day.
Using obscene language in public is already against the law. The trooper, in my view, simply wrote the alleged offender under the wrong code section.
Most states have laws criminalizing the use of certain language in public. In my state of Virginia we have a code (section 18.2-416) which says, in relevant part: “If any person shall, in the presence or hearing of another, curse or abuse such other person . . . or otherwise use such language, under circumstances reasonably calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, he shall be guilty of a class 3 misdemeanor.”
The question becomes whether the obscene gesture of defiance or derision equates to language that is meant to abuse the pointee or whether it would reasonably provoke a breach of the peace? “Well,” you might say, “that code section only criminalizes language.” My response is that flipping someone the bird does communicate a universal language. The same dictionary cited above defines “language” as, “Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols.” I added the italics in the quote to show that the gesture of pointing the middle finger upward does meet the definition of language. Now that that’s established, this particular language certainly seems to be abusive and would reasonably provoke a breach of the peace. In fact, this vulgar gesture is nothing less than fighting language, is it not?
We know that all “free speech” is not protected under the Constitution. One cannot yell, “Fire!” in a crowded theater. And fighting words certainly are not protected under the old document. What’s the difference between fighting words and fighting language?
That kind of language shouldn’t be used in public against anyone, much less against a state trooper.
A civilized society that actually cherishes freedom of speech must maintain at least a bare minimum of respect for authority. When Nassan is wearing his badge, his position as an officer of the law should be respected; and, if not respected, then at least a certain level of decency and congeniality shouldn’t be too much to ask for. Of course, it should work both ways; officers should be cordial as well. But in this case, I haven’t read anything to indicate that Nassan had used fighting language first. If that in fact is the case, then Corey should have apologized to Trooper Nassan, rather than have filed a lawsuit.
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