[michaelmrose]

You would do well to read the other cases concerning offensive speech that have passed over the near 80 years since that case. Fighting words now requires qualifications like

"produce a clear and present danger of a serious intolerable evil" and “imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”

In subsequent cases even literally burning a cross on your lawn wasn't deemed "fighting words"

The doctrine is very nearly hallow. So hallow that should I yell in your face I'm going to get you alignItems! I shall have to add right now with the candlestick so it should qualify!

https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/959/fighting-wo...

[thakoppno]

I’ve been thinking a lot about this issue lately and can’t really figure out what the legal standard is. Has anyone in the US recently been convicted of a crime that is purely speech?

[michaelmrose]

Me less than 10 years ago. Police harassed and stalked me walking miles home from my job at Walmart in the early morning hours dressed in khakis and a dress shirt looking like an obvious member of the criminal element. I was stopped repeatedly each time made to wait while they "run my ID" to discover that I still don't have a warrant out.

On the last occasion where this happened after they brought back my ID I asked if I was good to leave. They said yes. As I walked away I said "fuck off then" from 20 ft away walking away at a normal pace. Arrested for I shit you not using a swear word on a public highway with the pretext for the stop being that they were "looking for someone who looked like me". When I didn't show up at home and they didn't let me call my wife my wife first called hospitals then organized a search fearing that I had gotten hit by a car and was dead in some ditch.

At trial I pointed out what the law is. Judge basically said he could do what he pleased but I could appeal if he didn't like it. I got the form for the appeal wherein it gave 3 lines I said "see attached" and stapled a substantial document describing why their statute which made it a crime to swear on the road and its application was unconstitutional.

They dropped it for lack of activity. I declared victory. Moved out of state over a year later. They basically chose to deny my appeal after I left despite the clear and obvious nature of the law. This is in a state that didn't require a judge to have a high school diploma as recently as the late 90s.

It's difficult to raise a legal issue when you can't afford to spend thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer or travel back and forth because your . In America there are no unalianable rights just however many rights are actually in your price range. This is exactly the moment when I realized I hate this country.

[thakoppno]

That’s infuriating. I don’t know what to tell you except I’m sorry that happened to you.