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?
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.
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.