Legal Commentary

Foul Language and Rude Gestures Lead to Pittsburgh Citations

By TChris

You'd better watch your mouth and control your middle finger if you travel to Pittsburgh.

City police wrote nearly 200 disorderly conduct citations over a 32-month period for swearing, obscene gestures and other acts deemed disrespectful, a number that a civil rights group said was unacceptable and showed a lack of officer training.

Free expression is sometimes rude. That's the price of freedom.

"Nobody likes to get sworn at, but you can't make it a crime," said Witold Walczak, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Foundation of Pennsylvania.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on September 03, 2008 (boomark / email).