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Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Street Preacher For Disorderly Conduct

By Howard M. Friedman

In Commonwealth v. Marcavage, (MA App., Dec. 23, 2009), a Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld the conviction of a street evangelist who was arrested on Halloween night, 2007, in the city of Salem and charged with disorderly conduct under M.G.L., Ch. 272, S.53. Michael Marcavage, director of a proselytizing group, visits Salem every Halloween to preach to the crowds that gather there to celebrate. Many in the crowd complained about Marcavage waving a Bible too close to them. Eventually a police officer ordered Marcavage to stop using a megaphone. He resisted confiscation of the megaphone, argued, and then went limp. He fell into a fountain, bringing police officers to the ground with him. He was then arrested. The court affirmed his conviction, finding that his conduct amounted to "tumultuous behavior". It said: "we find nothing in the record to support the inference that the decision to curtail the defendant's use of the megaphone was in any way connected with the content of his speech."

Full post as published by Religion Clause on December 25, 2009 (boomark / email).