Should We Be Allowed to Swear at Cities?

  |  June 18, 2013
photo by jsmjr from Flickr/used via Creative Commons licensing

photo by jsmjr from Flickr/used via Creative Commons licensing

The ACLU says yes. They’re representing a Connecticut man, Willian Barboza, who got a speeding ticket in Sullivan County and defaced it with expletives when he paid his fine. Well, not just expletives. “He pleaded guilty by mail, and when he paid his fine expressed his frustration by scratching out ‘Liberty’ and replacing it with ‘Tyranny,” the ACLU reports. And then he wrote “f*%k your sh#@ty town bitches” on the payment form–without the cute characters in the words, of course. We’re just being polite.

The result: “A judge berated Barboza about his language, and he was handcuffed and arrested for violating the state ‘aggravated harassment’ statute. He was booked, fingerprinted, handcuffed to a bench and forced to pay $200 bail.”

Later, another judge dismissed the charges, but Barboza, not content with the vulgar ticket writing or the repeal of his booking, has filed suit. All he did was express his frustration, he says. And then he got arrested.

Well, there’s plenty of speech that’s not protected — threats, jokes about terrorism in the airport. Should we, when being ticketed in Sullivan County, reserve the right to swear? Or did they do right by charging him?

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