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Article: Oregon Supreme Court rules harassment statute violates state constitution
- Article from:
- Lawyers USA
- Article date:
- September 22, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 Lawyers USA. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A state law prohibiting abusive speech likely to provoke a
violent response violates free speech and expression rights granted
under the Oregon Constitution, the Oregon Supreme Court has ruled in
reversing a defendant's conviction. The defendant used an audio
speaker system in his truck to hurl a 5-minute barrage of insulting
language at two women while stuck in a traffic jam. It escalated
into a face-to-face verbal confrontation until the women left and
called the police.
The defendant was convicted of criminal harassment under a state
law prohibiting "abusive words or gestures" that "publicly insult"
another in a way "intended and likely to provoke a violent
response." But a conviction ...