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A Pennsylvania court loves assholes!
Back in 2004, Phillip T. Pongracz was participating in an anti-abortion protest outside of a clinic. He was arrested at one point, for allegedly walking the wrong way in a throughway outside of the clinic. So when he saw the clinic’s armed security guard sitting in her car about an hour later, Pongracz let off some steam by repeatedly calling her an “asshole.” He was then arrested and charged with harassment, and was ultimately convicted (his punishment was to do 100 hours of community service and to pay the prosecution costs).
However, Pongracz’s conviction has now been overturned, as a Pennsylvania court ruled that it violated his First Amendment rights. The court said that calling the guard an asshole three times in a 10-second period was “crude and childish,” and likely backed by an intent to harass the guard. However, he was also speaking with a purpose, to retaliate against what he saw as an injustice (his earlier arrest), which makes his speech constitutionally protected. Pongracz’s lawyer was obviously pleased with the result: “Finally, someone recognized the First Amendment. One wonders why anyone would spend any time prosecuting name-calling.”
