Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Colorado

freedom of speech and press

I am a celebrity photojournalist working in Aspen Colorado. We have had many problems with the police saying that we are not allowed to defend ourselves with words when local people insult us. For example, a random citizen decided to call me a bitch when I was waiting for a celebrity to exit a store when I responded by calling her the ''c'' word. The police showed up and ran only my I.D. because they said me using that word could be construded as a terroristic threat. I, at no point, said that I was going to hurt or do anything to this person but called her the ''c'' word when she called me a bitch. A similar incident happend with another photogapher earlier in the week. Our first amendement rights seemed to be thrown out the window and we want to know how we can stand our ground. We are doing nothing more than photographing public figures and even that seems to be at stake. Any suggestions???


Asked on 12/22/07, 7:34 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Philip Rosmarin Rosmarin Law Firm

Re: freedom of speech and press

Stop using the "c" word, which besides being construed as fighting words in a public context -- which is not protected speech -- is kind of a bitchy thing to do.

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Answered on 12/28/07, 3:46 am


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