Legal Question in Constitutional Law in New Jersey
i was a passenger in a car that had got pulled over i was pulled out the car and searched the cop had me standing with my hands on my head for about ten minutes after i was searched and i asked him could i put my hands down he said no an i said oh your one of those dickheads i want to know if this is a disorderly conduct charge
1 Answer from Attorneys
Calling a cop a "dickhead" is NOT an offense. You are simply exercising your freedom of speech. The classic example of this is Ruthenbeck v. First Criminal Judicial Dist. Court of Bergen County, 147 A. 625 (N.J.Sup. 1929). In that case, a cop was directing traffic in an inept manner. The defendant and the cop got into an argument. The defendant came from Russia. The defendant said to the cop, "You big muttonhead. Do you think you are czar around here?" The court said that was not an offense. So here. There is nothing more offensive in 2009 about "dickhead" than "muttonhead" was in 1929.
Good luck.
A.
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