R.I.T. v. State
Decision Date | 29 December 1995 |
Docket Number | CR-94-1603 |
Citation | 675 So.2d 97 |
Parties | R.I.T. v. STATE. |
Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Julius H. Hunter, Jr., Phenix City, for Appellant.
Jeff Sessions, Atty. Gen., and David Bjurberg, Asst. Atty. Gen., for Appellee.
The adjudication of delinquency of the appellant, R.I.T., based on the trial court's finding of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest must be reversed and a judgment rendered in favor of the appellant.
Russell County Deputy Sheriff Chance Corbett testified that while on patrol he was dispatched to the house of the father of the 13-year-old appellant. The appellant's father had requested assistance in investigating an allegation that the appellant had run away while on weekend visitation with his father, who was the noncustodial parent. Corbett stated he was standing in the father's driveway discussing the matter when the appellant and his brother walked up. R. 6. Corbett testified that R. 7. Corbett testified that the appellant was "walking away from [Corbett] when he said ['fuck you']" and that the appellant "never threatened" him. R. 9. Corbett testified that he remembered three people, the father, the stepmother, and a brother, "standing around" at the time of the incident. R. 8. He testified that he arrested the appellant for saying "fuck you."
One of the underlying offenses in the delinquency petition was disorderly conduct.
"...."
Ala.Code 1975, § 13A-11-7(a)(3). The "abusive or obscene language" provision of the disorderly conduct statute "is very narrow and applies only to 'fighting words.' " Mosley v. City of Auburn, 428 So.2d 165, 166 (Ala.Cr.App.1982), superseded on other grounds, Mason v. City of Vestavia Hills, 518 So.2d 221 (Ala.Cr.App.1987), and commentary to § 13A-11-7. What language constitutes "fighting words" was discussed in Judge Bowen's concurring opinion in Shinault v. City of Huntsville, 579 So.2d 696, 699-700 (Ala.Cr.App.1991) (Bowen J., concurring). A portion of that discussion follows.
The majority in B.E.S. and Judge Bowen in Shinault pointed out that evaluating what is an acceptable vulgarism in today's society is unnecessary in most cases involving a police officer because a police officer's training should prevent the officer from physical retaliation to any vulgarities.
Shinault v. City of Huntsville, 579 So.2d 696, 700 (Ala.Cr.App.1991) (Bowen, J., concurring). In B.E.S. this court stated:
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The F-motion.
...(Ala. Cr. App. 1993). A juvenile telling a police officer "fuck you" was held to be constitutionally protected speech. R.I.T. v. State, 675 So.2d 97 (Ala. Cr. App. 1995) (conviction for disorderly conduct overturned). The R.I.T. court reasoned that police officers are specially trained to d......