18:47
Kinda sucks cause that my best offer rn
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Simple English definitions for legal terms
fighting words
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A quick definition of fighting words:
Fighting words are words that are meant to start a fight or violence. These words are not protected by the First Amendment, which is a law that protects free speech in the United States. The Supreme Court has defined fighting words as words that can hurt someone or make them want to fight right away. However, not all words that cause a disturbance or disagreement are considered fighting words. The First Amendment still protects speech, even if it is considered fighting words, as long as it is not discriminating against a certain viewpoint.
A more thorough explanation:
Fighting words are words that are intended to provoke violence and may not be protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court defined fighting words in the case of Chaplinsky v New Hampshire (1942) as words that "by their very utterance, inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace."
Examples of fighting words include racial slurs, insults, and threats of violence. For instance, if someone were to use a racial slur against another person with the intention of provoking a physical altercation, those words could be considered fighting words.
However, not all offensive speech is considered fighting words. In the case of Texas v. Johnson (1989), the Supreme Court ruled that burning the American flag, while offensive to some, was not considered fighting words because it did not directly provoke violence.
It is important to note that even if speech is considered fighting words, it may still be protected under the First Amendment if the restriction on speech is based on viewpoint discrimination. This means that the government cannot punish speech simply because they disagree with the ideas expressed.