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Although some state and local governments are looking for ways to prohibit abusive, highly offensive speech that is directed toward someone, the First Amendment still protects that speech, unless it is designed to provoke a violent response from a particular person. That’s according to a recent ruling from the United States Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in
United States v. Bartow, 2021 WL 1877821 (4th Cir. May 11, 2021), in which the court weighed the defendant’s free speech rights against a Virginia statute criminalizing abusive language that is reasonably calculated to provoke a violent response.
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jules A Bartow (Ret )wins one for 1st Amendment sofmag.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sofmag.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Appeals court overturns conviction in racial slur case
by Denise Lavoie, The Associated Press
Posted May 11, 2021 8:22 pm EDT
Last Updated May 11, 2021 at 8:27 pm EDT
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The conviction of a retired U.S. Air Force officer who used a racial slur while speaking to a Black store clerk and Black customer was overturned Tuesday by a federal appeals court that found his speech was protected by the First Amendment under the circumstances.
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jules Bartow, who is white, was arrested after he used the slur while shopping for boots at the Quantico Marine Corps Exchange in November 2018. Prosecutors and witnesses at his trial said he posed several bizarre rhetorical questions, including asking the customer, while referring to the store clerk, “If I called her a (slur), would she still say good morning?”
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jules Bartow, who is white, was arrested after using a racial slur while speaking to a Black store clerk and Black customer while shopping for boots at the Quantico Marine Corps Exchange in November 2018.