Downs v. State

Murphy, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court. We granted certiorari to consider whether, in the circumstances of this case, certain vulgar language constituted “fighting” words within the sense contemplated by Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 315 U. S. 568 , 62 S. Ct. 766 , 86 L. Ed. 1031 (1942), and its progeny, and were therefore outside of the protection of the First Amendment. Appellant Downs was conversing with three friends while eating an early morning breakfast in a Lexington Park restaurant. In the course of the conversation Downs said in a loud voice, “All the goddamn policemen in this County are no fucking good, they’re just after me.” A few minutes later he loudly said, “[T]he fucking niggers in this County are no better than goddamn policemen.” A uniformed State Trooper (Trooper Taylor) sitting at a table about eight feet away from the booth in which Downs and his friends were seated overheard these remarks.

The trooper went over to Downs’ booth and told him that his talk was disruptive and that he would be placed under arrest if he did not refrain from using such profane language. Downs replied, “You ain’t bad enough to place me under arrest,” whereupon the trooper grabbed him and informed him that he was under arrest for disorderly conduct. A scuffle ensued, but Taylor finally managed to handcuff Downs. Downs was charged with disorderly conduct in violation of Maryland Code (1957, 1976 Repl.

Vol.) Art. 27, § 123 (c), 1 ⁶¹² resisting arrest, and assault and battery. At his trial before a jury in the Circuit Court for St. Mary’s County, it was established that the restaurant was crowded, busy, and noisy. All but three or four of the 20 stools at the counter were occupied, as well as all the tables and booths. Approximately 35 to 45 persons were in the restaurant; three or four were black.

Two black women were sitting at the counter about four feet from the booth in which Downs and his friends were sitting. Downs had a newspaper article in his possession; it said: “You can call your local cop a MOTHER (fornication expletive deleted) PIG or any other name and there is NOT A THING he can do to you LEGALLY, not even tell you to shut up.... The U.S. Supreme Court has said so INDIRECTLY by refusing to back Arkansas in a recent COP BADMOUTHcase....” Trooper Taylor testified that he could hear Downs’ remarks as distinct from the general noise level of the restaurant. He was not personally aroused by the reference to police officers but was concerned only about the provocativeness of the racial remarks in the racially mixed crowd.

Two of Downs’ friends who were seated with him during the incident testified; both said that the remarks were not directed to anyone in particular but were merely part of the general conversation between Downs and themselves. One of the cooks and a patron of the restaurant testified; neither could distinguish Downs’ remarks from the general din. Downs himself said that his remarks were not directed to anyone in particular. The jury found Downs guilty on all three charges.

His original sentence of sixty days on the disorderly conduct charge and concurrent three-year sentences on the resisting arrest and assault and battery charges were modified by a sentence review panel to suspended sentences and indeterminate probation. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the convictions but vacated the indeterminate probation because it was not in accord with Code, Art. 27, ⁶¹³ § 641A. Downs v. State, 30 Md. App. 253 , 351 A. 2d 166 (1976). The Court of Special Appeals did not consider whether the remarks about police officers constituted “fighting” words because the State Trooper was not offended or angered by them.

It considered the remark about blacks and found that “the strong racial slur” amounted to “fighting” words because the trier of fact could have inferred from the volume of Downs’ voice and from the racial composition of the crowd that the comment “ ‘inflicted injury’ ” and “ ‘tend[ed] to incite an immediate breach of the peace.’ ” 30 Md. App. at 261 , 351 A. 2d at 171 . The court found it unnecessary for the State to prove that a fight or a riot was imminent. All that it need show was that “the average person or persons to whom [the words] were addressed, directly or indirectly at the time spoken, would be stirred to the point of violent eruption or fighting.” Id. at 262 , 351 A. 2d at 171 . The doctrine of “fighting” words was originated by the Supreme Court in 1942 in Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, supra.

Chaplinsky was distributing religious literature, and the City Marshal had received complaints about it. After being twice warned of the complaints by the marshal, Chaplinsky said to him, “You are a God damned racketeer” and “a damned Fascist and the whole government of Rochester are Fascists or agents of Fascists.” He was found guilty of violating a statute which prohibited “... address [ing] any offensive, derisive or annoying word to any other person who is lawfully in any street or other public place, [or] call [ing] him by any offensive or derisive name...” In a now classic passage, the Court said: “There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which has never been thought to raise any Constitutional problem. These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or ‘fighting’ words — those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an ⁶¹⁴ immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.” 315 U. S. at 571-72 , 62 S. Ct. at 769 , 86 L. Ed. at 1035 .

The Court adopted the construction of the statute by the highest court of New Hampshire which had limited its application to words having “ ‘a direct tendency to cause acts of violence by the persons to whom, individually, the remark is addressed.’ ” 315 U. S. at 573 , 62 S. Ct. at 770 , 86 L. Ed. at 1036 , quoting State v. Brown, 68 N. H. 200, 38 A. 731 (1895); State v. McConnell, 70 N. H. 294, 47 A. 267 (1900). According to the New Hampshire court, the statute prohibited “ ‘... face-to-face words plainly likely to cause a breach of the peace by the addressee ....’” Id. at 573, 62 S. Ct. at 770 , 86 L. Ed. at 1036 . “ ‘The test is what men of common intelligence would understand would be words likely to cause an average addressee to fight.’ ” Id. Noting that the terms “ ‘damned racketeer’ ” and “ ‘damned Fascist’ ” are “likely to provoke the average person to retaliation,” Id. at 574 , 62 S. Ct. at 770 , 86 L. Ed. at 1036 , the Supreme Court affirmed Chaplinsky’s conviction. Although Chaplinsky makes it clear that “fighting” words are outside of the protection of the Constitution, it was not made clear in that case whether the words must be directly addressed to someone who is either injured thereby or incited to a breach of the peace.

The New Hampshire construction adopted by the Supreme Court referred, somewhat inconsistently, to the individual to whom a remark is addressed and to the average addressee. In Chaplinsky , the words were addressed to a particular individual, but there was no evidence that the marshal was either injured or incited. The Supreme Court was satisfied that an “average” person would be provoked to retaliate. Later cases have resolved this ambiguity and make it clear that the only speech which can be punished, in this context, ⁶¹⁵ is that which has “ ‘a direct tendency to cause acts of violence by the person to whom, individually, the remark is addressed.’ ” Gooding v. Wilson, 405 U. S. 518, 524 , 92 S. Ct. 1103, 1107 , 31 L.Ed.2d 408, 415 (1972), quoting Chaplinsky .

In effect, “fighting” words have been recognized as having some social value and are punishable now not on a “per se” basis but only when there is a likelihood of imminent disturbance. The first limitation on the “fighting” words doctrine occurred in Cohen v. California, 403 U. S. 15 , 91 S. Ct. 1780 , 29 L.Ed.2d 284 (1970), where the