Warning

Info

Warning

Info

Warning

Info

LSDefine

Simple English definitions for legal terms

fighting words

Read a random definition: unauthorized indorsement

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.

Fifth Amendment | file

Warning

Info

General

General chat about the legal profession.
main_chatroom
👍 Chat vibe: 0 👎
Help us make LSD better!
Tell us what's important to you
Dkk
19:42
SEO is big money
2016 pushed the conservative party into populism irreversibly
Dkk
19:43
Maybe, but if this is populism, then every election is populist.
19:43
@Dkk: yeah register 1 website and every swinging tom dick and harry calls/emails/texts to 'help with seo'. like bruh, if YOU found it, what i am doing is working
Dkk
19:43
Indeed!
19:48
wasp, i think people are hopeful for a gov who at least attempts to care about the common man
MIAMI A
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:55
How does one know if they are UR1 or UR2?
[] AromaticTroubledDormouse
20:56
CONGRATS MACAQUE!
TY
got a random stanford email and almost had a heart attack
ALSO CONGRATS!
Congrats1!
21:15
Miami A, yall I'm so excited I could cry.
21:15
Feel like I can finally stop holding my breath!! Whew!!!
[] baddestbunny
22:16
every time I get accosted by a strange man who follows me around because my male coworkers were too busy talking to walk me back to my car I get closer to saying we need to bring back traditional gender roles
Dkk
22:32
Nice! @Macaque
Dkk
22:32
@Aromatic, Have to guess.
Dkk
22:33
That sucks @Bunny do you have to go to the hospital?
[] baddestbunny
22:40
I said accosted not assaulted
23:35
guys. my notre dame address just went long is this good or bad
1a2b3c4d26z
23:37
Oooooo me too
23:37
omg is this good or bad
Dkk
23:47
Idk if gender roles are gunna fix that then.
23:49
it looks like most people who applied in october last cycle didn't get a decision until january... does it even mean anything that our addresses went long??
hows ED 2 compared to ED 1?
Dkk
0:10
No idea
windyMagician
0:34
reporting live to say my ndls address also went long
does it mean anything ^
Dkk
2:21
NDLS and Fordham took a very long time last year. It's good info for people to know.
LSD+ is ad-free, with DMs, discounts, case briefs & more.