Liberty & Justice for All: Jail Time for Offensive Facebook Posts?

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JANUARY 9, 2013 Jail Time for "Offensive" Facebook Posts? How many people would be in jail if annoying or offending a person were against the law? The answer: pretty much everyone. If you think that you might be one of these people and you like to send information electronically, there are a few places you should probably avoid. Vernon County, Wisconsin is among a growing number of jurisdictions that are implementing so-called cyber-bullying laws. A Vernon County ordinance makes it a crime to “send information to another person by electronic means with the intent to annoy, offend, demean, ridicule, degrade, belittle, disparage, or humiliate any person.” There is an exception if the information serves a “legitimate purpose.” The statute is a clear violation of the First Amendment. Under the First Amendment, offensive speech is protected as long as it is not incitement to immediate unlawful conduct, obscene, child pornography, a threat, or fighting words. Here, the ordinance goes far beyond those unprotected categories of speech and targets speech that is simply annoying. Putting First Amendment issues aside, the statute still fails to pass constitutional muster. For a criminal law to be constitutional, it must be written so that the average citizen can know what the law prohibits. If a law is too vague, it is void. This principle is appropriately called the Void for Vagueness Doctrine. Does the Vernon County ordinance clearly state what conduct is prohibited? What does “annoy” mean? What does “offend” mean? What about “humiliate”? These things can mean different things to different people. As one commentator noted, the officials who implemented this law probably find criticism of the law offensive. What if a person finds religious teachings offensive and an individual is constantly posting religious messages on his Facebook page? Are we shifting from a society where children complain to their parents about siblings or friends to one where children file complaints with the police about the same people? It used to be, “Mom! She is being mean to me! Make her stop!” Will it soon be, “Officer! She is offending me on Facebook! Put her in jail!”? This ordinance is incredibly overbroad and puts ordinary citizens in jeopardy of becoming criminals. This is one more example of the increasing overcriminalization problem at every level of government. Concerned about the erosion of free speech in America? Read more and raise your voice on our blog >> Food Fight: DOJ Sue Schools Over Cafeteria Food New Leader for Heritage Legal Center, Ed Meese "Semi-Retiring" Senator Rand Paul, Criminal Law Reformer Led by McCain, "Bipartisan" Bill on Filibuster as Bad as Reid's VIDEO: Gov. Ehrlich (MD) on Solving Illegal Immigration   South Carolina v. USA The Vote Integrity Case South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has beaten U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder once again on the voter ID issue, this time in a dispute over costs. On Friday, January 4, a three-judge federal court panel declared that South Carolina would obtain reimbursement for its requested litigation costs from the Dept. of Justice and others who intervened in the recent lawsuit including the NAACP. Read the rest of the story >>   The Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy organization. Heritage created the Center for Legal and Judicial Studies in 2001 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the Constitution, legal principles and how they affect public policy. The Heritage Foundation | 214 Massachusetts Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 | 202.546.4400 | heritage.org