1. Support or criticize the statement that rude gestures (e.g., showing the middle finder to a police officer, etc.) would constitute fighting words or a threat towards a police officer. Justify your position
Gestures are part of communicating in our everyday life, and they can be interpreted positively or negatively. The variations in the interpretation of gestures occur due to cultural, religious, ethnic and environmental differences. Some gestures are generally rude and inappropriate no matter the context in which they are used.
Rude gestures are annoying and offending. They are intended to offend the other person to whom it is done. The use of rude gestures to an officer is interpreted as a sign of lack of respect for not only the police officer but also the law. The use of a gesture such as the middle finger to an officer is deemed to be offensive. It constitutes a threat to a police officer, and one can be prosecuted for making an obscene gesture and disorderly conduct to an officer despite the fact that they enjoy the constitutional right of expression (Harvey & Marston, 2009).
2. Compare and contrast the fundamental differences between libel and slander, and provide one (1) example of each term in question which demonstrates the key differences between them.
Libel refers to the publishing of harmful and untrue statements about a person with the intention of bringing to the person hatred, contempt or ridicule (Steele, 2010). It occurs when a person prints or broadcasts untrue statements. Such publishing can be done through print or broadcasting media. The person whose reputation is tarnished by the untrue statements can sue for damages in a civil suit.
Slander occurs when a person tells an untrue statement about another with the intention of tarnishing his/her reputation (Steele, 2010). Slander is oral while libel is a broadcast or printed form of defamation. For example, when a newspaper editor tells her friends that she slept with the Chief Justice to get information and the statement happens to be untrue, it is considered slanderous. When she prints the false statements in a newspaper, they are considered as libel.
References
Harvey, B., & Marston, J. (2009). Cases and commentary on tort. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Steele, J. (2010). Tort law: Text, cases, and materials. Oxford: Oxford University Press, USA.
