O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39. Simply using vulgar, obscene, or profane language to another person (over the age of 14) is not a crime unless those words also constitute “fighting words.” Crolley v. State, 182 Ga.App. 2 (1987).  

But what exactly are fighting words? The law is not entirely clear and, in fact, this section of the statute has been challenged for being too vague on multiple occasions. The First Amendment of the Constitution – the “freedom of speech” amendment – also comes into play here and in almost any situation where words and expressive conduct are criminalized. Nonetheless, Georgia courts have consistently found the law as it currently stands to be constitutional. Because of the lack of a clear definition in the law itself, it is helpful to know how courts have interpreted it in previous cases in order to understand what is considered “fighting words.”

In Freeman v. State, the Georgia Supreme Court held that a person could be found guilty of disorderly conduct when that person acted in a “disorderly, turbulent, or uproarious manner” towards another person, causing that person to be in reasonable fear for his or her safety. It also said that the law only covered conduct that amounted to a “true threat.” Freeman v. State, 302 Ga. 181 (2017). 

It is important to note that what is considered “fighting words” has, in many ways, changed over time, because society’s standards for what is sufficiently offensive to “provoke violent resentment” or “incite an immediate breach of the peace” has shifted fairly dramatically. For example, in 1983 the Georgia Court of Appeals found that a person who pointed at a police officer and yelling that he was a “dog” in front of a large group of people could be disorderly conduct. Brooks v. State, 166 Ga.App. 704 (1983). In 2017, though, the same court held that saying “f*** you” to an officer was not disorderly conduct. Knowles v. State, 340 Ga.App. 274 (2017). 

What does count as “fighting words?”

• Calling the sheriff a “no-good son of a b****” and saying that the defendant should “kick the sheriff’s a**”. Anderson v. State, 231 Ga.App. 807 (1998).
• Calling the victim, a former girlfriend, a “b****” after showing up at the victim’s home angry and upset and yelling profanities at the victim’s husband. Thomas v. State, 276 Ga.App. 79 (2005).
• Calling the victim a “b****” and a “wh***” and “getting in the victim’s face” and accusing her of a crime. Mayhew v. State, 299 Ga.App. 313 (2009). 

What does not count as “fighting words?”

• Calling an officer a “f***ing a**hole,” because the arrestee was not shouting and did not appear to be a danger to anyone. Merenda v. Tabor, No. 12-12562, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 2351 (11th Cir. Feb 1, 2013).
• Saying “f*** you” to an officer during a traffic stop, when there was no indication that the defendant exhibited any non-verbal aggressive behavior. Knowles v. State, 340 Ga.App. 274 (2017). 
• Using the middle finger to an officer, because the Court found that it was a form of protest. Freeman v. State, 302 Ga. 181 (2017). 
• Yelling “you b***ards” at the police from a moving vehicle and continuing to drive down the road, because defendant was not engaged in a face-to-face confrontation with the police when the words were uttered and the words would therefore not incite an immediate breach of the peace. Turner v. State, 274 Ga.App. 731 (2015). 
• During an incident at a store, saying “arrest me” and “damn, I’m calling corporate office.”

It might be clear from these examples, but it’s important to point out that a person’s conduct surrounding his or her words is important. Courts have, in almost every case, examined whether the defendant was acting in some sort of threatening way, not whether he or she was merely speaking words that people may find offensive.