A Canadian judge has ruled that offending someone is not a crime after two neighbors got into a verbal argument.
Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Getty Images
A Canadian judge has ruled that offending someone is not a crime after two neighbors got into a verbal argument.
Getty Images
The gesture is considered rude, offensive and inappropriate, but one thing it is not — at least under Canadian law — is illegal.
A Canadian judge ruled last month that giving someone the middle finger is protected by the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“It is not a crime to give someone the middle finger. Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian,” the judge wrote. Dennis Galiatsatos in the Feb. 24 decision.
The legality of a lifted middle finger was called into question after two neighbors of a The suburb of Montreal had a heated exchange in May 2021.
According to court documents, Michael Naccache was outside his home when Neall Epstein passed by. Naccache accused Epstein of surprising him and making vulgar gestures, such as a raised middle finger and a sticking motion.
Epstein admitted he insulted Naccache and knocked him down, but he testified that it was Naccache who initially started the altercation and called Epstein “crazy” with other offensive names. Epstein also denied making any physical gestures suggesting he would threaten his neighbor’s life.
Later, Naccache called the police and Epstein was arrested, including for criminal harassment and death threats against his neighbor. The two men have a history of arguments and it was not the first time that the police were involved.
The judge ruled that nearby surveillance footage did not support Naccache’s accusation and ultimately dismissed Epstein’s charges.
During his decision, Galiatsatos also said that “offending someone is not a crime”.
“Complainants are free to grit their pearls in the face of such an insult. However, the police department and the 9-1-1 dispatch service have higher priorities to deal with,” he wrote.