Seems to me there’s been too much talk about race and not enough talk about the law in the cuffing and arrest of Harvard prof Henry Gates. What is disorderly conduct? What entitles a cop to arrest you on your own property for talking louder than he/she likes?
Here’s a good column on the vagueness of the disorderly conduct law. It has often been used, essentially, as a contempt of cop citation. Constitutional? Dubious.
Advertisement
Bob Herbert in NY Times today calls the charge in this case “angry while black.”