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Court's Swearing Decision Goes In Favor Of N.Y. Man

Published February 8, 2013 at 7:38 AM EST

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep, with a story of the power of words. Trevis D. Baker swore at a cop in Rochester. Police arrested him, but New York State's highest court threw out the charges. He has a First Amendment right to swear, so long as it's not a challenge to fight. Because the arrest was invalid, the court disallowed a search police conducted afterward.

So Mr. Baker walks away with freedom of speech, and also free of charges that he possessed 25 bags of crack cocaine. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.