Asked 8/15/2016 – San Antonio, TX

I flicked off a cop and he gave me a ticket for disorderly conduct. I felt like I represented my freedom of speech by showing the cop I disliked him like many others in our country have. I don’t feel the need to show up for court just because the cop was a little to sensitive.

Answer

You may very well be within your rights and not have committed an offense when the officer gave you a citation. The way to address this, however, is to enter a plea of not guilty with the court, and have a trial on the matter. Any one charged with a criminal offense, be it disorderly conduct to DWI to murder, does NOT have the right to say: “I don’t think the cop was justified, so I don’t have to appear in court”. If you do not appear in court and enter a plea, a warrant will issue for your arrest. Set the case for trial and force the State to prove the allegations against you beyond a reasonable doubt.