Bewildered Judge Defends Right to Flip Someone Off

Flipping the bird is 'a God-given' right, rules Canada's Dennis Galiatsatos
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 10, 2023 12:05 PM CST
Bewildered Judge Defends Right to Flip Someone Off
The defendant was acquitted.   (Getty Images/Savusia Konstantin)

Flipping the bird is "a God-given" right in Canada, a judge has ruled following a dispute between neighbors, a case the judge suggested he'd like to literally throw out the window. "To be abundantly clear, it is not a crime to give someone the finger," Quebec Court Judge Dennis Galiatsatos concluded in the Feb. 24 ruling, which cited Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, per the Guardian. "Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian." Galiatsatos went on to chastise Michael Naccache of the Montreal suburb of Beaconsfield for having "weaponized the criminal justice system in an attempt to exert revenge on an innocent man."

Naccache accused neighbor Neall Epstein of "criminal harassment" and uttering death threats, leading to Epstein's arrest in May 2021. Galiatsatos described the arrest and prosecution as bewildering as Naccache had called 911 for no better reason than that his neighbor had told him to "f--- off." The judge outright dismissed the claims that Epstein had assaulted Naccache's parents—Galiatsatos said Naccache's brother could've been charged with assault as video evidence showed him pushing Epstein, who did not respond, per the CBC—and threatened Naccache's life. "On what basis did he fear that Mr. Epstein was a potential murderer? The fact that he went for quiet walks with his kids? The fact that he socialized with the other young parents on the street?" Galiatsatos wrote.

Epstein, 45, testified that it was actually Naccache who'd uttered a death threat on May 18, 2021. He'd allegedly held up a drill in a menacing manner, hurled insults, and said, "You're f---ing dead." Only then did Epstein tell Naccache to "f--- off" before giving him the finger with both hands while walking away, the court heard. It "may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly," but "it does not trigger criminal liability," Galiatsatos ruled. He added that though court cases aren't literally thrown out, in this case, "the court is inclined to actually take the file and throw it out the window." Epstein, a teacher and "caring father of two young daughters," committed "no crime whatsoever," said the judge. (More Canada stories.)

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