# Plead the first? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 6, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441 "2010-08-06T19:11:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zyanthia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Zyanthia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyanthia)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/1 "2010-08-06T19:11:56Z")
While watching TV (I do understand TV \<\> Reality), I noticed that judges frequently tell people to shut up and any other sound from them, they’d be found in contempt of court. Couldn’t a person plead the first in this case? What would happen if a person did try pleading the first? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/2 "2010-08-06T19:34:10Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > While watching TV (I do understand TV \<\> Reality), I noticed that judges frequently tell people to shut up and any other sound from them, they’d be found in contempt of court. > > Couldn’t a person plead the first in this case? What would happen if a person did try pleading the first? Try standing outside a police officer’s home at 3am screaming your lungs out and then plead the first. Or yell “fire!” in a theater and plead the first. There are time, place and manner restrictions on speech that are more than reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/3 "2010-08-06T19:54:26Z")
The First Amendment states that Congress cannot pass laws “abridging the freedom of speech”. It doesn’t say we are free to say whatever we want, whenever we want. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/4 "2010-08-06T20:26:06Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Or yell “fire!” in a theater and plead the first. Nitpick, but what Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr actually said was "“The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man _falsely_ shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic.” Presumably no one would have a problem with a man shouting fire in a theater if there really was one. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/5 "2010-08-06T20:51:56Z")
Good point, Dewey. Zyanthia - take it to the extreme. Do you think it would be reasonable for someone to stand up in the middle of court and start screaming? Probably not. How about someone standing up and yelling at the defendant/jury? Or less severe, yelling out possible questions for the attorneys to ask witnesses? What about just offering up random commentary of the proceedings in a loud voice everyone can hear? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/6 "2010-08-07T06:51:02Z")
> [@Zyanthia](#): > > While watching TV (I do understand TV \<\> Reality), I noticed that judges frequently tell people to shut up and any other sound from them, they’d be found in contempt of court. > > Couldn’t a person plead the first in this case? What would happen if a person did try pleading the first? No, you can’t “plead the first” like that. If someone tried it in front of most of the judges I know, they’d get cited for direct contempt, shackled on the spot, and taken to jail. And everyone else would struggle to keep from laughing at the dumbass while it happened. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/7 "2010-08-07T06:53:08Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > No, you can’t “plead the first” like that. If someone tried it in front of most of the judges I know, they’d get cited for direct contempt, shackled on the spot, and taken to jail. And everyone else would struggle to keep from laughing at the dumbass while it happened. And if you think that’s bad, you don’t want to know what’ll happen if you try to plead the second. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/8 "2010-08-07T17:31:12Z")
In general, you can say whatever you want. But you can’t say whatever you what, WHENEVER you want, HOWEVER you want. I can’t start screaming my political opinions in the middle of the street, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plead-the-first/549441/9 "2010-08-07T19:16:46Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > > [@Oakminster](#): > > > > No, you can’t “plead the first” like that. If someone tried it in front of most of the judges I know, they’d get cited for direct contempt, shackled on the spot, and taken to jail. And everyone else would struggle to keep from laughing at the dumbass while it happened. > > And if you think that’s bad, you don’t want to know what’ll happen if you try to plead the second. 😃 Thanks for that mental image. 🆒