State v. Rich

Defendant was charged with disorderly conduct for intentionally causing “public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm” by making “unreasonable noise,” ORS 166.025(l)(b), during an argument with a police officer in the Benton County Courthouse. At trial, defendant argued that prosecuting him for violating the statute violated the free expression guarantee of Article I, section 8, of the Oregon Constitution. 1 The court rejected that argument, and defendant was convicted. He renews his argument on appeal. We affirm.

The relevant facts are not in dispute. Defendant, an attorney, was at the Benton…