Opinion ID: 1154947
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: State v. Talley

Text: In April of 1991, Phillip and Renee Smith, a mixed race couple, their 3-year-old son, their friend Jeanne Tyler, her son, and their realtor Stacy Litzenberger, visited the house they were purchasing in Maple Valley in King County. The Smiths had recently signed an earnest money agreement, and they were visiting the house to measure it for carpets and drapes. David Talley, who lived next door, saw the Smiths and complained to bystanders that having niggers next door would ruin his property values. He built a 4-foot-tall cross, planted it in his own yard, set it on fire with gasoline, and began to hoot and holler. These actions attracted the attention of the Smith party. They noticed that Talley was wearing fatigues, combat boots, a Harley-Davidson T-shirt, and that he had a clean-shaven head. Renee Smith approached Talley and asked if there was a problem. He replied that he did not talk with her kind and ordered her off his driveway. The Smiths were disturbed and frightened by the incident and opted not to purchase the house. The State charged Talley with six counts of malicious harassment. Talley argued that the statute was unconstitutional because it violated his right to free speech. King County Superior Court Judge Patricia Aitken held that subsection (2)(a) of the malicious harassment statute was unconstitutionally overbroad because it infringed on First Amendment guaranties of free speech. She reasoned that although subsection (1) could be construed as constitutional, Talley's conduct did not fit within the statute under that construction. Judge Aitken granted Talley's motion to dismiss.