The Ink Bottle Defense: A Wenatchee Judge Rules That a Well-Aimed Throw Can Keep the Peace
A hotel owner who hit a Seattle man for cursing in front of women was cleared—the court decided he was preserving public order, not disturbing it.
Under a decision made by Police Judge Porter, throwing an ink bottle at a man who is using profane language in the presence of women is not disturbing the peace, but rather preserving it. Claude Felts, a hotel owner who was charged with this offense after hitting J. A. Stout of Seattle in the head, was discharged.
“Throwing an ink bottle at a man, who is using profane language in the presence of women, is not disturbing the peace, but rather preserving it.”
The ruling is a small window into an era when public civility was enforced by informal violence, and local courts could decide that a thrown object was a public service. Today, disputes over profanity, harassment and who gets to police behavior in public still land in court—though the ink bottle has been replaced by the smartphone.
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