Showing the middle finger may not be nice, nevertheless it’s a people’s “God-given” right, a Canadian judge ruled clearing a man of harassment during an argument between neighbors.
In his often hilarious 26-page ruling quoted by the Guardian on Friday, Quebec judge Dennis Galiatsatos made it clear that showing a rude gesture is not a crime.
“To be perfectly clear, pointing the finger at someone is not a crime,” the judge wrote in his recent opinion. “Reversing the proverbial bird is a God-given, chartered right that belongs to each red-blooded Canadian.
“It might not be polite, it might not be polite, it might not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, this does not entail criminal liability.”
In May 2021, police in the Montreal suburb of Beaconsfield arrested 45-year-old Neall Epstein, a local school teacher, on charges of constructing death threats and criminal harassment after he “twisted” his neighbor, Michael Naccache.
![Middle finger, insulting gesture](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000007989858.jpg?w=1024)
The 2 men argued, and that day, Naccache, 34, allegedly threw profanities at Epstein and lifted a drill at him in a “menacing manner.”
Epstein later testified that Naccache called him a “fucking madman” and “dips-t” and told him “you are fucking dead.”
Epstein responded to his neighbor’s crazy antics by telling him to “fuck off” and saluting him with a double middle finger before walking away from the confrontation.
When Epstein returned home from a walk with the children, he found policemen waiting to arrest him.
Naccache told the cops that Epstein made a throat slitting gesture towards him, leading him to imagine that the father-of-two would attempt to kill him.
“On what basis did he fear that Mr. Epstein was a potential murderer?” the judge wondered. “The undeniable fact that he was taking leisurely walks together with his children? The undeniable fact that he was meeting other young parents on the street? If that is the norm, we must always all be concerned that our neighbors are killers in wait.”
![Referee Dennis Galiatsatos](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/03/NYPICHPDPICT000007989821.jpg?w=1024)
In his ruling, Galiatsatos strongly reprimanded Naccache for drawing the authorities into his long-standing quarrel.
“The accusers are free to clutch their pearls in the face of such an insult,” reads his opinion. “Nevertheless, the police department and 911 dispatch have more essential priorities to deal with.”
The judge ended his ruling on a grand note, lamenting that he was literally – not figuratively – in a position to throw this case out of court.
“Unfortunately, the courtrooms in the Montreal courthouse haven’t got windows,” he joked.