If anyone wishes to express their opinion about Americans' right to free speech to U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley (algenon_marbley@private), please let me know what happens as a result. Of course you should not violate the law in the jurisdiction in which you reside. It looks like this might be the web site of the fellow who sent the illegal email message to Judge Marbley: http://www.columbusconsumer.com/Ricart%20Legal%20History.htm -Declan -------- Original Message -------- Subject: email stating, "Judge, you fucked up" lands consumer in hot water Date: Thu, 01 Apr 2004 14:33:33 -0500 From: Paul Levy <plevy@private> To: <declan@private> Paul Alan Levy Public Citizen Litigation Group 1600 - 20th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009 (202) 588-1000 http://www.citizen.org/litigation/litigation.html >>> Mark Niquette <mniquette@private> 04/01/04 12:38PM >>> E-MAIL TO JUDGE EXPLETIVE LANDS CRITIC OF RULING IN COURT By Kevin Mayhood and Mark Niquette THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A Westerville man was ordered into federal court yesterday for e-mailing the f-word to a judge. It is disputed whether U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley was within his rights to send a U.S. marshal to Robert Dalton's home with a written order demanding that he appear in court and whether Dalton could have been punished for his word. Civil libertarians say Dalton is covered by the right to free speech, but a federal judge said foul language -- in or out of court -- can be grounds for a contempt charge. Dalton, 41, sent a full-page e-mail on March 17 lambasting Marbley's handling of a class-action suit, but Marbley was concerned only with some of the first words: "You ------ up!'' In court, Marbley said Dalton's other criticism was fine. "As an articulate man, you could have found another way to express yourself,'' Marbley told Dalton in court yesterday. Dalton then said he'd like to take back the curse word. "In retrospect, I could have used other creative words to express the strong sentiment I have.'' That ended the matter. Marbley did not pursue a criminal contempt charge that carries up to six months in prison and a $5,000 fine. Benson Wolman, former head of the ACLU in Ohio, praised Marbley as a top judge, but said he was wrong in this case. "To criticize, even in unacceptable language, I think cannot be punished under the First Amendment,'' Wolman said. Ordering a critic into court to explain his actions under the threat of punishment "can have a chilling effect on free speech.'' U.S. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus discussed the case afterward. Dalton's use of the word in a message to a judge, the day after Dalton spoke in court about the class-action lawsuit, was analogous to Dalton swearing at someone in court, which many judges would call contempt, he said. Anyone who participates in a court proceeding is subject to the rules of contempt, whether in or out of court. Paul Levy, an attorney with Public Citizen, said the wording was "obviously bad judgment on Dalton's part.'' "But judges shouldn't be making people pay for expressing themselves, even if it's in an offensive manner.'' Dalton was criticizing the $21.8 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit involving nearly 123,000 customers of Ricart Properties and its used-car affiliate, Pay Days. Marbley approved the deal last month. Dalton was not a party to the lawsuit but is a longtime Ricart critic who runs a Web site that takes the auto dealer to task. In the e-mail, he said the settlement didn't pay victims enough and that many weren't even aware of it. "You were responsible for ensuring the fairness of the settlement,'' Dalton told the judge. "I am unsure as to whether it was a lack of competence or your ego or a combination of both that resulted in thousands of citizens getting screwed.'' Dalton's attorney, Eric E. Willison, had filed a brief arguing the e-mail was not contempt but Dalton venting his frustration. Dalton agreed to drop the matter because he thinks his overall message wasn't rejected and that it was better to not fight the case, Willison said. kmayhood@private mniquette@private _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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