Yikes! I never even knew I was in danger

[dhyatt]

I guess it's a good thing the guy won...

Wash. Website Owner Wins Free Speech Case (http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WEB_JAILING?SITE=7219&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-03-31-00-44-23)
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Wash. Website Owner Wins Free Speech Case

By DONNA GORDON BLANKINSHIP
Associated Press Writer

SEATTLE (AP) -- The state Supreme Court ruled Thursday a trial judge overreached his authority when he restricted a man from posting information on a Web site.

Paul Trummel was jailed for more than three months in 2002 in his free-speech standoff with the judge over the Web site he used as a forum for attacking the Council House, a federally subsidized retirement home where he once lived.

Trummel posted the phone numbers and addresses of Council House staff, directors and residents - something that King County Superior Court Judge James Doerty characterized as harassment.

Trummel removed the information after his release from jail, but appealed his case.

His attorney, William Crittenden, called the high court's unanimous ruling a victory for free speech.

In siding with Trummel in the online aspect of the case, the justices added that there was clear evidence of Trummel's predatory behavior toward Council House residents, staff and directors.

That behavior indicated the need to bar him from contacting them in person, by telephone, by writing or through a third person, the court said.

Trummel currently faces six charges of violating the anti-harassment order, said his criminal attorney, Brad Meryhew. Meryhew said he did not know how the justices' ruling would affect those charges.

He said all the charges concern information on Trummel's Web site or communications with relatives of Council House residents or staff.

Trummel was evicted from the home in April 2001, and Crittenden said he did not know his client's location at this time.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.

[Gracie]

8-O

[Brent]

Depends on what you mean. Personal info, including contact information, about Cary Town Council members is public record and is posted on the Town's Web site. I'm glad it is. If someone were to post additional private information, especially for the purposes of harassment or inciting harassment, that would be rude and pretty sad, and I expect Hyatt wouldn't allow it here anyway.

Note that the cited case was not talking about government and public officials, but rather what appears to be a private business (albeit "federally subsdized"). I doubt that staff contact information was public record. So posting the phone numbers of the staff there might be different than posting Jack Smith's phone number here, because Jack Smith's phone number already is public record.

BTW, Hyatt -- what retirement home did you get kicked out of that caused you to start this Web site in the first place? :lol: :lol:

P.S. Jack's number is BR-549. My favorite piece of personal information posted about Jack, and I quote from the Town of Cary Web site, is: "Degree(s) obtained: BS" :-D

[Gracie]

........... Personal info, including contact information, about Cary Town Council members is public record and is posted on the Town's Web site. I'm glad it is. If someone were to post additional private information, especially for the purposes of harassment or inciting harassment, that would be rude and pretty sad, and I expect Hyatt wouldn't allow it here anyway..........

Agreed. I post on another board that has 80,000+ members and if anybody dared target a public or private individual by listing personal info, it would be deleted immediately by the owners or moderaters. They would probably be kicked off the site, as well.

Not a cool thing to do.

[ChrisD]

Hostile Hispanic Paper Prints Map and Picture of Senators Home

Posted on Friday, March 24 @ 07:06:36 PST
WXIA-TV Atlanta
Reported By: Keith Whitney
3/23/2006

A controversial measure under the Gold Dome, dealing with illegal workers in Georgia, is causing an huge uproar after a local Hispanic newspaper published a story about the bill’s author on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 529 has no shortage of angry critics, who feel the measures unfairly targets members of the state’s rapidly growing Hispanic community -- many of whom are now afraid to send their children to school or to seek medical attention.

Senator Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) is the lawmaker behind the bill, which would penalize companies using illegal workers.

“They've called me a racist, they call me anti-Christian, they say I hate children, they've used every name in the book to try to intimidate me and stop me from what the people clearly want me to do," Rogers said.

Now Rogers and many of his colleagues are furious about an article that appeared on Wednesday in a Hispanic newspaper.

The story itself was run-of-the-mill. But it was the picture of his house, and the map showing exactly how to get there that was the problem.

“To take a picture of my house, and to put a map on the front of the paper to try and intimidate me to stop this is beyond any responsible journalism," said Rogers.

Even Rogers' political opponents in the Senate agree, the article was over the line.

“In my case, I’ve certainly been the subject of many, many serious threats. So when Senator Rogers felt some sensitivity about having his home published on a website, I responded. I agreed with him,” said Senator Sam Zamarripa (D-Atlanta)

Zamarippa has asked the publisher to pull the article.

“I don't know if we have any legal recourse, but I would hope that the citizens of this state would recognize that those who want to profit off the use of illegal aliens for labor would stop at nothing to continue to profit," Rogers said.

11Alive News has honored Senator Rogers’ request not to name the newspaper, citing concerns for his family’s safety and the availability of the map.

Despite repeated attempts for comment, the paper's publisher, so far, has not responded.

http://www.alipac.us/article1114.html

[bobo]

Brent wrote:

P.S. Jack's number is BR-549.

Wow, now we know what line of work Junior Samples went into after Hee Haw was cancelled. 8O

Gosh Brent, you're on top of everything. :-D