3 ms·

I hope he wins, but if the town gets a good lawyer a quite compelling argument can be made that calling them violent without proof of violence (was there any pr

I hope he wins, but if the town gets a good lawyer a quite compelling argument can be made that calling them violent without proof of violence (was there any proof of injury in custody of that football player?), pro domestic-abuse for employing an abuser(can it be proven they knew and if so, do they have grounds for dismissal without that person being convicted of a crime?) is derogatory. If it was derogatory he could've been asked to stop. When he didn't, I imagine he could've been arrested for trespassing and all the rest (including strip searching) can be explained as "normal procedure". I'm not arguing it is right what the town did, it is obviously very wrong. Getting his case won might not be so easy, but it definitely succeeded in highlighting the problem in that town. Will it lead to change? I'm not sure.

solardev 3y ago
In the US, defamation against public officials is supposed to have a higher bar, to prevent exactly this kind of situation. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-defamation-suits-against-citizens-complaining-police https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-d... https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/when-complaining-about-a-public-official-can-land-you-in-jail https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/when-complaining-about...
cryptonector 3y ago
> derogatory Not a legal term. You're looking for defamation, or even libel. But these are public persons, and as such they have less protection from defamation and libel than private persons. I.e., that defense should not fly.
- HeyImAlex 3y ago
  This is about a council rule that forbids “derogatory statements or comments about any individual.”
  - sethammons 3y ago
    I'm sure an enterprising attorney could use that "or" to great effect. Any comment about any individual could be forbidden. "Counselor Chris is a council member" could be forbidden.
  - aqme28 3y ago
    And council rules don't override constitutional rules
jawns 3y ago
I don't think any lawyer would take that route, because the town is not being sued for applying a constitutional policy incorrectly. It is being sued for applying an unconstitutional policy at all. Proving that he did, indeed, violate the town's statute by calling the mayor and police chief fascists is no victory if the statute itself is found to be patently unconstitutional, which it is.

solardev 3y ago

In the US, defamation against public officials is supposed to have a higher bar, to prevent exactly this kind of situation. https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-defamation-suits-against-citizens-complaining-police https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-d... https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/when-complaining-about-a-public-official-can-land-you-in-jail https://www.aclu.org/news/free-speech/when-complaining-about...

cryptonector 3y ago

> derogatory Not a legal term. You're looking for defamation, or even libel. But these are public persons, and as such they have less protection from defamation and libel than private persons. I.e., that defense should not fly.

HeyImAlex 3y ago
This is about a council rule that forbids “derogatory statements or comments about any individual.”
- sethammons 3y ago
  I'm sure an enterprising attorney could use that "or" to great effect. Any comment about any individual could be forbidden. "Counselor Chris is a council member" could be forbidden.
- aqme28 3y ago
  And council rules don't override constitutional rules

jawns 3y ago

I don't think any lawyer would take that route, because the town is not being sued for applying a constitutional policy incorrectly. It is being sued for applying an unconstitutional policy at all. Proving that he did, indeed, violate the town's statute by calling the mayor and police chief fascists is no victory if the statute itself is found to be patently unconstitutional, which it is.