Tag Archives: First Amendment

Rutherford Institute Sues Pennsylvania Police on Behalf of Business Owner Threatened with Arrest for Videotaping on Public Sidewalk

Posted on October 21, 2011 by | Leave a comment

(Franklin, PA) Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have filed a First Amendment lawsuit against two police officers with the Franklin Police Department who threatened a business owner with arrest simply for videotaping his own business activities and videotaping his subsequent interaction with the police while on a public sidewalk in Franklin, Pennsylvania. The officers allegedly informed Skip Dreibelbis, the president of True Blue Auctions, that by videotaping on a public sidewalk, he was violating wiretapping laws. Institute attorneys filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, charging that police violated Dreibelbis’ First Amendment right to make video recordings in public spaces and infringed upon his right to receive information.

The Rutherford Institute’s complaint in Dreibelbis v. John Does is available here.

“This is a form of censorship that is an egregious violation of Mr. Dreibelbis’ First Amendment rights,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “For police to suggest that this activity violates wiretapping laws is absurd. The ramifications of this kind of government mindset does not bode well for the future of freedom.”

True Blue Auctions, founded by Skip Dreibelbis, provides a variety of auction services to businesses and individuals throughout the country. As part of its normal business practices, True Blue posts auction signs at an auction site and often videotapes the auction so it has a record of bids, amounts, and other details to aid in resolving potential disputes. The videotaping of the auction is always done in the open, at a location to which the public is invited, with permission of the owner of the premises and/or in a public forum area. True Blue Auctions was contracted to carry out a two-day auction in Franklin, Penn., beginning on October 16, 2009. That day, Dreibelbis posted auction signs at the site and began videotaping the auction from the premises where the auction was taking place and from an adjacent public sidewalk. At no time did Dreibelbis block pedestrian traffic on the public sidewalk, nor did anyone complain about the signs or the videotaping or voice the concern that their privacy interests were being violated by the videotaping. Nevertheless, two police officers approached Dreibelbis while he was videotaping the auction from the sidewalk and allegedly informed him that videotaping was against wiretapping laws and that they would have to arrest Dreibelbis if he didn’t put away his video recorder. According to the complaint, the officers also ordered Dreibelbis to remove his posted auction signs and move about 75 yards away. In filing suit against the two unidentified officers with the Franklin Police Department, attorneys for The Rutherford Institute point out that individuals have a right under the First Amendment to videotape persons, including police officers, in public places. Moreover, Institute attorneys contend that by ordering Dreibelbis to turn off the video camera and threatening him with arrest if he did not immediately cease videotaping the auction and the encounter with the police, police also violated Dreibelbis’ right to receive information in that far more protected activity was chilled than was reasonably necessary to protect any compelling government interest.

Attorneys J. Michael Considine, Jr., of West Chester, Penn., and Joseph L. Luciana, III of the Pittsburgh firm of Dingess, Foster, Luciana, Davidson and Chleboski are assisting The Rutherford Institute in its defense of Dreibelbis.

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Amended Complaint in Defense of ‘Redneck Not Racist’ K-12 Bus Driver Fired for Displaying Confederate Flag on His Vehicle

Posted on August 12, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The Rutherford Institute has filed an amended First Amendment lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Oregon on behalf of a 28-year-old K-12 bus driver who was fired for displaying a Confederate flag (with the word “redneck” emblazoned across it) on his personal vehicle. Kenneth Webber was fired on March 8, 2011, five days after being suspended for refusing to comply with an order that the flag be removed from his truck while it was parked in the employee parking lot. The amended complaint comes in response to the district court magistrate’s ruling that Webber does not have a cause of action under the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution or the Oregon Constitution.

“The U.S. Supreme Court has held that it is ‘a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment…that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable,'” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “Ken Webber’s case is a clear example of what happens when free speech and political correctness collide. Yet the question that needs to be asked is not whether the Confederate flag represents racism, but whether banning it leads to even greater problems, namely, the loss of freedom. The answer to that is a resounding yes.”

Kenneth Webber, who has been employed by First Student Bus Transportation Services, a company providing services to the Phoenix-Talent School District # 4, for four years, began flying the Confederate flag in the bed of his pickup truck over a year ago. The 3-by-5-foot Confederate flag, which has the word “redneck” emblazoned across it, was a birthday gift from Webber’s father in 2009. Webber drives his truck to work and parks it in the employee lot, which is leased from the school district, before reporting for his duties driving the K-12 bus for the Phoenix-Talent School District.

On March 2, 2011, Webber was called into his supervisor’s office and ordered to remove the flag from his pickup or be suspended from his job. The demand to remove the flag was allegedly made after the school district superintendent visited First Student’s facility and saw the flag on Webber’s truck. The superintendent reportedly requested that Webber remove the flag because “some people find that symbol offensive,” justifying the request by pointing to the fact that the school district is “about 37 percent minority students,” and “we have a policy…about displaying symbols on school property that were racist, or had a potential to be seen as racist.”

Insisting on his right to free expression on his personal vehicle, Webber refused the demand, was suspended and was sent home for the day. The following day, Webber reported to work and was called to meet with two managers, who again demanded that he remove the flag or be suspended, this time for three days. Again, Webber refused and was suspended. On March 8, Webber was called into his manager’s office and was terminated after he again refused to remove the flag from his pickup. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute filed the original complaint in March 2011.

Webber has insisted that his display of the Confederate flag does not show him to be a racist but a “backyard redneck. I work for what I have. I support my family. It’s just who I am. I’m a redneck. It’s a way of life.” Rutherford Institute attorneys have asked that Webber be given his job back and paid for lost wages.

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Christian Pastor’s Free Speech Victory against City of Dearborn

Posted on May 27, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The U. S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that Sudanese Christian Pastor George Saieg has a free speech right to distribute religious literature on public sidewalks and evangelize Muslims during the Annual Arab International Festival held each year in Dearborn, Michigan.

For five years Saieg, who specifically ministers to Muslims, had been discussing his Christian faith and passing out literature on Dearborn’s sidewalks during the Festival without encountering any problems. Nevertheless, in 2009 police officials informed him he had to remain in a booth, prohibiting him from distributing his literature on the nearby sidewalks and public streets.

Dearborn is one of the most densely populated Muslim communities in the United States.  It has the largest Mosque in North America.  In the past few years Dearborn has gained national attention for taking a pro-Muslim stance and for the arrest and intimidation of Christian evangelists for engaging in protected speech activity.

The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national conservative Christian public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of Pastor Saieg in 2009, naming the City of Dearborn and its police chief, Ronald Haddad, as defendants.  The case was handled by TMLC Senior Trial Counsel Rob Muise.

In ruling for Saieg, the court recognized the problem Saieg had with booth-based evangelizing: “the penalty of leaving Islam according to Islamic books is death, ” which makes Muslims reluctant to approach a booth that is publically “labeled as … Christian.”

Source: Thomas More Law Center, May 25, 2011.

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The Rutherford Institute Defends ‘Redneck Not Racist’ Kindergarten Bus Driver Fired for Displaying Confederate Flag on His Personal Vehicle

Posted on March 15, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a 28-year-old kindergarten bus driver who was fired for displaying a Confederate flag on his personal vehicle. Kenneth Webber was fired on March 8, 2011, five days after being suspended for refusing to comply with an order that the flag be removed from his truck while it was parked in the employee parking lot. Webber has insisted that his display of the Confederate flag does not show him to be a racist but a “backyard redneck. I work for what I have. I support my family. It’s just who I am. I’m a redneck. It’s a way of life.” Institute attorneys have charged Webber’s supervisor at First Student Bus Transportation Services, a company providing services to the Phoenix-Talent School District # 4, with violating his First Amendment right to free expression, as well as his Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection.

“This is a clear case of political correctness run amok,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “Clearly, under the First Amendment, employment cannot be conditioned on forfeiting the right to the freedom of expression.”

Kenneth Webber, who has been employed by First Student Bus Transportation Services, a company providing services to the Phoenix-Talent School District # 4, for four years, began flying the Confederate flag in the bed of his pickup truck about a year ago. The 3-by-5-foot Confederate flag, which has the word “Redneck” emblazoned across it, was a birthday gift from Webber’s father in 2009. Webber drives his truck to work and parks it in the employee lot, which is leased from the school district, before reporting for his duties driving the kindergarten bus for Talent Elementary School.

On March 2, 2011, Webber was called into his supervisor’s office and ordered to remove the flag from his pickup or be suspended from his job. The demand to remove the flag was allegedly made after the school district superintendent visited First Student’s facility and saw the flag in Webber’s truck. The superintendent reportedly requested that Webber remove the flag because “some people find that symbol offensive,” justifying the request by pointing to the fact that the school district is “about 37 percent minority students,” and “we have a policy…about displaying symbols on school property that were racist, or had a potential to be seen as racist.”

Insisting on his right to free expression in his personal vehicle, Webber refused the demand, was suspended and was sent home for the day. The following day, Webber reported to work and was called to meet with two managers, who again demanded that he remove the flag or be suspended, this time for three days. Again, Webber refused and was suspended. On March 8, Webber was called into his manager’s office and was terminated after he again refused to remove the flag from his pickup. “My flag will fly,” said Webber. “No one here is gonna tell me what I can and can’t believe in.” Rutherford Institute attorneys have demanded that First Student restore Webber’s job, pointing to a 2002 victory in which the City of Topeka, Kansas, was found to have violated the First Amendment rights of a city employee by forbidding him from parking his vehicle with Confederate flag vanity license plates in the City’s employee parking lot.

Source: Rutherford Institute News, March 9, 2011.

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House Passes Disclose Act Bill That Would Place Heavy Restrictions on Pro-Life Organizations

Posted on June 28, 2010 by | Leave a comment

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation that pro-life groups oppose because it would place significant limits and restrictions on their ability to communicate with the public about legislation and political candidates. Lawmakers approved the DISCLOSE Act 219-206 that had the support of most Democrats and drew opposition from almost every Republican.

The bill is a response to the Supreme Court’s decision striking down some of the unconstitutional provisions of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill that limited free speech and received strong opposition from pro-life groups and most pro-life lawmakers in Congress.

The biggest problems are that it would require pro-life groups to disclose donors’ names and require them to restrict 501(c)4 activities that allow them to educate their members and the public about legislative and election issues.

The measure now heads to the Senate, where pro-life groups hope Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will be able to keep the GOP caucus together, perhaps with the help of a Democrat or two, in support of a filibuster against the legislation. Should the Senate approve and President Barack Obama sign the DISCLOSE Act, it could hamper the efforts of pro-life groups to raise and spend money educating the public about the voting records and stances of elected officials and candidates for Congress.

The National Right to Life Committee helped lead the way in opposition to the bill, which it calls “a blatant political attack on the First Amendment rights of NRLC, our state affiliates, and our members and donors.” The so-called “NRA carve out,” a revision agreed to by the House Democratic Leadership “is not only worthless, but adds insult to injury,” and would not apply to NRLC or to any of NRLC’s 50 state affiliates, the pro-life group explains.

“This is not about informing the public,” said Douglas Johnson,the NRLC’s legislative director. “This is about deterring communication about those who hold or seek federal office.

While a handful of conservative Democrats and members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted against the bill, just two Republicans — Reps. Mike Castle of Delaware and Joseph Cao of Louisiana — voted for it.

In the Senate, the bill may face a rocky future as even some Democrats are concerned about the exemptions carved out in the bill for the NRA and other groups and even moderate Republicans like Scott Brown of Massachusetts suggest they may not join Democrats in supporting the bill.

“To do any type of campaign finance reform before an election cycle to gain some type of strategic advantage is inappropriate,” Brown told The Hill. “There has been no evidence that any corporation is going to try to influence any elections. It’s being done strictly for a tactical advantage, and that’s not right.”

And pro-abortion Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine says she is leaning no as well.

Pro-life groups will rely on their no votes and capturing others like Sen. Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat.

Source: LifeNews, June 25, 2010

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Islam, AIG Bailouts, Federal Reserve Banks, Tim Geithner, and Barak Obama : Connections

Posted on June 24, 2010 by | Leave a comment

I just came across a pending federal court case against U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the Federal Reserve for their involvement in the federal governments bailout of AIG bank. The case alleges the federal government’s bailout and majority ownership is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. By bailout and acquiring a controlling interest in AIG, the federal government participates in funding Islamic Sharia law and religious activities. The White House leaders and Federal Reserve leaders not only knew they were funding Islamic religious activities but the openly publish it on official website and similar means of communication.

It becomes clearer why a Muslim President was needed to work his PR magic throughout a stupefied America as well as predominately Muslim Middle East. Acquiring AIG is good for Islam. It is good for federal revenues, and it is good some types of investors. However, it is not good for predominately non-Muslim taxpayers to fund Islamic religious activities no matter how profitable it may be.

Some prophecy writers see Islam as dominating the globe during what the Bible describes as the last days. The same believe the anti-Christ will be a Muslim. They also see this anti-Christ figure as having worldwide control over commerce and banking. Could it be we are witnessing the means by which the anti-Messiah will rise to this level of power?

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Too Big To DISCLOSE? SBE Council Rips Bill that Protects Speech of Powerful Interests, but Muzzles Small Business

Posted on June 23, 2010 by | Leave a comment

With a June 18 vote expected in the U.S. House on the so-called “Democracy Is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections Act” (DISCLOSE Act, H.R. 5175), a leading small business advocacy organization ripped the legislation, and said its clear intent is to silence the voice of small business during the 2010 election cycle. SBE Council President & CEO Karen Kerrigan sent a letter to every House member detailing the group’s outrage about H.R. 5175’s “unconstitutional, discriminatory, onerous and politically motivated underpinnings.” SBE Council will KEY VOTE the legislation as a vote against small business in its upcoming Ratings of Congress.

“Small business owners are rightly outraged by this legislative charade. It imposes complex and burdensome ‘disclosure’ requirements on businesses and their associations, while exempting big powerful interests like labor unions, the NRA and AARP. First there was ‘too big to fail’ and now ‘too big to disclose’ – small business owners keep getting the shaft from this Congress,” said Kerrigan.

According to SBE Council’s Kerrigan, H.R. 5175 is a bad bill that got worse once the National Rifle Association (NRA) cut its deal with House Democrats. The NRA will not take a position on the bill ever since language was included that effectively exempts the organization from its onerous and unconstitutional demands.

Kerrigan said, “This special deal for the NRA and other groups is a scandal. It speaks to the desperation of the bill’s supporters to muzzle the business community during the upcoming election cycle.”

The unwarranted, complex and burdensome disclosure requirements in H.R. 5175 would apply to businesses and business associations, but not to labor unions or the NRA due to the crafty donor levels designed by the legislation. Blanket restrictions on election-related speech, such as independent expenditures, would be placed on government contractors, but effectively not unions under government contract. Unworkable and intimidating “stand by your ad” provisions would only apply to business groups and other advocacy organizations.

“Essentially, the free speech rights of labor unions, the NRA and a few other powerful interest groups are left intact by the bill. Our voice is effectively curbed by the legislation,” added Kerrigan.

According to SBE Council, the bill’s language flies directly in the face of the kind of speech most clearly and fully protected under the First Amendment, i.e., speech related to politics, elections and policy. The U.S. Supreme Court has been clear in its decisions that such speech warrants protection, and any differential treatment of speakers based on identity or content violates the First Amendment.

“No matter where one happens to fall on the philosophical and political spectrum, this legislation is nothing less than shameful,” concluded Kerrigan.

SBE Council is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship. For additional information, please visit: http://www.sbecouncil.org/.

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Greene County GOP boss trashes 1st Amendment

Posted on March 26, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Yesterday, according to John Mitchel, Marilyn Reid violated his First Amendment right to free speech by confiscating copies of a news article describing a pending lawsuit against Reid, Greene County Commissioner and Executive Chair for the Greene County Republican Party. Before the monthly Greene County Republican luncheon meeting at a public restaurant, Reid gathered up the handouts that were placed on the tables, saying, “This is a Republican meeting, not a lawsuit meeting.” Former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel John Mitchel is an elected member of the Greene County Republican Central Committee and challenged Steve Austria in the March 2009 U.S. District 7 Republican primary.

In response to the incident, Mitchel commented, “Ms. Reid has taken it over the top. For years she has exploited her leadership position with the Greene County Republican Party for personal and family gain, but this flagrant violation of a constituent’s right to free political speech seals the deal on her self-interested motives. Elected members of the Greene County Central Committee who are invited to the meeting, have just as much a right to express their opinions as Ms. Reid. Apparently Marilyn has no use for dissenting viewpoints coexisting with her agenda. This is an embarrassment to the Republican Party and an insult to Greene County citizens, particularly those who have served in the military. It’s time for Ms. Reid to step down as Greene County GOP Chair in favor of someone who is willing to listen to those who may have opinions different from their own.”

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The Plan to Restore Constitutional Order

Posted on June 25, 2008 by | Leave a comment

June 30, 2008 may be remembered in history as the day Americans began, in earnest, the moral and solemn process of holding their (servant) Government accountable to the Constitution — under threat of withdrawal of allegiance, support and tax money.

To secure this end, the People have begun to claim and exercise a little-known, but unalienable, “Right of Redress,” rather than depending upon the will of the majority as defined by precinct voters, those who cast votes on Capitol Hill, and those that vote from the inner sanctums of our Courthouses.

Most do not know that this profound natural Right, first articulated 800 years ago in Magna Carta, is embodied and protected by the Petition clause of the First Amendment — the same Amendment which protects your voice in the defense of Freedom. Very importantly, academic research since 1986 makes clear the Right to Petition for Redress is NOT a redundant statement of the Right of Speech. It is in fact, the individual exercise of Popular Sovereignty.

To be sure, the widespread exercise of this Right holds significant implications for our nation and are most worthy of your interest. Here’s what the Founders sitting as the first Congress had to say:

“If money is wanted by Rulers
who have in any manner oppressed the People,
they may retain it until their grievances are redressed,
and thus peaceably procure relief, without trusting to despised
petitions or disturbing the public tranquility.”

Journals of the Continental Congress, 1:105-113

On June 30, 2008, approximately 1200 American citizens will begin the process of exercising the Right by formally serving a Legal Notice and Demand for Redress upon the President, the Attorney General and every member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate at their local district offices.

Demanding an official response within forty (40) days, the Notice includes seven (7) Petitions for Redress of Grievances regarding substantial violations of the Constitution:

1. The Iraq invasion in violation of the war powers clauses.
 
2. The Federal Reserve System’s violation of the money clauses.
 
3. The USA Patriot Act’s violation of the privacy clauses.
 
4. The direct, un-apportioned taxes on labor in violation of the tax clauses.
 
5. The federal gun control laws in violation of the Second Amendment.
 
6. The failure to enforce immigration laws in violation of the “faithfully execute clause.”
 
7. The construction, by stealth, of a “North American Union” without constitutional authority.

 

We the People cannot elect our way out of tyranny. Any assertion that by electing either McCain or Obama we can cure the ills that now plague America is simply naive or based on a lack of information regarding the corrupting forces that truly influence and control our government and political process.

If Liberty and Constitutional Order are to survive in peace, it is imperative that the People learn about and exercise the unalienable Right of Redress. For details about the Plan to Restore Constitutional Order, visit: www.GiveMeLiberty.org/revolution.

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