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Court Upholds Right of Blogger to
Remain Anonymous, Criticize Warren Officials |
DETROIT – In a victory for free speech,
a Macomb County Court upheld the right of a blogger to
remain anonymous and criticize the City of Warren’s
assistant attorney. The American Civil Liberties Union
of Michigan is representing a blogger who was targeted
in a defamation lawsuit by the city attorney demanding
that he reveal his identity after posting unfavorable
remarks to a message board dedicated to the discussion
of local public affairs.
“Keeping in line with a rich history of court decisions
upholding anonymous political speech, the judge today
rejected the assistant attorney’s attempts to bully
members of the public into silence,” said Bill Burdett,
ACLU of Michigan cooperating attorney of the law firm
Boyle Burdett. “The decision sends a clear message to
our elected and appointed officials that they cannot use
lawsuits to silence public criticism.”
In February 2011, the blogger posted an article on the
message board www.warrenforum.net questioning the
legitimacy of Assistant City Attorney Ronald Papandrea’s
bankruptcy filings. The blogger’s post alleged that the
Papandrea had arranged to retire, file for bankruptcy
and then be rehired after his debts were discharged.
Soon after the article and link were posted, Papandrea
subpoenaed the Internet service provider for information
that would reveal the identity of the blogger. The ACLU
represented the blogger in asking Circuit Judge Diane
Druzinski to quash the subpoena and dismiss the case on
First Amendment grounds.
In an April 2011 article published in The Macomb Daily,
Papandrea acknowledges that his intention for filing the
lawsuit is to censor critics on the message board. He is
quoted as saying, “I think the web site has an undue
influence on Warren politics – a bad influence. . . . If
I can expose it for what it is, people are going to have
to debate the real issues. Politicians in this city live
in fear of this web site and it affects what they do.”
On Friday, attorneys for Papandrea dismissed the
defamation case voluntarily after Judge Druzinski
quashed the subpoena.
“Free speech is the bedrock of our Constitution and our
democracy,” said Burdett. “Since the founding of our
nation, anonymous speech has played a significant role
in politics. In fact, the Federalist Papers, which
argued for the ratification of the Constitution, were
written anonymously by our founding fathers.”
For years, the ACLU of Michigan has worked with
policy makers to pass laws protecting against lawsuits
intended to censor protected speech by burdening
speakers with the costs of defending themselves against
frivolous claims. Approximately half the states in our
country have laws protecting citizens who speak out on
matters of public concern from “Strategic Lawsuits
Against Public Participation” (SLAPP), however, anti-SLAPP
bills introduced in Michigan have not received a
legislative hearing.
In addition to Burdett, the blogger is represented by
Dan Korobkin, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney.
To read the opinion quashing the subpoena, go to:
http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/papandreaorderquashingsubpoena.pdf
To read the ACLU’s motion for Summary Disposition, go
to: http://www.aclumich.org/sites/default/files/file/papandreamotionsummarydisposition.PDF |
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Polar Bear
Cookbook
Thank you
to everyone who submitted
recipes for the Polar Bear
Hockey Cookbook. The cookbooks
are now available. The cost for
the cookbooks are $10.00 so make
sure to grab one for yourself
and maybe one or two as a gift.
They can be purchased at the Pat
O'Donnel Civic Center concession
stand or by contacting Kerry
Roehm or Micki Sorensen. |
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