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When Insulting the Police is a “Crime”
lewrockwell.com / By William Norman Grigg via Pro Libertate Blog / October 3, 2015
Three residents of Arena, Wisconsin posted critical and provocative messages on the Facebook page of the local police department.All of those comments were purged by the officer who administered that page. Only one of them, however, resulted in criminal charges.Thomas Smith was arrested and charged with “disorderly conduct” and “unlawful use of a computerized communication system” in a fashion that “tended to cause a disturbance.” Following a brief and perfunctory trial in which Smith’s written comments were the only “evidence” used against him, the 23-year-old was convicted and sentenced to a year of probation and 25 hours of “community service.”
Smith’s conviction was overturned roughly a year later by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. This gave rise to the inevitable civil rights lawsuit, which which last week produced a $35,000 settlement underwritten by the productive people sentenced to reside within Arena’s tax jurisdiction.
The settlement would probably be enough to cover Smith’s legal expenses. It certainly wouldn’t be adequate compensation for a three-year legal ordeal orchestrated by petulant, power-intoxicated police officers and city prosecutors who pretended to be enforcing community standards, rather than engaging in transparent retaliation against a critic. In addition to serving a day of pre-trial detention, Smith was subjected to bail conditions that denied him use of a computer or a cell phone for any non-employment-related purpose, and as a condition of bail he was required to share his passwords with the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office.
In substantive terms, Smith was subjected to a form of probation as punishment for an “offense” that had yet to be proven.
The post When Insulting the Police is a “Crime” appeared first on Silver For The People.
Source: http://silveristhenew.com/2015/10/03/when-insulting-the-police-is-a-crime/
