Judge Quashes Bogus Subpoena for Identity of Anonymous Blogger

[Bright Eyes]

This is fucking scary. Simply criticizing the government could get you in trouble. Thank god the Judge believes in the Constitution.

In Manalapan v. Moskovitz the aforementioned blogger, writing anonymously, strongly criticized a malpractice suit filed by the township of Manalapan, New Jersey against its former city attorney, Stuart Moskovitz. The township had subpoenaed Google for the identity of the blogger, as well as for any emails, blog drafts, and other information the internet giant had pertaining to the blogger.
In a hearing a week ago Friday, Superior Court Judge Terence Flynn quashed the subpoena and ruled that the blogger had a First Amendment right to anonymous speech.

Read the whole thing at: http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/12/29/171947/15/453/427706

[lonestarnot]

1. Woot!

:applause: for dat Judge! He has read it!

[L. Coyote]

2. "the blogger had a First Amendment right to anonymous speech"

not to mention, to "use a character" as a speaker. There is no assurance that anon speech is the voice of the writer, it can be a "character" in the Colbert sense.

[pleah]

3. I'm glad we still have some sane judges around.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. Thank God

I live in New Jersey!

[Bright Eyes]

5. I actually live very close to Manalapan

I don't follow local politics though. I still don't understand what the township hoped to accomplish....

[riverdeep]

6. You know what actually stopped it?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a motion. Without them doing that, it would likely have quietly gone through. And even if it didn't, under another judge, one of those good Republican non-activist judges, it would have gone through.

It indicates a need for two things: making judicial appointments more of a focus, and the continuing need for organizations that go out and do the actual work that we say the proverbial 'someone' should do, to be properly supported.

[eridani]

7. EFF could always use money

http://www.eff.org/

[tblue37]

8. People here on DU who rant that they will not

vote for Hillary (or some other candidate--though Hillary is the one who usually gets these attacks) in the general election freak me out. They seem not to understand the importance of having a Democratic president appointing not just Supreme Court justices, but other judges to the federal bench.