This is interesting.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

Appeals court overturns conviction in racial slur case.

RICHMOND, Va. -- The conviction of a retired U.S. Air Force officer who used a racial slur while speaking to a Black store clerk and Black customer was overturned Tuesday by a federal appeals court that found his speech was protected by the First Amendment under the circumstances.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jules Bartow, who is white, was arrested after he used the slur while shopping for boots at the Quantico Marine Corps Exchange in November 2018. Prosecutors and witnesses at his trial said he posed several bizarre rhetorical questions, including asking the customer, while referring to the store clerk, “If I called her a (slur), would she still say good morning?”

Bartow was convicted of violating Virginia's abusive language law.

Bartow's conviction was overturned by a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found that the First Amendment permits criminalization of abusive language, but only if the government proves the language had a direct tendency to cause immediate acts of violence by the person to whom it was addressed.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/appeals-court-overturns-conviction-racial-slur-case-77633857.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. Virginia has an "abusive language law"?

How is this possible?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

2. Probably not for much longer because of the ruling.

I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did.

I think this is going to have a big impact on the case in NY where the woman was told by the court to remove the rock with the painted confederate flag from her yard or risk losing custody of her child.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

3. Second thought: if the exchange occurred at the Exchange, wouldn't that have been on

federal property? So why did Virgnia law apply?

Quantico is just down the road from where George Mason lived. This guy:

Fri Dec 11, 2020: On this date, December 11, 1725, George Mason was born. He conceived the Bill of Rights.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

4. According to an article I read yesterday,

the MP's arrested him and turned him over to local authorities for prosecution.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. That's ... thinking ... Prince William County. NT

[panader0]

6. I would think that if the offense occurred at Quantico, that is a federal jurisdiction

and not that of the state.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

7. I'm thinking that because he couldn't be prosecuted by the Feds.,

he was turned over to local authorities for prosecution because of their abusive language law.
Just speculating here.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

12. Speaking of which:

Judge Orders New York Woman to Remove Confederate Flag or Risk Custody of Biracial Child

{edited}

Never mind. I see now that you have already posted a reply. I think I'll make some popcorn.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

13. I think I'll go to my bomb shelter to be safe. nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. Are you familiar with the Lawn door incident at UVa? I've posted about it a few times.

Last edited Wed May 12, 2021, 01:38 PM - Edit history (2)

{I removed some material related to another thread.}

Tue May 11, 2021: Students, faculty, alumni and parents voice opinions on free speech at U.Va. at community listening

Wed Mar 10, 2021: UVa Lawn room doors will have limited space for flyers and posters next year

How it started:

Mon Oct 5, 2020: UVA Lawn student is speaking out after making a sign that's causing a stir

Full disclosure: it's nothing I'd put on my door.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

15. This is the first I've heard of this,

thanks for the links, very interesting reading.
The UVa seems to get what the 1A is about, free speech means just that, free speech, not just speech one likes, but all speech with very narrow exceptions.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

17. There's a Twitter account run by a fellow who goes by the handle "Popehat."

He loves to go into the many way colleges and universities attempt to impose limits on speech, all in the name of ... whatever the cause of the day is.

https://twitter.com/Popehat

Ken White, that's his name. He's an attorney out in California.

Fun is in the forecast at DU for the next few days, I expect.

Best wishes.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

19. Thanks.

I think I'll just keep my head up and eyes forward.
You have a great Wed.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

20. There is a real live, actual Army JAG retiree at DU.

Last edited Wed May 12, 2021, 02:07 PM - Edit history (1)

There is a real live, actual Army JAG retiree at DU. He uses the Army star for his avatar. He lives down around Fort Smith, Arkansas. I think there's a COL somewhere in his handle, but that's true of a few DUers.

I just within the hour filed the last of my taxes, for Virginia. I filed the federal taxes yesterday morning. To my surprise, I owed. It was worth waiting.

You have a great Wednesday too.

[tonedevil]

26. You really don't understand child custody law do you?

I think the court found wrong because I can't see how the retired Lt. Col. hadn't used fighting words, but that has nothing to do with the case you are really interested in. Somehow you seem to think that courts can't use things the parents say or do as the basis for the custody settlement they come to. Custody arrangements are subject to relitigation any time until the custody falls to the children themselves. Apparently the court finds the rock with a confederate flag painted on it in the mother's yard a change of circumstance and if it continues to be displayed they will factor that into the custody arrangement. The Lt. Col's case has no bearing on this case they are different circumstance and family law is it's own beast.
I will say that I hope the next time the Lt. Col. decides it he should use racial slurs in public he is handed a nice big can of Twisted Tea.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

8. My legal experts at the firm of Google, Google, and Google came up with this:

Last edited Wed May 12, 2021, 11:16 AM - Edit history (1)

Centuries-Old Law Against Cursing In Public Repealed By Virginia Legislators

February 19, 2020 9:31 PM ET
JORDAN PASCALE

In Virginia, letting an F-bomb fly in public could get you slapped with a misdemeanor and up to a $250 fine.

"Profane swearing" has been illegal in the commonwealth since 1792, when the fine was 83 cents. Just what bleepin' words are banned? Well, the state code doesn't say.

But on Wednesday, legislators said to hell with the anti-swearing law: The Virginia Senate voted to repeal it, just weeks after the House did the same.

It now awaits Gov. Ralph Northam's signature. Northam spokesperson Alena Yarmosky tells NPR the governor will review the bill when it gets to his desk, adding, "It's past time we swore off the antiquated policies of the past."

{snip}

To review:

F-word? "Okay."

N-word? "You have the right to remain silent."

[MarineCombatEngineer]

11. Thanks for the link.

Very interesting read.

[Mysterian]

9. How embarrassing to have a retired military officer act in such a vulgar, hateful manner

Jules Bartow is a racist piece of garbage. The Air Force should look into the culture of the units this asshole was a part of.

[MarineCombatEngineer]

10. I agree,

but the fact is that this is protected speech, no matter how vulger and heinous it is and IMO, this was the correct ruling.

[Hortensis]

16. "the First Amendment permits criminalization of abusive language,

but only if the government proves the language had a direct tendency to cause immediate acts of violence by the person to whom it was addressed."

Huh.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

21. Here's the article in the ABA Journal abut the reversal.

Full disclosure: I am not a lawyer.

Home Daily News Citing First Amendment, 4th Circuit reverses…

FIRST AMENDMENT

Citing First Amendment, 4th Circuit reverses conviction for retired Air Force lieutenant colonel for using N-word

BY DEBRA CASSENS WEISS

MAY 12, 2021, 10:33 AM CDT

A federal appeals court has reversed the conviction of a white retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who used the N-word while complaining about a Black store employee who asked whether he needed any help.

“If I called her a n- - - -r, would she still say good morning?” the retired officer had said.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Richmond, Virginia, ruled Tuesday that Jules A. Bartow’s speech was protected by the First Amendment, and he could not be convicted for using “abusive language.”

The First Amendment allows a conviction only when language has a direct tendency to cause immediate acts of violence by the person to whom it was addressed, the appeals court said. Under the facts of the case, that “fighting words” exception to free speech protections did not apply, the court concluded.

“Over the decades,” the appeals court said, the U.S. Supreme Court “has repeatedly determined that the First Amendment places considerable limits on the criminalization of speech. We must abide those limits, even if that means, as it does here, that shameful speech escapes criminal sanction.”

Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote the unanimous opinion. Other judges on the panel were Judge Stephanie Thacker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama; and Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., an appointee of Obama.

{snip}

[Xoan]

22. So as long as the victim doesn't retaliate ...

anything goes with these dumbfuck jurists?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

23. They have names.

Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, wrote the unanimous opinion. Other judges on the panel were Judge Stephanie Thacker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama; and Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., an appointee of Obama.

[StarfishSaver]

25. Did you actually read the opinion?

[mahatmakanejeeves]

24. If I ever meet this fellow, I'd like to shake his hand and tell how much I admire him.

It's in a locked thread, so it's going to be time-consuming to edit.

Wed Aug 21, 2019: That wasn't his only defense attorney.

Stephen Jones (attorney)

Stephen Jones (born July 1, 1940), is an attorney best known for taking on a series of high-profile civil rights cases beginning with his defense of a Vietnam War protester, including Timothy McVeigh, and continuing with the fraternity involved in the 2015 University of Oklahoma Sigma Alpha Epsilon racism incident.

Biography

Stephen Jones was born on July 1, 1940 in Lafayette, Louisiana. His father was an oil field supplies sales manager and his mother was the bookkeeper for a wealthy financier. Jones grew up in suburban Houston, received a law degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1966 and settled in Enid, Oklahoma where he still lives. Jones was a member of Phi Alpha Delta and served as Associate Editor of the Oklahoma Bar Journal from 1979 to 1986. He has been married to his wife Sherrel for the last 40 years and they have raised four children.

Legal career

On May 5, 1970, the day after National Guardsmen had shot and killed four students at Kent State University, Keith Green was arrested at the University of Oklahoma for carrying a Viet Cong flag in violation of a state law prohibiting the display of a "red flag or emblem of anarchy or rebellion". After 12 lawyers had refused to defend the student, Jones took the case and was promptly dismissed from the Enid, Oklahoma law firm where he was employed. Jones argued in court that the disloyalty statute was unconstitutional and the judge dismissed the case, overturning the statute. Later Jones would go on to represent Abbie Hoffman, the radical Yippie, when Oklahoma State University refused to let him speak on campus.

In 1975, Jones defended Bobby Wayne Collins, who was accused of the worst mass killing in Oklahoma history at the time. Mervin Thrasher (28), his wife Sandra (27) and their two young children, Penny (5) and Robert (18 months) were murdered in their four-room farm home one mile north of Woodward, Oklahoma. Collins was found guilty and sentenced to death for the brutal crime. On appeal in 1977, Jones successfully had Collins' death sentence commuted to life imprisonment. Bobby Wayne Collins was denied parole in both 2009 and again in 2015. He currently remains in custody at the Lexington Correctional Center.


{snip}

This is about a third one:

Defense attorney for Oklahoma City bomber dead at 57


Source: AP

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Rob Nigh, a defense attorney who represented Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and witnessed his 2001 execution, died Sunday after a battle with cancer, former colleagues said. He was 57.

Known for his encyclopedic legal knowledge, work ethic and intense preparation on every case he handled, Nigh also defended those accused of committing some of the state's most egregious crimes. Nigh died about three months after stepping down as Tulsa County's chief public defender for serious health issues.

Stephen Jones, McVeigh's lead defense attorney, told The Associated Press Sunday that he asked Nigh to be his assistant on the McVeigh case and recommended him to serve as the former soldier's appellate attorney because he thought of his colleague as "a zealous advocate" for clients.

Jones said his instinct to take Nigh on didn't disappoint.

Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/TXAMA/9fe6901e65e14c17b96e6d68f3208992/Article_2017-09-24-US--Obit-Rob%20Nigh/id-bac156d67cba4f5ca604e0cfa5a70f06

Back to Stephen Jones:

Oklahoma man accused of molesting Kenyan orphans to testify

Source: Associated Press

Oklahoma man accused of molesting Kenyan orphans to testify
| June 17, 2015 | Updated: June 17, 2015 1:54am


[font size=1]
Photo By Sue Ogrocki/AP

Kyle Durham, left, and Melissa Durham, second from left, hold hands as they leave the Federal Courthouse in
Oklahoma City, following another day of testimony in the federal trial of their son, Matthew Lane Durham,
Monday, June 15, 2015. At right are their other two sons, Josh Durham, right, and Zac Durham. Matthew Lane
Durham is accused of 17 counts of sexual misconduct with children in Nairobi, Kenya.
[/font]
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A 20-year-old Oklahoma man accused of sexually abusing children at a Kenyan orphanage is set to testify in his own defense.

Matthew Lane Durham is scheduled to take the stand Wednesday before a 12-member jury. Defense attorney Stephen Jones says Durham and his father, Oklahoma City Fire Department Maj. Kyle Durham, will both testify as the defense prepares to wrap up its case.

Matthew Durham faces 17 counts of sexual misconduct, including aggravated sexual abuse and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places. He's pleaded not guilty and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors allege that Durham molested the children between April and June 2014 while working as a volunteer at the Upendo Children's Home, which cares for neglected children in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Oklahoma-man-accused-of-molesting-Kenyan-orphans-6331849.php

OU SAE to sue University of Oklahoma and the University President


Yep. They're being slammed and punished for using their freedom of speech. Law professors are gearing up to help the students out.

NORMAN, Okla. — The local chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon is planning to pursue legal action against the University of Oklahoma, and possibly OU President David Boren.

The group has hired high-profile attorney, Stephen Jones to represent them.

Jones told NewsChannel 4 the group is outraged over President Boren shutting down the fraternity house and branding all SAE members as racists and bigots.

Jones says the two students who were expelled because of the incident have apologized sincerely for their remarks, and now the incident is being exploited.

He said they lacked judgment in a social setting, but they should not be tarred and feathered as racists.

{snip}

Stephen Jones has a reputation for taking on tough cases. I admire him greatly. I'd like to shake his hand.