Magistrate throws the book at Gov. Haslam & TN Reublicans

[Tippy]

"It's not every day you get to see a night court magistrate smack down the governor of Tennessee," a legal observer said outside the Metro Courthouse at 2:30 a.m. today, as fog shrouded downtown in mist.

Yet that's what happened in the early morning hours, as Metro Night Court Judge Tom Nelson told the troopers who arrested 25 peaceful Occupy Nashville protesters at midnight on Legislative Plaza — along with Scene reporter Jonathan Meador, who was attempting to get off the plaza when he was cuffed and hauled off — that the curfew being enforced at the Capitol had no constitutional grounds whatsoever.

"I have reviewed the regulations of the state of Tennessee, and I can find no authority anywhere for anyone to authorize a curfew anywhere on Legislative Plaza," Judge Nelson told a grimacing trooper, before ordering the immediate release of everyone arrested.

http://www.nashvillescene.com/blogs/pitw/

[rucky]

1. Did he call the trooper sir as he delivered the smackdown?

Magistrates tend to do that ;)

[Tippy]

3. I am sure he did...

[Gold Metal Flake]

2. Nice!

[starroute]

4. This was the second time round -- no wonder the judge was angry

Nashville rushed through a new regulation just to criminalize overnight protests, then arrested a bunch of occupiers 14 hours later. That was at 3 am in the early hours of Friday. The same judge refused to sign the warrants on grounds of insufficient notice, ordered everyone released, and issued a dressing-down to the police.

So the cops went out and did the same thing all over again last night -- and the judge did *his* same thing all over again this morning. Only now he's not just talking about insufficient notice but is saying that the curfew itself is unconstitutional.

Marvelous.

[socialist_n_TN]

7. I might be wrong, but I think that the state rushed through

the new regulation. If the city did it it was under state pressure. And it wasn't the Nashville cops, it was the Tennessee State Troopers.

That's really the point. The Nashville city administration and the Nashville cops were probably deemed too "unreliable" to enforce the new regulation. So the governor (R) pushed it through and sent in State Troopers.

[starroute]

10. You're right -- I was using "cops" loosely

But this is about the state and not the city.

[Zorra]

5. zing!

:woohoo:

[Hotler]

6. k&r n/t

[indepat]

8. Let this be but the first of whatever barrage of rockets is needed to be shot up the asses of

Haslam, Gibbons, et al. :patriot:

[mitchtv]

9. they delayed the release by hours

kept them in a garage, among other venues before relase that next morning, according to a victim of this outrage on Countdown last night.