Posted on 10/06/2008 4:30:52 AM PDT by marktwain
ACLU Director of Communications Brandon Hensler says the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida received an early victory today when Senior Federal Judge Lacey A. Collier denied the ATF’s motions for summary judgment in Kilpatrick v. U.S.
The ACLU filed the case on April 18, 2006, on behalf of Karen J. Kilpatrick, who claimed that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) violated her Free Speech rights.
Kilpatrick was driving her blue van in Pensacola on April 19, 2004, with the slogans “Remember the Children of Waco” and “Boo ATF” written on some of the windows when she was pulled over by police for questioning by the ATF.
The ACLU argues in the lawsuit that her First Amendment Rights to Free Speech and her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure were violated when officers detained her for an hour, searched her car without consent, and ordered her to remove the writing on the side of her van.
“The ATF’s actions were unconstitutional and there was no legal justification to stop and question Ms. Kilpatrick. We believe that the ATF was trying to silence Ms. Kilpatrick and the 911 call substantiates this position,” said Bert Oram, ACLU cooperating counsel.
“We are confident that we can win this case once the facts are demonstrated and we are pleased that we will be able to make our case in court,” he says.
Counsel for Kilpatrick v. The United States of America are Bert Oram, ACLU cooperating attorney; and Benjamin Stevenson, ACLU of Florida staff attorney in Pensacola.
I’ll bite. Where can I get one of those?
Bart.
It's splitting hair at this point.
Bart.
Splitting hair. Me? Naw, not me. LOL
Just like me you like to stir up shit from time to time. But for a good reason.
Bart.
>for a good reason<
Not always, sometime the kid in me just sneaks out.
As long as the kid is in you, you will do fine. I never gave up on that. I was was riding a Farris Wheel with a lady yesterday a Scheels. I'm not sure what that means in the grand scheme of things but it was fun
I say abolish USC!
Go Ducks!
Seriously, start down the alphabet and abolish all federal agencies that go by their initials (BATFE would be near the top), especially the ones that carry guns.
Law enforcement is a state power.
There are some among us who believe ACLU has a place, even if imperfect. I have personally been on the receiving end of their services after being harassed by the government for delivering a message they didn't like, actually quite similar to the case in the this thread subject. That sort of thuggery happens quite often in deep blue areas.
That's gonna be my story. Go Ducks!
Just gotta love facists suing facists. And here I thought all hope was lost for our legal system. Looks like the ACLU finally picked a good one to get behind, and now I’m surprised that the BATFE hasn’t attempted to stifle free speech here on FR.
Keep laughing. We’ll see who laughs last.
I think you may have missed the point. The game was Saturday night and the Trojans pretty well trounced the Ducks.
But just wait til next year!
I’ll laugh last both this year and next.
Last year's civil war ended in a moment of pure stupidness IIRC. Can't remember the details - for me it's just a couple hours of high emotion and then back to real life.
Taxpayer expense? $38K of the FL ACLU’s $2 million in revenue last year came from court ordered reimbursement, the rest was donations and investments. (sourced from IRS filed 990 form available at guidestar.org charity information site)
Never mind, after thinking about it, I realized I misinterpreted your earlier comment.
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