Daily Archives: November 10, 2014

From our community

Late Tuesday afternoon, Houston City Council candidate Trebor Gordon filed a First Amendment lawsuit challenging a discriminatory Houston ordinance that prevents city candidates from fundraising until February.

Gordon is a conservative candidate for Houston City Council at large. Houston is a great city because of the entrepreneurial culture of its citizens, among other things, Gordon said. But our current leadership has been chipping away at that spirit, overregulating and fleecing the taxpayers with a runaway budget. Im running to restore responsible leadership and let Houstonians run their own lives.

Im also compelled to address the deeply offensive posture Mayor Parker has taken towards people of faith in this city, harassing pastors with abusive subpoenas, Gordon continued. I have to address these issues now, because they are happening now. I cant wait until February to start my campaign.

Gordon will be on the ballot in the citys next general election in November 2015. Currently, section 18-35(a) of the Houston code of ordinances states that candidates may only solicit or receive contributions beginning in February of the election year and ending on March 4 of the year after the election. This provision prohibits fundraising for a full ten months of every two-year cycle, and candidates have only nine months to raise funds before Election Day.

Gordon is represented by political law attorney Jerad Najvar. There is no blackout period banning bad decisions by city officials for a part of every election cycle, Najvar said, and the government has no authority to tell Gordonor any other candidateto wait until February to start campaigning. City officials have access to free media all day long, and my client certainly has the right to fund his campaign and speak to the public. This waiting period serves only to insulate the city from organized opposition.

Najvar continued: The blackout period is facially unconstitutional. But it gets even worse, because people who currently hold non-city office are raising money right now, and everybody knows it will be transferred to their city campaign in February. This whole system is an absurd charade encouraging candidates to act like theyre running for something theyre not. While these shadow campaigns are proceeding aggressively, nonincumbents like Gordon have to sit on their hands. The First Amendment does not permit such nonsense.

The case is Gordon v. City of Houston, No. 14-CV-3146, currently pending in federal court in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Gordon has asked for an immediate injunction, and is awaiting a hearing date from the court.

Read more:
Houston City Council candidate Trebor Gordon files First Amendment challenge to campaign blackout period

Irving, TX -- Nexstar CEO Perry Sook has been honored as a First Amendment Award winner by The Radio Television Digital News Foundation.

Perry Sook, president and CEO of Nexstar successfully built Nexstar Broadcasting from two dozen stations to more than 100, while building and improving news operations across the ever-expanding group. This award honors professionals in local or network news who work in an off-air, management, largely behind-the-scenes capacity.

Our honorees are true champions of press freedom," said Chris Carl, Chairman of RTDNF. "Each of them have demonstrated outstanding support of the First Amendment through their work and their commitment to excellence." "We are proud to recognize the tireless dedication of this year's recipients, added Mike Cavender, RTDNF Executive Director. From the board room to the courtroom and from the White House Press Room to our living rooms, they embody the values of a free press in our society."

The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the Grand Hyatt, 1000 H Street NW in Washington, DC on Wednesday, March 11, 2015.

Sook was recently inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.

Read more from the original source:
Nexstar CEO Perry Sook Honored with First Amendment Service Award

Bethlehem

A federal jury found that the Bethlehem police chief retaliated against an outspoken patrolman, but determined that the disciplinary action would have happened anyway.

The verdict was a victory for Police Chief Louis Corsi and the town. The chief and town were found not liable and face no punitive penalties.

Former Patrolman Christopher A. Hughes sued Corsi and the town in a First Amendment retaliation case alleging that Corsi disciplined and suspended Hughes because of public statements he made criticizing the chief and the department.

The jury "found that Chief Corsi would have taken the same action even absent Mr. Hughes protected speech," said Thomas J. O'Connor, an Albany lawyer that represented Corsi and the town. "It is a complete victory for Chief Corsi."

But Hughes' lawyer said the jury's decision is not logical, and plans to ask the judge to set aside the verdict.

"The jury found that the chief of police, acting as a representative of the town of Bethlehem, engaged in retaliation against Christopher Hughes," Sussman said. "The jury also found that the same actions would have been taken whether they were retaliatory or not. It's a bit of a mind stretcher."

Seven jurors decided the case based on evidence they heard over a weeklong trial that ended Friday in the United States District Court. They deliberated for five hours on a series of questions given to them by Chief Judge Gary L. Sharpe.

In order to prove a First Amendment retaliation case, the jury had to find that the disciplinary action was retaliation for protected speech and the action would not have happened in absence of the speech.

"It is a bit puzzling because to say 'yes' to the first question, the jury had to say that retaliatory motivation was a substantial factor," said Sussman, a civil rights lawyer based in Goshen, Orange County.

See more here:
Jury finds in favor of Bethlehem police chief