老澳门开奖结果

Willian Barboza was 21 years old when he, in frustration, crossed out the name of the New York town 鈥淟iberty鈥� and wrote 鈥淭yranny鈥� on a payment form for a speeding ticket he received there and , 鈥淔uck your shitty town bitches.鈥�

But what the town did next was truly shitty.

Willian鈥檚 payment was rejected, and he was forced to travel two hours from his home to appear at a court hearing where a judge chastised him for his language. Things only got worse when Assistant District Attorney Robert Zangla ordered Willian鈥檚 arrest, charging him with the crime of 鈥渁ggravated harassment鈥� 鈥� a misdemeanor punishable by as much as a year in prison. Willian was then handcuffed to a bench, arraigned without a lawyer, and eventually had to bail himself out for $200 after being in custody for hours.

It鈥檚 pretty ironic that such a clear violation of freedom of speech occurred in a town named Liberty, and a federal judge agreed, though he didn鈥檛 find it the least bit amusing.

Yesterday the NYCLU, which represented Willian along with lead counsel Stephen Bergstein, that a federal judge vindicated Willian by ruling that the prosecutor violated his First Amendment right to harmlessly express his opinions about the government without fearing he will be punished or arrested. The court also ruled that the Village of Liberty must stand trial on claims that it had failed to adequately train its police officers about the First Amendment.

Willian鈥檚 arrest was obviously unconstitutional. The local judge who dismissed Willian鈥檚 charges in 2013 noted that not a single legal citation was required for 鈥渢his Court to determine that the language under the circumstances here, offensive as it is, is protected.鈥�

And New York鈥檚 鈥渁ggravated harassment鈥� statute 鈥� which made it a crime to communicate 鈥渨ith intent to harass, annoy, threaten or alarm another person鈥� 鈥� was perniciously overbroad, so much so that it was struck down and then amended since Willian鈥檚 arrest. Government officials don鈥檛 have to like what you say about them 鈥� they can be 鈥渁nnoyed鈥� or even 鈥渁larmed鈥� by criticisms 鈥� but that doesn鈥檛 make those criticisms unlawful or even harmful.

In fact, criticism of government is a very good thing, as NYCLU Staff Attorney Mariko Hirose explains:

鈥淭he First Amendment protects people鈥檚 right to express their opinions about the government, and our government is better for it.鈥�

But what鈥檚 more 鈥� yesterday鈥檚 decision agreed that the prosecutor is supposed to know better 鈥� and have a thicker skin.