老澳门开奖结果

CONCORD, N.H. 鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 and the 老澳门开奖结果 of New Hampshire today filed a federal lawsuit challenging New Hampshire鈥檚 criminal defamation law, which makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally and falsely disparage another person. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Robert Frese, a resident of Exeter who has twice been arrested and charged with criminal defamation under the law.

Frese鈥檚 second arrest under the law happened in May, after he posted comments to a Seacoast Online article about a retiring police officer, accusing the officer of misconduct. He also wrote that Exeter Police Chief William Shupe 鈥渃overed up for this dirty cop.鈥� A few weeks later, the Exeter police filed a criminal complaint against Frese. The police complaint stated Frese 鈥減urposely communicated on a public website, in writing, information which he knows to be false and knows will tend to expose another person to public contempt, by posting that Chief Shupe covered up for a dirty cop.鈥� The police ultimately dropped the charges.

鈥淚 never thought that speaking my mind would get me arrested,鈥� Frese said. 鈥淎merica is the best country in the world because we have the right to free speech. Never in a million years would I think that what happened to me would happen in this country 鈥� it is utterly anti-American.鈥�

The lawsuit argues that New Hampshire鈥檚 criminal libel law 鈥� and laws like it across the nation 鈥� violate the First Amendment, give the public far too little guidance on what may constitute a crime, and give law enforcement far too much discretion in deciding whom to prosecute. The complaint also states that such laws are unnecessary when civil lawsuits are fully capable of addressing the harms caused by defamation.

鈥淥ur client went to the internet to voice his grievances about the police only to be arrested by the police,鈥� said Gilles Bissonnette, legal director at the 老澳门开奖结果 of New Hampshire. 鈥淭hat is absurd, and a textbook example of the use and abuse of criminal defamation laws. Law enforcement should not have the power to crack down on free speech, especially when that speech is critical of law enforcement.鈥�

The Supreme Court imposed significant restrictions on criminal defamation laws in the 1960s, and a few justices signaled that criminal defamation should be abolished entirely. The court recognized the 鈥減rofound national commitment to the principle that debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust, and wide-open, and that it may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.鈥�

Despite this, the laws remain on the books in 25 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Penalties can range from $500 to $10,000 and/or 10 years in jail for certain offenses. Criminal convictions also carry collateral penalties, including potential immigration consequences and ineligibility for housing and employment opportunities.

鈥淐riminal defamation is a relic from the days of the Star Chamber and the Sedition Act,鈥� added Brian Hauss, staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. 鈥淭hese laws have no place in 21st-century American democracy. It鈥檚 time we toss such laws into the dustbin of history, where they belong.鈥�

Criminal defamation laws are disproportionately used against people who criticize public officials or government employees. One study identified 23 criminal defamation prosecutions or threatened prosecutions for the period from 1990鈥�2002, 12 of which were deemed 鈥減olitical鈥� and 20 of which involved public figures or issues of public controversy. Examples include a Kansas newspaper editor and publisher for suggesting in a local paper that the county mayor lives in another county and a Kansas man with criminal defamation after he posted a yard sign criticizing his local government鈥檚 inaction on a water drainage problem.

Prosecutions under criminal defamation laws are also increasing with the rise of online speech. The 老澳门开奖结果 argues that if the trend continues, criminal defamation laws could become regular tools for policing online discourse.

The complaint can be found here: /legal-document/frese-v-macdonald-complaint.

A blog post by Hauss on today鈥檚 filing can be found here: /blog/free-speech/internet-speech/new-hampshire-police-arrested-man-being-mean-them-internet.

A map of criminal libel laws throughout the United States is available here: /issues/free-speech/criminal-defamation