Judge Thomas Lister Stifles Free Speech

UPDATE:

For Immediate Release

Contact: R. J. Johnson

November 3, 2008

[Middleton] The Coalition for America’s Families hailed the order of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 4 to stay the restraining order issued by Jackson County Judge Thomas Lister Saturday. “This is a victory for the First Amendment, our right of free speech, and due process of the law” said Coalition spokesman R. J. Johnson. “The assumption we start with in this country is that neither government nor the courts should interfere or sensor speech or the dissemination of information.”

As was said in Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart, “Prior restraints on speech and publication are the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights. A prior restraint, by contrast and by definition, has an immediate and irreversible sanction. If it can be said that a threat of criminal or civil sanctions after publication 'chills' speech, prior restraint 'freezes' it at least for the time.”

“The court understood this and upheld two of the principles we hold so dear in this country, due process and freedom of speech,” Johnson concluded.

In their decision the Court of Appeals said:

Based on our review of the cases cited in the petitioners brief, and arguments and authorities presented to the trial court, that does not appear to be an adequate basis for prior restraint in the context of a defamation claim. In short, we are aware of no case law which permits prior restraint of speech before an adjudication on the merits of the defamatory nature of the statement at issue.

Therefore

IT IS ORDERED that the motion for temporary ex parte relief is granted, and the trial court’s temporary restraining order – which was issued before any evidentiary hearing on the truth of the matter asserted was held – is hereby stayed.

________________

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A judge's apparently unprecedented decision Saturday to order a halt to political ads before hearing from the ad's sponsors drew immediate criticism as an unfair restraint of free speech.

Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Lister defended his emergency order, which was requested via telephone Friday by state Democratic Party attorneys representing an Assembly candidate in a hotly contested race in western Wisconsin.

Lister will hold a hearing with all parties on the case this morning.

Lister said he was justified in issuing a temporary stoppage until a full court hearing could be held because state election laws might have been violated.

But the Coalition for America's Families, an independent group airing radio ads critical of Democrat Mark Radcliffe, said Lister's actions reeked of partisanship. The group was not notified of the court challenge until it learned of the ruling Saturday, said R.J. Johnson, spokesman for the coalition.

"If that's not banana republic, I don't know what is," Johnson said.

The emergency order, known as an ex parte decision, is without precedent nationally in political speech cases, according to Mike Wittenwyler, a Madison lawyer with long experience in such cases. The coalition tapped him Saturday to try to overturn the order.

Donald Downs, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist and First Amendment expert, said Lister's approach was problematic because the group could suffer irreparable harm without even getting a hearing.

This is unconscionable. It's a disgrace.

...Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said the ruling had a chilling effect on free speech.

Boots and Sabers has more details on this extremely disturbing case.

Owen concludes:

This looks like a pure political hatchet job by a bunch of Democrat hacks. Wisconsin should be ashamed that this kind of stuff is going on.

UPDATE: The judge had a hearing today (Sunday) and renewed his ban on the ad. The hearing was originally scheduled until Monday until the judge got heat. This is going to be overturned, but it won’t matter. The judge has succeeded in squashing the free speech of the side he doesn’t like until it’s too late. Abuse of power? Oh yeah.

Dem hack Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Lister has done plenty of damage here.

He's supposed to interpret the law. Obviously, his interpretation is completely off base.

Lister, a Jim Doyle appointee, is trampling on free speech rights.

Do you want the Democrats and Barack Obama to pack the courts with Dem activist judges like Lister?

Do you want Obama appointing a band of Ruth Bader-Ginsburgs to the Supreme Court?

I don't.

God help the United States of America.