UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS WHILE SPREADING OUR MESSAGE
Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 9:12 pm
Originally posted by "Natman" on Stormfront.org, 02-21-2006.
Success for National Alliance Members in Legal Battle
Activism; Posted on: 2004-06-25 10:10:41
Anti-free speech effort fails after five months.
http://www.nationalvanguard.org/story.php?id=3213
http://www.nationalvanguard.org
by Travis Massey
SALT LAKE CITY: Four Members of the National Alliance had all charges dropped this week after five months of legal conflict with the state of Utah. The legal discord was the result of four members and one supporter of the Salt Lake City Local Unit of the National Alliance being arrested for “placing printed material on vehicles” in violation of a city ordinance prohibiting such placement.
In February the Unit had gathered to help in the international Valentine's Day 'Love Your Race' literature distribution. After dividing about 5,000 'Love your Race' flyers between several groups of four to six members and supporters they set out to place the flyers under the windshield wipers of cars parked in public parking lots. The majority of the group was experienced in this sort of literature dissemination, and public parking lots were chosen because of their definite protection under constitutional First Amendment rights.
After placing most of the flyers allotted to their group, the members who were later charged decided to finish off at a large lot which provided parking for more that fifteen shops and restaurants near downtown Salt Lake. They had nearly finished when four police cars and several unmarked cars spewed nearly twenty uniformed and plain-clothes officers around them. All of the people involved did a wonderful job of heeding the pre-activity briefing that was given to all members regarding proper behavior in this situation, but nonetheless everyone was arrested and cited for placing printed material on vehicles. The officers were shown “the right to distribute literature” flyer downloadable from the National Alliance website, but were told that a “city ordinance actually has precedence over these [Constitutional rights]”.
The Salt Lake City Unit leadership decided, before the initial hearing, that they would price local lawyers and would do everything in their power to fight the second-degree misdemeanor charges as far as they could, including challenging the constitutionality of the city code. Since some of the members qualified for a public defender they decided to wait until after the hearing to see if there was any hope of real legal help from the government. After sitting through hours of court cases relayed to the judge in Spanish they were certainly surprised when they met with their court-appointed attorney.
She was an attractive lady with an Icelandic flag hanging over her desk and a sign that read “Viking parking only” on her wall -- and a solid history with civil rights cases. She explained the plea bargain offered by the state of Utah, a $400 fine and no jail time for each of the defendants, and that fighting it or accepting it were both viable options. However, she seemed very surprised and outright pleased when our members and supporters responded that they would not accept any plea bargain because it could create a precedent preventing them from exercising their First Amendment rights in the future. She then laid out a legal plan that would not only create a solid defense to the original prosecution, but would also leave the option open to challenge the constitutionality of the city ordinance with the Utah Supreme Court.
After the original plea bargain was rejected, the state of Utah attempted another plea bargain that dropped all monetary fines and would have allowed the National Alliance members to do "community service" volunteering for minority causes. Again, the offer was refused and the case moved forward.
The defendants' attorney moved for a dismissal of the case based on two primary arguments: That the prosecution violated the defendants' First Amendment right to freedom of speech, and that the prosecution violated the defendants' equal protection rights because they had been selectively prosecuted.
The first argument was based primarily on the unconstitutionality of the specific Salt Lake City ordinance because it prohibited all distribution of flyers, rather than simply restricting time or place of distribution for reasons that are necessary for public health, morals, peace, or welfare -- and therefore is patently unconstitutional. This argument was based on precedents that have been listed below for any one who is interested in further legal reading, but for the sake of brevity have been summarized here. It included several cases regarding laws nearly identical to the Salt Lake City ordinance in other states being found unconstitutional based on their being overly broad (prohibiting all literature distribution rather than limiting it for legitimate reasons), several cases setting precedents due to the limitations on the government regulating speech on private property, particularly parking lots which are private property but are open to the public; and finally an interesting reference to Skokie v. The National Socialist Party of America that demonstrated the need to prevent any action that would create a “chilling effect on the right of free speech.” Or, in other words: The government cannot restrict or limit any acts of free speech because the speech carries a message unpopular with government officials, the public, or special interest groups.
The second argument focused on the fact that the defendants' equal protection rights had been violated because they had been selectively prosecuted. This was due to the fact that the Salt Lake City ordinance under which they were charged was a little-used law that was being used to stop the dissemination of a political message that some powerful interests in the State of Utah found disagreeable. Other people “placing printed material on vehicles” -- even those who did so regularly for months or years -- were not prosecuted, and therefore the prosecution was based on the literature's content rather than on the actual acts of the defendants.
The State of Utah initially ignored the move for dismissal and both sides began to prepare for the scheduled jury trial. However, after the defendants' attorney subpoenaed a list of all instances of prosecution for this ordinance, the Attorney General of Utah asked that the case be dismissed and all charges were dropped. Although the National Alliance was not able to strike down this outrageous law -- this time anyway -- our members now have a strong case for filing civil suits for selective enforcement and harassment if they are further prevented from disseminating our message.
Argument one:
Schneider v. State, 308 U.S. 147 (1939)
City of Akron v. Molyneax, 760 N. E. 461 (2001)
Lovell v. City, 303 U.S. 444 (1938)
Martin v. City of Struthers, 319 U.S. 141, 143, 146-147, (1943)
Member of the city Council of Los Angeles v. Taxpayers for Vincent, 466 US. 789, 801 (1984)
State ex. rel. Rear Door Bookstore v. Tenth Dist. Court of Appeals, 588 N. E. 2d 116 (1992)
People vs. Hall, 538 N.Y.S.2d 155, 157-58 (1989)
Skokie v. National Socialist Party of America, 373 N.E.2d 21 (1978)
Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 24-26 (1971)
Argument two:
Wayte v. United States, 470 U.S. 598 (1985)
United States v. Dukehart, 687 F.2d 1301, 1303 (1982)
State v. Geer, 765 P.2d 1, 3 (Utah Ct. App. 1988)
United States v. Collins, 972 F.2d 1385, 1397 (5th Cir. 1992)
Home Depot, Inc. v. Guste, 773 F.2d 618, 626 (5th Cir. 1985)
Source: National Alliance Utah
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CUT OUT OR COPY “RIGHTS” CARD, BELLOW. FILL IN NAME, ADDRESS AND DATE OF
BIRTH; FOLD AND PUT IN WALLET. IF STOPPED, PRESENT CARD TO POLICE, AND
THEN MAKE NO OTHER STATEMENTS.
WHAT TO DO WHEN STOPPED BY THE POLICE:
-Stay calm and keep your hands where the police can see them.
-Don’t argue, complain, bad-mouth or resist arrest, even if the police are unreasonable; it will only make
your situation worse.
-Hand them the “Rights” card, above. Otherwise say, “I have nothing to say”;then make no
statements or comments.
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To: LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS:
[print clearly]
My name: __________________________________
My address: ________________________________
__________________________________________
My date of birth: ____________________________
FORMAL LEGAL NOTICE UNDER THE
UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, per ACLU:
1) I do not wish to answer any questions without first speaking to an Attorney.
2) I do not consent to any search whatsoever; including but not limited to a search of
my home, my car, my baggage or my person.
3) I do not consent to being in a line-up or a show-up, or any display of any type.
4) I do not and will not waive any of my Constitutional Rights whatsoever.
----------------------------------(cut)-----------------------------------
To: LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS:
[print clearly]
My name: __________________________________
My address: ________________________________
__________________________________________
My date of birth: ____________________________
FORMAL LEGAL NOTICE UNDER THE
UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, per ACLU:
1) I do not wish to answer any questions without first speaking to an Attorney.
2) I do not consent to any search whatsoever; including but not limited to a search of
my home, my car, my baggage or my person.
3) I do not consent to being in a line-up or a show-up, or any display of any type.
4) I do not and will not waive any of my Constitutional Rights whatsoever.
----------------------------------(cut)-----------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------
WHAT TO DO WHEN STOPPED BY THE POLICE:
-Stay calm and keep your hands where the police can see them.
-Don’t argue, complain, bad-mouth or resist arrest, even if the police are unreasonable; it will only make your situation worse.
-Hand them the “Rights” card, above. Otherwise say, “I have nothing to say” ; then make no statements or comments.
-Remember anything you say can and will be used against you, even if officers have not read you the
“Miranda Rights”!
-Remember police badge numbers and patrol car numbers.
-If not in custody, write down everything that happened, ASAP.
-Try to find witnesses, get their names and phone numbers.
-If you are injured, seek medical attention, but also get photographs of the injuries, ASAP.
-If arrested, ask for a lawyer immediately.
1) You don’t have to answer a police officer’s questions, but you must show your license,
registration and insurance when stopped in a car. In other situations, you can’t legally be arrested for
refusing to identify yourself to an officer.
2) You don’t have to consent to any search of your person, your car or your house - and therefore
you should not consent. If the police say they have a warrant, ask to see it. Still; do not consent to a
search even if they have a warrant, make them rely on the warrant; warrants can be defective.
3) You can be arrested for obstructing or interfering w/police.
IF YOU ARE STOPPED FOR QUESTIONING:
1) It’s not a crime to refuse to answer questions. You can’t be arrested merely for refusing to
identify yourself on the street. You can hand them your “Rights” card and say nothing. If in a car you
must supply license, registration and proof of insurance.
2) Police may stop and detain you only if they have a reasonable suspicion that you have committed,
are committing or are about to commit a crime.
3) If police have a reasonable suspicion to believe you have a weapon they may perform a frisk and
pat down your clothing. Don’t physically resist, but you can make it clear you don’t consent to such a
search or any further search.
4) You can ask if you are under arrest. If you are, you have a right to know, and a right to know
why.
IF YOU ARE STOPPED IN YOUR CAR:
1) Upon request, show driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance. In certain cases, your
car can be searched without a warrant as long as the police have probable cause. To protect yourself, you
should make it clear that you do not consent to any search. It is not legal for the police to arrest you
simply for refusing to consent to a search.
2) If you’re given a ticket, you can be arrested for refusing to sign it. If you sign, you can still fight
the charge in court.
3) If you’re suspected of drunk driving and refuse to take a breath, urine or blood test, your license
may be suspended and your car taken away. If possible, insist on a blood test; it is harder to tamper with,
it is easier to challenge in court, and usually takes longer to administer - sometimes you must go to a
hospital and wait hours for a doctor or nurse.
IF THE POLICE COME TO Y0UR HOME:
1) Don’t admit the police without a warrant signed by a judge. Block the door and don’t let them
squeeze past.
2) However, in emergency situations (e.g., person screaming, chasing a suspect) police are allowed
to enter and search your home without a warrant.
3) If you are arrested in your home or office, police can search you and the area within your reach,
and can also search any criminal items or activity in plain view.
IF ARRESTED OR TAKEN TO A POLICE STATION:
1) You have the right to remain silent and/or to talk to a lawyer before you talk to the police. Tell
the police you will not answer any questions or that you will not answer questions without a lawyer. Then
don’t answer questions!
2) If you have a lawyer, ask to see him immediately. If you can’t afford a lawyer, you have a right
to a free one once your case goes to court. You can ask the police how a lawyer can be contacted. Don’t
say anything else about your case without a lawyer.
3) Within a reasonable time after your arrest or booking, you can ask the police to contact a family
member or friend. If you are permitted to make a phone call, be aware anything you say may be recorded
or listened to! Be very careful of what you say and never talk about the facts of your case over the phone.
4) Sometimes you can be released without bail, or have bail lowered. You must be taken before the
judge within 24 hours after your arrest.