Madison-A WI District Court Panel upheld a Dane County Judge’s ruling 3-0 today, that the arrest of political-talk radio host, Michael Crute of the Devil’s Advocates was Unconstitutional.
“I feel vindicated today, I’m 2-0 against Scott Walker,” Crute said.
“In his State of the State address, Scott Walker said we should stand with the French, stand for freedom of press, stand for free speech. But this Governor would arrest those that protest his policies. He would have arrested the media that tried to to expose those unconstitutional arrests,” Crute continued.
Crute’s case, had been appealed by the State of Wisconsin after Dane County Judge John Markson, who issued a scathing ruling against the State, dismissed the charge against Crute in January 2014 on free speech grounds.
Today’s ruling may be a significant setback for Gov Scott Walker and his Administration and become a distraction as Walker gears up for an anticipated Presidential run.
Walker will face further criticism if he chooses to have new Attorney General-Brad Schimel, appeal today’s loss to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Judge Markson’s initial ruling lead to several other Dane County Judges dismissing 253 other civil forfeiture citations, against anti-Walker protestors similarly cited. Other judges have delayed numerous cases awaiting today’s ruling.
Further appeal by Walker’s Department of Justice, could re-open hundreds of cases, with many defendants seeking jury trials at great expense of tax dollars and human resources to the State DOJ attorneys assigned the trials.
The ruling comes just days before Walker must present his budget proposal to address looming multi-billion dollar budget deficits in Wisconsin. The DOJ has come under criticism for failing to pursue credible accusations of sex crimes against children for lack of resources, while continuing to pursue the prosecution of protestors.
“Wisconsin cannot afford to continue to fight these petty, civil forfeiture tickets, issued against an expired emergency administrative code, ruled Unconstitutional multiple times, by more then a dozen judges at an expense that could easily exceed millions of taxpayer dollars,” Crute said.
“Why? So Scott Walker doesn’t have to admit he was wrong to have his palace guard arrest and handcuff peaceful protestors, simply because Walker was the target of their protest,” Crute added.
Crute was arrested, handcuffed, and processed July 24, 2013 after singing briefly in “protest” of the arrests he witnessed at the hands of WI State Capitol Police the first day of the crackdown.
More the three hundred other anti-Walker policy protestors, observers, and working media, were arrested and charged with a civil forfeiture ticket of $200.50 during the July to September 2013 Capitol Crackdown against Solidarity Sing Along participants.
Crute’s attorney, Jeff Scott Olson, will join the Devil’s Advocates at 5:05 today to discuss today’s ruling in detail. The Devil’s Advocates broadcasts weekdays 3-6 pm Monday through Friday in Madison on 92.1 FM, in Wausau on 1230 AM and Live streaming at www.darnwi.com.
Dominic Salvia, Crute’s co-host with the Devil’s Advocates was also arrested on July 24, 2013 while acting in his professional capacity as working media covering the arrests. Salvia’s charges were dismissed by the State, but Salvia also represented by Olson, is pursuing a Federal lawsuit against his arresting WI State Capitol Police Officers.
http://www.wicourts.gov/ca/opinion/DisplayDocument.pdf?content=pdf&seqNo=133996
HURRAY! FINALLY JUSTICE………….hopefully for all………..
Michael! Don’t you read my press releases (just a bit of backstory)? Congratulations!! Wisconsin Attorney General Wasting Taxpayer Dollars With Failed Sing Along Prosecutions and Appeals
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 24, 2014
CONTACT: Patricia K. Hammel, pkhammel@yahoo.com; (608) 257-1369; 279-4136
MADISON, WI – No one has been arrested for singing or sign holding in the Wisconsin Capitol for over a year, and the federal lawsuit challenging the administrative rules was settled last October. However, the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice continues prosecuting and appealing dismissals of hundreds of cases filed against people arrested for singing protest songs in the Capitol in July, August and September 2013.
336 cases have been brought against individuals for “conducting” an event without permission, “unlawful assembly” and “unlawful display.” Of these 215, 64%, have been thrown out by ten different judges because the rule violated the right to free speech. The Attorney General’s office has responded by filing 120 appeals in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The prosecutions, vigorously disputed by the accused with and without professional legal help, have overwhelmed the Dane County courts and now the Court of Appeals. Nine “guilty” verdicts have resulted from defendants not showing up for court; five for the same individual. No one has been successfully prosecuted for singing.
When asked by Judge Peter Anderson last spring to provide a “cost benefit analysis” of prosecuting people for singing, the A.G.’s office refused to do so, claiming that no price was too high to pay to protect the rule of lawmakers from dissident voices. At least one prosecutor assigned to dozens of cases before one judge complained to a consumer upset that he had not taken action in a contractor fraud case in 2013 that he was busy with the Capitol protest prosecutions
Judge Stephen Ehlke of the Dane County Circuit Court dismissed several cases involving release of a balloon, placing a banner on a stairway to take a photograph and chalking with washable chalk on the capitol sidewalk because the “display” rule violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. At least one of those cases, involving sidewalk chalk, has been appealed by Attorney General Van Hollen’s office to the state Court of Appeals. When another defendant decided to plead no contest to avoid the cost and uncertainty of the appeal filed in his case, Judge Frank Remington declined to assess any forfeiture, noting the waste of public resources involved in the prosecutions, especially since the rules have been changed since the tickets were issued.
In another case an undercover detective working for the Dept. of Justice was assigned to spy on the singers while arrests were occurring in the summer of 2013. When a photographer bumped into him she was ticketed for disorderly conduct and prosecuted. At the twenty minute trial the officer testified but Judge Juan Colas found nothing to support even a civil forfeiture charge and dismissed the case immediately.
Of the 125 citations issued in late 2012 and early 2013 for holding signs and banners, “conducting” an event without a permit or drawing on the sidewalks with chalk, 39 remain open while 79 have been dismissed, primarily on the Attorney Generals’ office’s own motions. One person was actually convicted of chalking on the Capitol sidewalk.
Anyone needing legal assistance for arrests while singing or observing singing at the Capitol can call the NLG at 608-520-0654. The coordinators will then attempt to find legal representation for the person who has been arrested.
The Madison Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is the local arm of the national organization of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse lawyers. The National Lawyers Guild represents progressive political movements, and its motto is that human rights are more sacred than property interests. ###
“A.G.’s office refused to do so, claiming that no price was too high to pay to protect the rule of lawmakers from dissident voices.” Is there any more obvious indication that the A.G. doesn’t understand The Right of Free Speech? Duh??
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Hurrah! Finally I got a website from where I can actually take
helpful facts regarding my study and knowledge.
Well, Dom, you are quite the rebel, aren’t you? Keep up the fight and hold Walker to truth then he won’t be elected. Wasn’t he also involved in some scandal with Jeb Bush? Anyway still waiting to hear from ya, anytime….within reason.
Larry