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Old July 27th, 2011 #1
OTPTT
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Default First Amendment; Free Speech Zones: Man Jailed for Passing Out FIJA Pamphlets During Casey Anthony Trial.

Man who distributed fliers during Casey Anthony trial is sentenced

Roofing contractor Mark Schmidter learned the hard way Tuesday what can happen when you defy the administrative orders of Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry. Following a trial Tuesday, Perry found Schmidter guilty of "indirect criminal contempt" for violating two such orders. One deals with handing out pamphlets outside the courthouse aimed at influencing jurors. The other prohibits First Amendment activities outside specially designated "free-speech zones."
Perry sentenced Schmidter, 64, to roughly five months in the Orange County Jail — 141 days for violating his first order, regarding jury pamphlets, and 151 days for his second order, regarding free-speech zones. The sentences are concurrent. Perry also handed him a $250 fine for each violation.
Schmidter made news with the pamphlets early this year, but when he distributed them to potential jurors outside the free-speech zones in late June, during the Casey Anthony trial. He was arrested and brought before Perry for contempt. That led to Tuesday’s trial.
Schmidter’s attorney, Adam H. Sudbury, promised an appeal and assured that this particular conflict between free speech rights and the integrity of the jury system will not end with Perry’s ruling Tuesday.
"I think it’s totally absurd to put someone in jail for 151 days for passing out a leaflet," Sudbury said after his client was sentenced and escorted from the courtroom in handcuffs. "Mr. Schmidter’s rights are not going to be determined here in the Ninth Circuit."
Along with his planned filing with the Fifth District Court of Appeal, Sudbury will request bond for Schmidter.
For nearly a year, Schmidter had been handing out the pamphlets at the courthouse. He advised jurors they may vote their conscience, they cannot be forced to obey a "juror’s oath" and they have the right to "hang" a jury if they don’t agree with others on the panel.
Because of such actions, Judge Perry signed court orders at the start of the year blocking the distribution of pamphlets meant to influence jurors outside the Orange and Osceola courthouses.
Then, in anticipation of demonstrations for the Anthony trial, Perry signed another order establishing the free-speech zones in early May.
On Tuesday, Schmidter took the witness stand and testified that he did not think either order applied to him or people with the Fully Informed Jury Association, whose members have also distributed the pamphlets at the courthouse.
He said another man, Julian Heicklen, had tested Perry’s order regarding the pamphlets and was not arrested. As for the free-speech zones, Schmidter said he wasn’t distributing the fliers for the Anthony case in particular, so he didn’t think he needed to be inside the zones.
"I said this must not apply to me because I’m not talking about any (particular) case," Schmidter said.
He also said a strict reading of Perry’s order "means nobody could carry on a conversation outside the free-speech zone" and he said he was sure Perry did not intend that.
Schmidter also read aloud the First Amendment after pulling a copy out of his pocket. And at another point, he noted the irony that his case was being heard by Perry and not a jury.
"I’m not getting a trial by jury, just thought I’d throw that in," he said.
But several potential jurors testified Tuesday as well and said Schmidter had handed them the fliers, although they were not influenced by the information he provided. Meanwhile, court deputies testified too and said Schmidter was repeatedly advised about Perry’s orders before his eventual arrest on June 29.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Bill Vose prosecuted the case and told Perry Schmidter may have good intentions but nonetheless had "crossed the line" and deliberately violated the court’s orders.
"The defendant is guilty of criminal contempt beyond and to the exclusion of every reasonable doubt," Vose said.
Sudbury, however, argued that Perry’s first order was unnecessary because state statute already covers jury tampering and the jury selection process would help eliminate potential jurors who were somehow influenced or misinformed by the pamphlets.
As for the order regarding the free speech zones, Sudbury called it "too broad and too vague" and "patently unreasonable."
Perry’s permanent order regarding free-speech zones, which took effect earlier this month, states: "It is prohibited for any person or group to engage in any type of First Amendment activities within the main Orange County courthouse complex grounds, unless the First Amendment activities occur within a designated Exempt Zone ..."
Soon before his sentencing, Schmidter told Perry: "I apologize to the court. In my brain, I was just fighting for my country."
Earlier, he acknowledged his jury pamphlet work was linked to his desire to help decrease the number of federal prisoners incarcerated for non-violent drug crimes and the public cost associated with those incarcerations.
Perry again voiced his concerns about the need to balance free-speech rights with the court’s obligation to seat impartial juries
He told Schmidter, "If we let people do what they want to do and ignore the laws, it would be utter chaos. To come in and ask jurors to disregard laws ... is not what this country is based upon."
After the sentencing, Sudbury said Perry’s orders and rulings on Tuesday will have further-reaching implications. At one point, he joked about whether he was permitted to answer reporters’ questions outside the free-speech zones.
"Absolutely, it’s going to have a chilling effect," Sudbury said. "This is the public square. This is the town square. This is where everything comes together. And he has banned all First Amendment activities. There’s no way for anyone to know what they can or can’t do at the courthouse."

Last edited by OTPTT; July 27th, 2011 at 10:12 AM.
 
Old July 27th, 2011 #2
Rae Kiley
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The other prohibits First Amendment activities outside specially designated "free-speech zones."
We have free speech zones now? I thought the whole country was one big free speech zone. When did this change? When he pissed off the nigger judge?
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