Type_webhead_here Forty Gloucester County residents who sought to remove four Board of Supervisors members from office weren't impressed at a judge's order to pay the bulk of the supervisors' legal fees.
But Circuit Judge Westbrook J. Parker's ruling was award-winning in the eyes of The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression. The judge, who lives in Suffolk, is the only Virginian among a dozen winners of the Jefferson Center's 2009 Jefferson Muzzles awards.
"The core of the protection provided under the First Amendment's freedom of speech clause is the right of citizens to criticize their elected officials without fear of government reprisal," the center says in a news release announcing today's awards.
The Gloucester residents collected 6,000 signatures to unseat the supervisors, who were indicted in July by a special grand jury on 14 misdemeanor charges of malfeasance and misuse of office. The criminal charges were dropped in October. In December, Parker ordered the residents to pay $80,000 of the $125,000 in legal fees accrued by the board.
Parker "apparently feels one should pay a price -- literally -- to exercise his or her First Amendment rights," the center says.
The nonprofit, nonpartisan center, which is based in Albemarle County, annually recognizes people who have committed "some of the more ridiculous or egregious affronts to the First Amendment principles of free speech and free press."
Below is a list of honorable mentions:
- The Richmond School Board, for approving a gag rule in March that calls for its members to "uphold and support the decisions of the majority of the board once a decision is made" and to "maintain fidelity" to fellow members when communicating with the media. The board was slated to reconsider the measure last night.
- The Richmond City Council, for its latest effort to silence panhandlers by forbidding anyone to "solicit, by spoken word, written sign or gesture, contributions of any nature from the drivers of motor vehicles or passengers therein."
- The State Board of Elections, for banning campaign apparel in polling places -- a prohibition that resulted in the arrest of a person wearing a John McCain T-shirt. (The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill this session disregarding the ban.)
- The city of Farmville, for passing an ordinance banning parades or demonstrations that include noise, boisterousness, shouting, clapping or singing that disturbs the tranquility of the community. Isn't that basically the definition of a parade or demonstration?
- The General Assembly, for passing a law aimed specifically at Hanover County resident B.J. Ostergren to prevent her from posting Social Security numbers obtained from government Web sites to show how easy it is to steal identities.
- A Berryville demonstration ordinance, which bans protests during the lunch hour and requires a $300 permit if three or more people want to protest. (Better bring lots of folks to the march.)
That case, like the one in Gloucester, is yet another example of someone taking the expression "freedom is not free" way too literally.
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or mwilliams@timesdispatch.com.
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