- Judges May Testify
Judges from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago may testify in the criminal case against Harold “Hal” Turner, who is accused of encouraging people to kill the judges, the National Law Journal reports. One of them is perennial Lawdragon 500 (and present Finalists) member Richard Posner, one of the most renowned and prolific judges of our time. Posner and fellow judges Chief Judge Frank Easterbrook and Judge William Bauer upheld a Chicago handgun ban, which led Turner to post Internet messages saying that the judges were traitors and should be killed. He also posted addresses and photos of the judges. Turner says he was exercising his First Amendment rights, while federal prosecutors contend that the defendant crossed the line and that the threatening speech is not protected.
The case ended in a mistrial in Chicago federal court last December, and has since been moved to Brooklyn, where it will start this coming week. Interestingly, the NLJ story notes that Turner’s lawyer will present evidence that Turner was a paid FBI informant who provided information about extremist groups.
|
|
| 04:02 PM Feb 26, 2010 | Email the Daily Dragon | Email this Article | Post Comments |
|
|
