Judge Flouts Supreme Court, First Amendment

Lawyer Aaron Walker was recently arrested for blogging against left-wing activist and convicted bomber Brett Kimberlin in violation of the First Amendment, as The Washington
Examiner’s Mark Tapscott worried might happen.

Kimberlin obtained a restraining order from a court in liberal Montgomery County against his critic, based on Walker’s blogposts and writings, which supposedly incited readers’ hostility. Walker was arrested and detained for his constitutionally protected speech. Walker’s speech criticizing a convicted terrorist for alleged misuse of the legal system was protected by the Supreme Court’s Brandenburg ruling. But the Montgomery court ignored the fact that speech criticizing a person is protected under the First Amendment even if outraged readers react to it by expressing hostility or threats against the person criticized.

Prior to his ruling, Judge C.J. Vaughey reportedly said he didn’t care about the Supreme Court ruling. Any judge who harbors such sentiments should be removed from the bench.