Oh Oh

[B. Max]

I think that part of the right of free speech is the right to hear free speech to make an informed decision. Lets hope that the judge who hears this case sees it the same way.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/208639

[guyser]

Had the guy just stopped for a moment and thought....publicity bad...must shut up.

"Despite garnering only limited media attention, ".... Well now he has gone and done it. Everyone will want to know what it is that was said providing more damage, real or percieved.

[Argus]

I think that part of the right of free speech is the right to hear free speech to make an informed decision. Lets hope that the judge who hears this case sees it the same way.

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/208639

Another Green party nut job.

[stignasty]

We better be careful, he might launch a lawsuit against mapleleafweb too.

It's funny, the Wiki page for Wayne Crookes now reads:

"Wayne Crookes is a businessman in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is best known for his involvement in the Green Party of British Columbia, to which he donated substantial funds in 2001, and the Green Party of Canada."

The history of the page is a lot more colourful.

[Figleaf]

I will never buy from, vote for, or assist in any way Wayne Crookes. Not because of anything he alleges defamed him, but because of his overweening self-importance in his campaign against the internet.

[ScottSA]

What didn't Crooks do? Let's have the juicy undetails...

[FTA Lawyer]

Let me alert you all to a case that I am currently working on by giving you a couple of links to check out.

As with other times I have posted about current cases, I will not participate in the discussion or reveal details etc...as I only consider it appropriate for me to make my arguments in the courtroom, not in the media or on a discussion board.

That being said, I have authority from my client to bring awareness to his plight, and so I do.

For the background...

Police Blog

(or do a web search of "Taufiq Shah" and "Jack Beaton" and follow the hits)

To get a sense of the current situation, listen to the story here (you have to scroll down the page for the story "Public or Not")

Radio Interview

I am interested to know what people think of the situation.

FTA

[Figleaf]

I am interested to know what people think of the situation.

This case is like something out of Myanmar. I think it's an outrage, and that the police leader and whoever his pocket jurist is who granted the Anton Piller order should be jailed for their abuses.

[A search and seizure warrant granted against Jane Doe?!?!?! How can we even be sure it was executed against the party described to the judge in the application!?!!]

[geoffrey]

I'll be glad to see Beaton go when he does, FTA. I think his leadership has been far from fair and transparent... and I definitely hold Chiefs of police to the highest standard in that regard.

What happened to Constable Shah was unfortunate, but I think it was justified to some degree. If I posted negative opinions my employer or the directors of the company, that would be very justfied grounds for dismissal. The Constable deserved to get fired. The gag orders and the cover up afterwards, however, were, unjustified.

On the other hand, the Chief has no right to use my money to go after this guy. My boss can't apply to the city for funds to sue me for defamation (if I ever were to do so, which by the way, I would never have reason to).

So what up? Why is it in the public interest to protect Beaton from the truth? It's certainly not in my interest to have all sources of information critical of the police seized, destroyed and then people compelled by a court order to disclose their assocates (funny how these two have to reveal their friends, but Dion and the rest of the opposition opposed compelling terrorists to reveal their associates).

Beaton needs to pay back the city the money (if he hasn't already), and deal with the criticism. He's a public figure, he's going to be banged around a bit.

That's my take on the matter anyways.

[Adelle]

I don’t expect it will take the judge long to deal with this frivolous suit once the lawyers have had their say. I mean it would be as if, because some people can and do speed down provincial highways, someone sues all levels of government from municipal to national, the people who built and maintain the highway, the people who make the signs and the people who make, transport, sell and rent the cars. Sounds like a serious case of sour grapes. If this is the fellows mentality, I am very glad he isn’t a member of government.

[Charles Anthony]

Sounds like a serious case of sour grapes. If this is the fellows mentality, I am very glad he isn’t a member of government.

The trouble is that he has more power than a member of government and the horse is out of the barn: he has acted upon that power.

I am interested to know what people think of the situation.

I think this event will feed people who see no natural reason to respect state law and will foster criminal activity.

From the Opening Post article:

The lawsuits could prove to be critically important to the Internet in Canada, however, because they cast the net of liability far wider than just the initial posters. Indeed, the lawsuits seek to hold accountable sites and services that host the articles, feature comments about the articles, include hyperlinks to the articles, fail to actively monitor their content to ensure that allegedly defamatory articles are not reposted after being removed, and even those that implement the domain name registrations of sites that host the articles.

This effectively shuts down the entire internet. Thankfully the world is divided up into many small jurisdictions as opposed to a few larger jurisdictions.

This:

Despite taking down the content, Wikimedia has now been sued for failing to "monitor its website to ensure that the libels of [Crookes] did not reappear on its website." Moreover, the suit also seeks to hold it liable for refusing to remove an article on online journalism that contains a hyperlink to an article about Crookes.

is absurd and ridiculous.

My bet is that the judge will likely rule in a practical sense and side with the big players. There is no way all of the intermediaries on the internet should be held liable.

[FTA Lawyer]

An update...

Court Rules Against Police Chief

Victory for openness and transparency.

FTA

[geoffrey]

Excellent news. I certainly hope all these costs are coming out of Beaton's bank account and not my tax dollars?

Somehow, I doubt it.