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Home: Topics: Rockstars: Curfew Rockstars:
Two NJ Libertarians win false arrest case |
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The following article shows that the government cannot stop you from exercising your First Amendment rights. If you want to legally stay out past curfew, then exercise your First Amendment rights by wearing a “Repeal the Curfew” sticker.
Two NJ Libertarians win false arrest case
On April 15th, 1996, Libertarian Party activists John Paff and Timothy Konek were arrested for the "crime" of passing out anti-tax literature on Post Office property in East Brunswick, New Jersey, during a Tax Day rally.
But on November 10th, they got their revenge: A federal judge ordered the town to pay the Libertarians $29,882 in legal fees for their federal civil rights lawsuit against township officials.
"I'm glad the judge ruled in our favor, but I'm sorry that the taxpayers have to pay,' said Paff, the chairman of the Libertarian Party of Somerset & Middlesex Counties. "I wish there was a way to hold public officials personally responsible for the harm they cause."
"What do they care if they step on somebody's rights?" he asked. "It's not their money on the line. They can rely on the taxpayers to foot the bill."
Paff and Konek had been arrested outside the Cranbury Road post office on April 15 for handing out mock million-dollar bills as part of the annual nation-wide tax protest by the Libertarian Party.
They were charged with "defiant trespass," and jailed for six hours until they each raised $5,000 cash bail - despite the fact that the courts have held that political protests on Post Office property are not a crime, as long as it doesn't interfere with customers.
After four court appearances, the town prosecutor conceded that the state didn't have a case and dismissed the charges. Paff and Konek filed suit against the town in federal court earlier this year.
This article originally appeared in the LP News
The Official Newspaper of the Libertarian Party
Despite the fact that the charges were dropped, the libertarians went on to sue the police officers for wrongly arresting them. Here is an update on that suit:
Libertarians Lose Civil Rights Suit Against Officer, Plan Appeal
NEWARK - On September 15, 1998 Federal District Court Judge Joseph A. Greenaway dismissed the bulk of a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by two Libertarian Party members arrested for distributing leaflets during a 1996 Tax Day Protest.
Libertarians John Paff and Tim Konek sued East Brunswick Police Officer George Kaltenbach after Kaltenbach arrested them for handing out fake million-dollar bills to patrons of the East Brunswick Post Office on April 15, 1996. The "defiant trespassing charge" Kaltenbach filed was eventually dismissed in municipal court at the prosecution's request.
In his 26-page opinion, Greenaway found that "Paff and Konek had a clearly established right to publicly express their views while on postal property, to distribute literature and to engage patrons in any lawful dialogue." Further, the court held that "Paff and Konek have satisfied their initial burden of showing that Officer Kaltenbach's conduct in arresting them violated a clearly established right under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments". However, Greenaway found that even though Kaltenbach violated Paff's and Konek's "clearly established rights," he was entitled to "qualified immunity" because the officer's "belief that Paff and Konek did not have a right to distribute leaflets on the postal sidewalk was objectively reasonable." The court went on to explain that it was "objectively reasonable" for Kaltenbach to arrest Paff and Konek since "he cannot reasonably be expected to know the state of protestors' rights on postal property" and that he relied upon the advise and information he received from his lieutenant and the East Brunswick Postmaster.
Greenaway did, however, find that it was not reasonable for Kaltenbach to impound Konek's car. According to the court, he should have allowed Konek to call friends or relatives to attend to his vehicle. Since he did not give Konek that opportunity, Greenaway found that Kaltenbach violated Konek's constitutional rights on that count of the complaint.
Richard Collier, Paff's and Konek's attorney, stated that he disagrees with Judge Greenaway's application of the qualified immunity doctrine and will appeal the decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Paff questioned the ruling, stating that it appears that ignorance of the law works in an officer's favor. "Suppose Kaltenbach had attended a First Amendment seminar and was taught about our right to leaflet on postal sidewalks. Then, his qualified immunity defense would fail because the arrest would not have been reasonable in light of his knowledge of this area of the law. His immunity attaches precisely because of his ignorance of the law. Therefore, it appears that a police department has an incentive to keep its officers ignorant because this ignorance acts as a shield against civil liability."
Konek had this to say about the outcome: "They tell us that ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking the law. Yet, it's perfectly OK for the police officer in this case to claim ignorance and walk away unscathed while we still walk around with the scars of an unlawful arrest."
Unfortunately, a higher circuit court upheld the lower court's decision that the office had immunity.
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Read about a Florida Libertarian who was also successful in court.
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