Media Update
01 Jan 04 - Keep it Secret or you go to Jail! by Grace E. Castle, Cluesonline
At first glance an investigator may wonder why I’ve included information about a journalist’s trial woes. Read closely. This man was trying to report abuse, possible homicides, and misuse of federal funds in a senior citizen facility. There is little difference between Prof. Trummel’s actions and those an investigator might take in a similar circumstance. If courts can justify jailing a writer in this circumstance, investigators should be looking over their own shoulders. Thus, Prof. Trummel’s report is offered not only for your awareness of his situation, but as a caveat for our profession.
Full Text by Subscription Keep it Secret or you go to Jail! by Grace E. Castle, Cluesonline.
Trummel's attorneys say, "This court has squarely held that the anti-harassment statute is content-neutral and that protected speech cannot be the basis for an anti-harassment order." Council House's "arguments are entirely based on the assumption that Trummel's publications were not protected by the First Amendment when distributed inside Council House. Even if this theory had merit, it has no application whatsoever to pure speech in a public forum outside Council House, such as the Internet" where, a number of courts have ruled, speech is protected.
Print File The Jailbird Journalist by Rick Anderson, Seattle Weekly.
26 Nov 03 - The Old Man and the Screeds by Alex Johnson, MSNBC
Johnson has done an admirable job in covering alleged elder abuse at Council House, Seattle, and lawsuits connected with it. He has studied hundreds of documents to try to understand alleged perjury by the administrator and the attorneys and judges who follow him like dogs after a bitch in heat.
Johnson has exposed libel published by other reporters and given a balanced report. He examined documents while others accepted propaganda at face value. However, the administrator still does not feel the need to support anything he says with hard evidence. Judge Doerty allows this to continue under a court order that denies refutation.
Soon Council House directors will have to account for their behavior during the past three years. Johnson has started a ball rolling in the time-honored tradition of investigative reporting that will eventually expose alleged elder abuse and homicide that the directors condoned.
One hopes that both MSNBC and Contra Cabal readers will continue to ask questions and make comments until the whole situation has received a proper hearing in an ethical court. Readers should remember that they too will age and will encounter confidence tricksters who prey upon senior citizens when they cannot find other employment.
Full text The Old Man and the Screeds by Alex Johnson, MSNBC.
Full text The Troubles of Trummel by Alex Johnson, MSNBC.
14 Nov 03 - Elder Abuse - Appellate Hearing
Supporters of the appellant (in re Trummel v. Mitchell) created a standing room only situation at the Court of Appeals, Seattle, Washington (14 Nov 03). Several more people queued outside the courtroom but did not gain entry. An unnamed attorney reportedly said that he had never seen such a turnout for an appellate hearing. The appellant expects a decision between six weeks and six months.
Washington Court of Appeals questioned attorneys for both sides about the draconian and biased trial court decisions that caused a reporter to go to jail for an indeterminate period. The case attracted worldwide interest among journalists when they learned that a Seattle judge had jailed journalist Paul Trummel. He served 111 days (25 days in solitary confinement in the same section as Gary Ridgway, the Green River serial killer) for publishing constitutionally protected information.
The appellant published details of senior citizen abuse and misappropriation of federal funds that occurred in a federally-assisted apartment block. He has since alleged homicide by abuse reported the facts to municipal, state, and federal authorities but they have neglected to do anything about the complaints. [Homicide by Abuse]
Nairobi, Kenya, 12 Nov 03. This is a showcase and as the Appellate Court prepares to listen to the oral arguments by Mr. Trummel's attorneys, the court must not forget that the entire world and governments, especially those of developing countries, shall be watching with various interests.
The judges shall be expected to bear in mind their understanding of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which protects individuals' right to information and on which the First Amendment of the United States was based shall be on test here.
Lest they forget, journalists are first human beings and journalists second. If their understanding of First Amendment can only go as far as journalists are concerned, then those of us practicing under governments that would do anything to gag the press (individuals' freedom would simply first declare us as non-journalists and immediately institute legal (illegal) court proceedings against us.
What would happen to journalists practicing in Zimbabwe? They would be undressed of their 'journalism jackets' and pushed directly to jails.
To quote Professor Tom Goldstein, "a journalist is one who declares him/herself as one and continues to do so." No individual has the power to license journalists. We are expected to regulate ourselves. Not belonging to a media association does not make an individual a lesser journalist.
They [the court] should also consider how many journalists have passed through Professor Paul Trummel as his students and are now practicing.
As we at Free Press Advocacy Department (FPAD) of KensMedia strongly believe the freedom to free speech should never be limited to a particular group or individuals.
What happened to that right ". . . to an attorney and if you cannot afford one, one would be provided by the state!" Why didn't Professor Trummel qualify? 111 days to us sounds like the detention without trial as was practiced by most dictatorial governments up to the 90s including South Africa, Kenya, USSR, Romania, Zaire, Zimbabwe, just to mention a few. Even Mugabe's government would be better for they charge the journalists they arrest.
Details at http://www.kensmedia.org
03 Nov 03 - Friends of the Court
London, UK, 03 Nov 03. Veteran LFB member Paul Trummel's appeal against his treatment by a Seattle court that jailed him for contempt has been supported by the International Federation of Journalists and the American Society of Journalists and Authors, as well as his NUJ colleagues and GS Jeremy Dear. In October, all three organisations filed amicus curiae briefs in the Washington State court of appeal. Trummel, now 70, was jailed for 111 days because he refused a judge's order to censor reports which investigated the conduct of a Seattle retirement community published on his website: http://contracabal.org
Full text at http://media.gn.apc.org/fl/index.html
22 Oct 03 - Trummel v. Mitchell - Unanimous Amicus Curiae Decision
Seattle, WA, 22 Oct 03. On 10/22 the Court of Appeals granted the motions from all three [five] amici curiae. The notation rulings for each motion are short and state: "After consultation with the panel, the motion is granted. Any answer to the Amicus Brief must be filed on or before November 5, 2003."
20 Oct 03 - ASJA Files Brief in Support of Maverick Writer
New York, NY, 20 Oct 03 -- The American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), the nation's oldest organization of independent writers, filed on October 15, 2003 an amicus curiae brief with the Washington State Court of Appeals on behalf of Paul Trummel, 69, of Seattle, WA. Trummel spent 111 days in King County Jail after he defied a court order to remove from his website addresses, phone numbers and personal e-mail information about individuals related to the government-subsidized retirement home where he once lived.
Trummel was ordered to jail in 2002 after King County Superior Court Judge James Doerty rejected the argument that the retired college professor was exercising Constitutionally protected free speech. . . .
Full text at http://www.asja.org/media/nr031020.php
Civil Issues
Appellant [Trummel]
Respondents [Mitchell and Council House Inc.]
Appellant Reply [Trummel]
Contempt Issues
Appellant [Trummel]
Respondents [Mitchell and Council House Inc.]
Appellant Reply [Trummel]
Amicus Curiae
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA)
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
National Union of Journalists/London Freelance Branch (NUJ)
Seattle Weekly
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