ATTEMPT TO SUE AND SILENCE THE 'MOUNT PLEASANT EXPOSED' BLOG SHOT DOWN BY THE COURT
Free
Speech guaranteed by the First Amendment is one of our most important
fundamental rights. However, there are times when exercising that right,
and using it to expose the TRUTH,
can elicit a reaction from others to stifle that Free Speech. Why
would someone try to silence the voice that is reporting the TRUTH? Most likely because that TRUTH creates a problem for that someone. Evidently, the
TRUTH being
reported struck a nerve with some in our Town government who would rather keep their activities quiet
and under wraps. As has been opined on this site in previous
articles, there are those in power who think that Free Speech should be
reined in - especially when that speech exposes the facts about their
disreputable behavior.
On May 15, 2015, a Petition was filed with the New York State Supreme Court, Index Number 58754/2015. That matter was filed by Christopher W. McClure, and the case was titled "Christopher W. McClure vs. GOOGLE, Inc." For those who are not aware, Christopher W. McClure, is the Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of Mt. Pleasant. Since his illicit actions during a court proceeding that was being heard before the Mt. Pleasant Justice Court on September 18, 2012, were exposed (see the Blog Articles from Sept. 22, 2014, entitled “Mount Pleasant Town Board Members facing charges in Federal Court”, and from October 10, 2014, entitled “Five Pinocchio’s for the Supervisor”, for a full report on this matter), Mr. McClure's duties as Deputy Town Attorney have been vastly diminished and, it appears that he has been relegated exclusively to the handling of parking ticket matters (taxpayers might want to know if his salary was reduced correspondingly, to reflect his lessened workload and reduced responsibilities following this apparent demotion?)
A series of articles written on the Blog in September and October of 2014 (these articles are still available to be read on the Blog) called into question the conduct of Mr. McClure and then Town Supervisor Joan Maybury, and shook the foundation of the political power structure of the Town. Apparently, the TRUTH contained in the Blog's articles had an effect, since Ms. Maybury abruptly submitted her resignation at the Town Board Meeting of September 23, 2014, (as reported by the “Examiner” in its September 30, 2014 edition), left office on October 10, 2014 and then completely disappeared from the political scene. Apparently, Mr. McClure also felt the effect of the TRUTH about his unethical conduct, as his duties as Deputy Town Attorney were curtailed shortly thereafter also. As we have noted in the past, the TRUTH is a very humbling thing.
The purpose of the case filed by Mr. McClure in May, 2015, was to shut down the Blog before it could do more damage to him or any of his cronies. Mr. McClure asked the Court to order GOOGLE, to provide Mr. McClure "with the identity of and/or the user information for the person or persons that post on and/or operate and/or maintain a blog titled "Mount Pleasant Exposed". It would appear from reading the case that Mr. McClure was very upset that his unethical conduct was being exposed to the public and that subsequently, his responsibilities as Town Attorney were severely curtailed. In filing this litigation, Mr. McClure had hoped to ascertain the identity of those involved with the Blog, and then file a lawsuit against them to keep them quiet. Since the Court denied Mr. McClure's request, his effort failed. Will Mr. McClure now look for ways to retaliate against those who publish the TRUTH, or, will he “change ‘his’ evil ways” (credit to lyrics by Santana)? Will he continue his assault against the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution? Only time will tell.
We have provided a link below, which our readers can access to read ALL of the documents associated with this case. After reading those documents, it should be very clear that the Deputy Town Attorney was making a formal effort to silence Free Speech and to prevent the TRUTH from being exposed. If Mr. McClure was taking this action on his own, it is problematic enough. However, if he was taking this action on behalf of Town government in his official capacity as the Deputy Town Attorney, it would be a much more serious concern.
Fortunately, GOOGLE’s Attorneys, who are experts in protecting First Amendment rights, presented a solid defense and the Court properly denied Mr. McClure’s request. Once again, we at the Blog will state unequivocally that we will not be intimidated and we will not be silenced. The First Amendment is alive and well at “Mount Pleasant Exposed”!! Hopefully, the members of the Town's government will now be aware that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution even applies here, in the Town of Mount Pleasant.
Click on the link below to access all documents:
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/FCASCaseInfo?parm=CaseInfo&index=AL5avxR8EnWppfaxXU53Ww%3D%3D&county=xp7bMtStorgbtzzZgKGDJg%3D%3D&motion=M&docs=&adate=06/29/2015
On May 15, 2015, a Petition was filed with the New York State Supreme Court, Index Number 58754/2015. That matter was filed by Christopher W. McClure, and the case was titled "Christopher W. McClure vs. GOOGLE, Inc." For those who are not aware, Christopher W. McClure, is the Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of Mt. Pleasant. Since his illicit actions during a court proceeding that was being heard before the Mt. Pleasant Justice Court on September 18, 2012, were exposed (see the Blog Articles from Sept. 22, 2014, entitled “Mount Pleasant Town Board Members facing charges in Federal Court”, and from October 10, 2014, entitled “Five Pinocchio’s for the Supervisor”, for a full report on this matter), Mr. McClure's duties as Deputy Town Attorney have been vastly diminished and, it appears that he has been relegated exclusively to the handling of parking ticket matters (taxpayers might want to know if his salary was reduced correspondingly, to reflect his lessened workload and reduced responsibilities following this apparent demotion?)
A series of articles written on the Blog in September and October of 2014 (these articles are still available to be read on the Blog) called into question the conduct of Mr. McClure and then Town Supervisor Joan Maybury, and shook the foundation of the political power structure of the Town. Apparently, the TRUTH contained in the Blog's articles had an effect, since Ms. Maybury abruptly submitted her resignation at the Town Board Meeting of September 23, 2014, (as reported by the “Examiner” in its September 30, 2014 edition), left office on October 10, 2014 and then completely disappeared from the political scene. Apparently, Mr. McClure also felt the effect of the TRUTH about his unethical conduct, as his duties as Deputy Town Attorney were curtailed shortly thereafter also. As we have noted in the past, the TRUTH is a very humbling thing.
The purpose of the case filed by Mr. McClure in May, 2015, was to shut down the Blog before it could do more damage to him or any of his cronies. Mr. McClure asked the Court to order GOOGLE, to provide Mr. McClure "with the identity of and/or the user information for the person or persons that post on and/or operate and/or maintain a blog titled "Mount Pleasant Exposed". It would appear from reading the case that Mr. McClure was very upset that his unethical conduct was being exposed to the public and that subsequently, his responsibilities as Town Attorney were severely curtailed. In filing this litigation, Mr. McClure had hoped to ascertain the identity of those involved with the Blog, and then file a lawsuit against them to keep them quiet. Since the Court denied Mr. McClure's request, his effort failed. Will Mr. McClure now look for ways to retaliate against those who publish the TRUTH, or, will he “change ‘his’ evil ways” (credit to lyrics by Santana)? Will he continue his assault against the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution? Only time will tell.
We have provided a link below, which our readers can access to read ALL of the documents associated with this case. After reading those documents, it should be very clear that the Deputy Town Attorney was making a formal effort to silence Free Speech and to prevent the TRUTH from being exposed. If Mr. McClure was taking this action on his own, it is problematic enough. However, if he was taking this action on behalf of Town government in his official capacity as the Deputy Town Attorney, it would be a much more serious concern.
Fortunately, GOOGLE’s Attorneys, who are experts in protecting First Amendment rights, presented a solid defense and the Court properly denied Mr. McClure’s request. Once again, we at the Blog will state unequivocally that we will not be intimidated and we will not be silenced. The First Amendment is alive and well at “Mount Pleasant Exposed”!! Hopefully, the members of the Town's government will now be aware that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution even applies here, in the Town of Mount Pleasant.
Click on the link below to access all documents:
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/webcivil/FCASCaseInfo?parm=CaseInfo&index=AL5avxR8EnWppfaxXU53Ww%3D%3D&county=xp7bMtStorgbtzzZgKGDJg%3D%3D&motion=M&docs=&adate=06/29/2015
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