The AZ Repugnant had an editorial today regarding the lawsuit brought by the West Valley View against Sheriff Joe and his office. (I would link it if I could find it in their on-line edition, but they are far from being that new media friendly)
The gist of the suit regards the decision by some MCSO staffers to remove the West Valley paper from their press release email list. Apparently, they were removed in response to reporting on Arpaio that the MCSO found offensive - though I don't think the motive has much bearing on the issue.
Elliott Freireich, publisher of the West Valley View, filed his suit claiming that his First Amendment rights were being violated. He keeps winning - and the MCSO keeps appealing. The Republic, or whoever wrote this editorial anyway, feel that Sheriff Joe is wasting taxpayer money fighting this lawsuit.
Perhaps.
But how does Freireich have a leg to stand on, and how does he keep winning?
His First Amendment rights would only be violated if someone was keeping him from publishing - no one is doing that. He, or one of his employees, could go to the trouble of getting the information through more old school means.
The WVV is a for-profit enterprise that in most cases ends up going directly from the driveway to the trash can. To claim that he needs to receive the press releases via email to provide a service to his readers is presuming facts not in evidence. (D lives in the West Valley, I have tried to read the paper - not even the ads are worth the time - and I have seen them littering the driveways of his neighbors who don't expend the effort to pick them up until trash day)
Why should the MCSO, or any other office, public or private, be required to provide information to any Tom, Dick or Harry who wants it, in the format they want to receive it? Further, why would you provide it when you know it is only sought as fuel for their editorial fire? If I wanted to start a blog that did little more than regurgitate information from other sources, and criticize Sheriff Joe (it would be easy enough to do), they shouldn't be forced to add me to their list.
It would have been easier, and cheaper, for the Sheriff's office to simply add the paper back to the email distribution list. Perhaps they should have. (Though it would appear from what I have read that Freireich would still have found a basis for a continuation lawsuit)
There simply is no reason they should have to, and no reason for them to have thought they would lose the suit.
Is there?
Posted by Vox at February 23, 2008 08:40 PM | general