December 29, 2005
SCRANTON, PA – The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania has joined a lawsuit, filed in October by Scranton-area activists Joseph and Joanne Pilchesky, alleging that the Pennsylvania State Police shut down the Pilchesky’s internet-based-political-discussion site in violation of constitutional free speech and due process rights. The ACLU of Pennsylvania this week asked the federal court to enter an injunction barring further interference with the website by the State Police.
“Police officers cannot run around shutting down Internet websites without first getting a court order, whether they think the material is offensive, defamatory or even illegal,” said Witold Walczak, the ACLU of Pennsylvania’s Legal Director. “Especially political websites like the Pilchesky’s, which serve an important public service by providing a forum for discussion about Scranton’s government officials and activities, must be protected vigorously from government censorship,” continued Walczak.
The Pilcheskys operate www.dohertydeceit.com and a linked message board, which serve as the primary public forum for political debate about the conduct of Scranton officials. Between August and October, 2005, several hundred people posted some 3,300 messages on the site, discussing the actions of a dozen different local officials.
But in October, after Sara Hailstone, Director of Scranton’s Office of Economic and Community Development, became the subject of a series of posts, the State Police intervened. The Police action appears to have been prompted by Hailstone’s family members, who are also politically active in Scranton politics.
Days after Joseph Pilchesky posted a message asking for information about Ms. Hailstone, attorneys A. James Hailstone and Andrew Hailstone attempted to have all mention of Ms. Hailstone removed from the site. The attorneys, Ms. Hailstone’s brother and father, respectively, accused the Pilcheskys of endangering Ms. Hailstone and relayed those accusations to the company that hosts the message board.
Joseph Pilchesky responded promptly to the Hailstones’ concerns, requesting that Ms. Hailstone or her attorneys identify any threatening message on the board so that the Pilcheskys could evaluate and, if necessary, remove it. Instead of responding directly to the Pilcheskys and upon learning that the web-hosting company had refused to shut down the message board, the Hailstones apparently turned to the State Police.
On October 7, 2005, without notice to the Pilcheskys, a court order, or due process of any kind, State Trooper Derek Fozard sent a fax to the company that hosted the bulletin board, demanding that the bulletin board be blocked immediately because of a complaint by Sara Hailstone. The host complied. As a result, all 3,300 of the messages on the board – the vast majority addressing subjects other than Ms. Hailstone – were rendered inaccessible to the Scranton community shortly before a bitterly contested local election.
The State Police did not withdraw the request that the site be blocked until December 22 – when the ACLU threatened immediate court action to have the site restored. Because the State Police still refuse to guarantee that they will not issue any more secret orders to suppress the Pilcheskys’ speech, the ACLU this week asked the federal court to enter an injunction prohibiting further interference with the site.
“This country’s profound commitment to debate on public issues means that public discussion may well, in the Supreme Court’s words, include vehement, caustic and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials,” said Robert LaRocca, a director of the Philadelphia firm of Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C. and the ACLU cooperating attorney handling the case. ”Criticism of politicians is an essential part of our democracy that must be afforded the most vigorous defense,” stated LaRocca.
The Pilcheskys are represented by Witold Walczak, Paula Knudsen and Mary Catherine Roper of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, Robert LaRocca, Josh Snyder and Kate Resnick of Kohn Swift & Graf, P.C. , and by Seth Kreimer of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. The case is Pilchesky v. Pennsylvania State Police, CV-05-2074, and is pending in U.S. District Court in Scranton.
Pilchesky Final Amended Complaint
Pilchesky Memo for Preliminary Injunction
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