Paul Trummel Takes Down Site
from the crazy-lawsuits dept
I haven’t posted much about the Paul Trummel case since back in March (though, apparently people have kept commenting on it thanks to Google searches and, as I just discovered, we’re linked from the Free Paul Trummel site). However, there’s been a lot of talk this week since he was finally released from jail and given a few days to take down his website. Today, he decided that, rather than go back to jail, he would take down the site – but continue to fight in court. The case isn’t as clear cut as it might seem at first. He was jailed for contempt of court, and not for just putting up the website. The judge makes some convincing claims for harassment by Trummel, but in the end I still think he’s wrong. Whether or not Trummel is a little off his rocker (as some have implied) it doesn’t take away his right to publish online. It’s unclear how what he’s done really constitutes harassment. Worst of all, though, is the claim that Trummel is not a journalist because he is not employed by anyone. It still seems like a situation where the judge simply doesn’t like the guy, and tossed him in jail.
