New York Penal Law 215.50(5), an A misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail, provides:
"A person is guilty of criminal contempt in the second degree when he engages in any of the following conduct:
...
5. Knowingly publishing a false or grossly inaccurate report of a court's proceedings".
On the one hand, the hope is for the jury to see that the report of a proceeding is accurate.
On the other hand, this statute criminalizes journalism, specifically, court monitoring and coverage of court proceedings based on witness impressions, because it is an entirely subjective call that can brand a witness's impression, in the absence of a video of that court proceeding, as "grossly inaccurate" or "false".
And, punishing for "gross inaccuracy" in witness recollection is just that - punishing for faulty memory. Criminally punishing. By jail time.
And be assured that the punishment will be visited only upon those who criticize what the court did, not upon court personnel who actually cook court transcripts.
The extremely interesting thing is that, at the same time as criminalizing "grossly inaccurate" witness reports about a court proceeding, courts routinely cook court transcripts (I have proof of it, and was charged with criminal contempt, later dismissed, for exposing that misconduct), New York also criminalizing creation of ACCURATE record of court proceedings, Civil Rights Law 52, making videotaping in court also a Class A misdemeanor, similarly punishable by 1 year in jail.
So, you may be punished with a 1-year jail sentence in New York both for your witness account reflecting, in the court's view "a grossly inaccurate report" about what happened in the court proceedings, and for creating a very accurate review of what happened in that proceeding through videotaping those proceeding.
By the way, when I, as a civil rights attorney, challenged constitutionality of Civil Rights Law 52 in federal court on behalf of my husband, both my husband and I were slapped with $6,995 in sanctions.
Even though Civil Rights Law 52, especially in view of existence of Penal Law 215.50(5), is screamingly unconstitutional.
After all, punishing a person for creating a truthful record of open court proceedings makes no sense.
Right?
I was suspended then disbarred via decisions which gave completely false depictions of the litigation I had engaged in. Thanks. I might add this to my complaint to emphasize the illegality of the Florida Bar's action against me.
ReplyDeleteI was suspended then disbarred via decisions which gave completely false depictions of the litigation I had engaged in. Thanks. I might add this to my complaint to emphasize the illegality of the Florida Bar's action against me.
ReplyDeleteYes, it can be turned both ways :). Yet, when I pointed out in my own disciplinary proceedings that court transcripts were cooked, and evidence of that appeared online, it is I who was charged with criminal contempt and not those who cooked the transcripts. So, be careful what you wish for :). Those same crooks who disbarred you could cook court records and accuse you instead of presenting to them a grossly distorted or false view of court proceedings. When crooks play with you by their own rules that they change as they go, you can never win...
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