ACORN to sue O’Keefe, Giles, Breitbart; fired workers to file criminal complaint in MD today?

Inside Charm City ^ | 9/18/2009

[mlizzy]

If your team is losing 56-3 with only 7 seconds on the clock and you realize you were cheated out of 3 seconds earlier in the 4th, do you spend 20 minutes arguing your case to get those 3 seconds back, or do you do your best to keep together team morale, finish out the 7 remaining, and get the heck off the field.

Goooooo Breitbart, Beeeeeeaaat ACORN!

[alephnull]

I thought the one-party vs. two-party consent only applied to electronic communication like the telephone.

[x_plus_one]

Judges are easily bought and sold.

[RedhairRedhair]

But wait. The former employees of the beleaguered community activist group ACORN claims are barred based on their fraudulent misconduct and breaches of their fiduciary duties as employees of ACORN.

[American Constitutionalist]

Exactly !

[GonzoGOP]

I know that it can be applied to recording a meeting. Since there was Audio on the tape those laws would apply. I'm not sure what the laws are in MD today, but I remember back in the 90’s when there was some issue about Dems doing gotcha recording Republicans that it came up that it was legal in MD and not legal in DC.

[ConservativeMind]

This will be a defense fund for which I will most certainly enjoy donating money!!

[ConservativeMind]

There were two parties involved, the girl and the guy. They gave consent.

[In Maryland]

One office doing this is isolated but FIVE offices spread out over the U.S. is a RICO case. ACORN had to have a training guide for ALL their employees since ALL the employees that got caught were giving the SAME advice.

When Andrew Breitbart was on Hannity the other night, he strongly implied there are many more tapes "in the can". The lady involved said there was not one office they visited where they were turned away. I would count on a mass dumping of dozens of tapes if ACORN tries to go after the filmmakers. In any case, the courts have consistently shown a reluctance to impose "prior restraint" on journalists - if ACORN gets an injunction banning the showing of these five, I bet 5 more get released.

[MRadtke]

Acorn’s lawyers are probably getting the “correct” judges lined up...

[OldDeckHand]

"I hear all the time cases on the news of some guy filming ladies in the store changing rooms, they never get charged cause they’re breaking no law, which maddens me, yet these reporters broke the law?"

I'm not sure what state you're living in, but in most states in which I'm familiar, that too would be violation of law.

In most states (probably all states), you can't videotape - and maybe can't audio record - somewhere where they have a clear expectation of privacy. A "changing room" or bathroom presents a clear expectation of privacy.P> In this case, it's a little more complicated. Because of the advent and subsequent ubiquity of security cameras, you may be videotaped virtually anywhere that doesn't have a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is effectively anyplace that isn't bathroom or changing room or someplace similar. So, these journalists aren't in jeopardy for the videotaping, per se.

The audio portion of that tape, however, presents a different set of problems. From reading the MD law (§ 10-402), and the court rulings associated with that law, it's clear that these kids have some potential problems on their hands if, after reviewing the complaint, the prosecutor decides to move forward with the case. I'm HIGHLY doubtful that a prosecutor would abuse his discretion in a case involving these circumstances. I just don't think this is moving forward to prosecution, irrespective of ACORN's or their employee's protestations.

[GraceG]

When Media Darling John Stewart is calling the State Run Media on their non-coverage of this story, I am sorry stick a fork in them, the State Run Media is incompetent.

[top 2 toe red]

Lol! Thx for the laugh this morn!

[rockinqsranch]

I’d bet these displaced ACORN workers will gravitate to some of the other community organizations of lesser notoriety than ACORN that exist in localities rather than Nationally.

I’d bet it wouldn’t take too much to expose their association with ACORN either.

I’d bet it’s possible to create a negative aura about everyone of them that would destroy any of their type of organizations credibility by 2010.

[Verginius Rufus]

Linda Tripp may have saved Monica Lewinski from being Arkancided by taping her.

[darkwing104]

Thank you

[MattinNJ]

Excellent. they walked rightinto a trap. Can’t wait to depose them. In most jurisdictions, you are allowed to ask anything that “could reasonably lead to admissable evidence”.

[MattinNJ]

ACORN can be third partied in. At the very least they will be fact witnesses that can be deposed and have records that can be subpoenad.

[Real Cynic No More]

Do the new federal whistle-blower and the “protect the reporter” statutes have any influence on how this will go forward?

[mojitojoe]

Oh goody! I can’t wait for discovery. It will keep the story in the news and alive for months. In the mean time, the evidence builds tying in odumbas* and his pals Jarrett, Axelgreaseball and others with their dirty deeds in ACORN, SEIU and their offspring.