The Onion files Supreme Court amicus brief defending the right to parody

Washington Post via MSN ^ | Oct 4, 2022 | Rachel Pannett

[where's_the_Outrage?]

The Onion — a satirical publication known for poking fun at everything from popular culture to global politics — is taking a stab at a serious issue. On Monday, it filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of an Ohio man who faced criminal charges over a Facebook page parodying his local police department.

Anthony Novak, an amateur comic from Parma, a Cleveland suburb, was arrested and briefly jailed after creating a fake social media page in 2016 styled after the Parma Police Department’s Facebook page. His lawyers argue it was an obvious parody, and he was acquitted at trial.

Novak subsequently filed a civil suit alleging his constitutional rights were violated, though that was dismissed after a federal appeals court granted the police officers qualified immunity — a legal doctrine that protects government officials from being sued for allegedly violating civil rights. “There’s no recognized right to be free from a retaliatory arrest that is supported by probable cause,” the appellate judges ruled.

Now, Novak is petitioning the Supreme Court to take up his case.......

“If the police can use their authority to arrest their critics without consequence, everyone’s rights are at risk,” the institute said in a statement.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

Hope SCOTUS takes this case. This can be a foot in the door to stop the GVT from using excessive force during a political arrest.

[Recompennation]

How is that much persecuted guy that did the barry you know obozo mime at the rodeo???? Boy, sheese, know body did’t like his flavor in the soup or so you’d thimk.

[Gaffer]

One would hope that a win would serve as a deterrent to government. But I still feel that THIS government we have now would blatantly violate it whenever it wanted to badly enough - especially when it is for leftist political motives. They’ve already done it in several instances.

[Sirius Lee]

How is that much persecuted guy that did the barry you know obozo mime at the rodeo???? Boy, sheese, know body did’t like his flavor in the soup or so you’d thimk.

????

[qwerty1234]

>>How is that much persecuted guy that did the barry you know obozo mime at the rodeo???? Boy, sheese, know body did’t like his flavor in the soup or so you’d thimk.

I am clearly not drunk enough to decipher that statement.

[texas booster]

I would hope that the Babylon Bee would also file an amicus brief in this case.

After all, they are the kings of parody of government officials and the Hollywierd.

[Chainmail]

English is Recom’s third or fourth language.

[nevermorelenore]

👆👆👆
needs some punctuation, ( notice the comma and parenthesis ) to make any sense at all....🤪

[WeaslesRippedMyFlesh]

First off, think in spelled with an upsidedown N.

[bert]

And, even if the violation was proven, who would administer punishment to the government?

[BlackbirdSST]

How is that much persecuted guy that did the barry you know obozo mime at the rodeo???? Boy, sheese, know body did’t like his flavor in the soup or so you’d thimk.

Did you slip a little bourbon into your coffee this morning?

[Aevery_Freeman]

Volunteers?

[real saxophonist]

You gotta fight

For your right

To paaaaarody!

[rlmorel]

"And, even if the violation was proven, who would administer punishment to the government?"

A salient point indeed. That seems to be at the root of many of the serious issues we face.

[US_MilitaryRules]

Look up a guy who dressed as obunghole obuma as a rodeo clown.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&q=rodeo+clown+dressed+as+obama&ia=web

I think that is what is inferred here.

[Libloather]

[COBOL2Java]

Anthony Novak, an amateur comic from Parma, a Cleveland suburb, was arrested and briefly jailed after creating a fake social media page in 2016 styled after the Parma Police Department’s Facebook page. His lawyers argue it was an obvious parody, and he was acquitted at trial.

Moon over Parma, where those pink flamingos stand I need her kisses and the soft touch of her hand We're goin' bowlin' So don't lose her in Solon Moon over Parma, tonight

[dvwjr]

We should be glad that Recompennation has gifted us with his authentic frontier gibberish…

dvwjr

[Dr. Franklin]

“There’s no recognized right to be free from a retaliatory arrest that is supported by probable cause,” the appellate judges ruled.

Essentially, the police can charge anyone with a crime for exercising First Amendment rights by claiming some criminal intent, BUT after that case is dismissed, the person who had his/her rights violated can't simply allege the police acted with nefarious intent when claiming "probable cause". In practice "probable cause" has become "possible cause", and the two are not the same. The actual standard is usually only "plausible deniability" to arrest someone the police simply don't like, for whatever reason.

[Gaffer]

Certainly