Missing the Point
F. Jacques, a resident of Council House, the Seattle low-income retirement home where Paul Trummel lived before a judge tossed him in prison for refusing to remove something he said on his website, emailed me a long screed describing Trummel's bizarre behavior and criticizing those who defend him.

Jacques alleges journalists are covering the Trummel case "without any concern for the truth or ethical principles" and bemoans the fact that "even the venerable New York Times joined the band wagon."

He claims the press coverage of the Trummel case "is inevitably an opportunistic, shallow and fleeting defense of the freedom of the press." and calls it a "patently absurd suggestion" that "anyone with a Press Card IS a journalist."

Jacques concludes: "Absolving Paul Trummel's behavior simply because he pretends to be a journalist is unpardonable. Frivolous intellectual vanity."

Sadly, Jacques misses the whole point.

Indeed, Paul Trummel may be crazy and he may have harassed people at Council House. He may be a liar. He might not be or ever have been a "journalist" in any professional sense.

So what? He is still entitled to the rights granted by the First Amendment, rights that are for all residents of the United States, not just those who have a press card or get a paycheck from a media organization.

Judge Doerty has wronged Mr. Trummel twice. First, he ordered him to remove from his website what appears to be constitutionally protected speech. Then he imprisoned him for not complying. Even worse, the judge justified his actions by making the specious claim that First Amendment rights are only for paid journalists.

I don't defend Mr. Trummel because I am or because he claims to be a journalist. I defend Mr. Trummel precisely because he isn't a paid journalist. The judge's order makes it clear that if Mr. Trummel could prove he indeed was a paid journalist, he would not be in prison nor be under court order to remove certain things from his web site.

Unlike Judge Doerty, I believe the First Amendment is for all who live under the U.S. Constitution, whether they get a paycheck from a media organization or not.

And, unlike Mr. Jacques, I can't stomach the notion that a judge should be allowed to imprison a person whose speech the judge finds objectionable.
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To learn more about the case, scroll down and read my previous posts, and also visit the Free Paul Trummel web site.

To express your opinion to the Seattle papers on the Trummel case, send emails to:

Seattle Times: opinion@seattletimes.com
Seattle Post-Intelligencer: editpage@seattlepi.com

Judge Doerty probably could use a few more emails before June 17, when the Trummel incarceration is set for court review. He has two email addresses:
jim.doerty@jdoerty.com or
james.doerty@metrokc.gov