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Phoenix, Arizona- High Court to Rule on Newspaper Suit
January 19, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee is deeply concerned about the lawsuit facing a newspaper after they printed a controversial “Letter to the Editor” on their Opinions page.
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On January 5, 2005, the Arizona Supreme Court agreed to hear the Tucson Citizen’s appeal of a Pima County Superior Court judge’s decision to hold a trial in a lawsuit accusing the newspaper of distressing residents by printing the letter. No date was yet set, and the court gives no comment.
On January 13, 2004, two Tucson men filed a class-action lawsuit against the Gannett Co. newspaper over a letter printed on December 2, 2003. The letter, which was not written by the newspaper staff, but sent in as a Letter to the Editor, suggested that to end “the horror” of American soldiers being killed in Iraq, one should “go to the nearest mosque and kill five Muslims.”
In response, fearful Muslims kept their children home from religious school. The newspaper issued an apology on December 6, 2003. The editor of the newspaper, Michael A. Chihak, said the letter-writer wrote back to clarify his letter “only referred to military actions in combat zones.”
David Bodney, lawyer for the Tucson Citizen, said the court’s willingness to hear the case was important, because it involves major First Amendment issues. “Essentially the cause of action relates to a polemical statement issued by the letter writer over how best the war in Iraq should be waged. It hardly supports a cause of action for intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
The Citizen first appealed to the state Court of Appeals, but a three-judge panel voted 2-1 against hearing the appeal.
In the newspaper’s August 12th appeal, the attorneys wrote, “If acerbic material found on the Op-Ed pages of newspapers could give rise to claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress, there would be no end in sight to the ensuing litigation.”
The appeal also pointed out that without any immediate physical threat to anyone, publication of the letter is constitutionally protected. “If the trial court’s ruling is allowed to stand, political speech that falls well short of advocating immediate violence may be subject to sanction in Arizona — making this state a uniquely risky jurisdiction in which to publish news and commentary.”
PEN USA agrees that the content in a newspaper Opinions page is protected by the First Amendment.
Recommended Action:
Contact the Arizona Supreme Court:
Arizona Supreme Court
1501 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007-3231
General Information: (602) 542-9300
Comments:
Hi, is it a FREEDOM OF SPEECH to advocate killing people on basis of their religion? wow!!! fantastic wisdom.... I wish I could eat American food and other stuff to ensure my brain’s cells can accomodate such MASS-MURDER appeal. i wish…