Support the Free Speech Coaliton......Happy Holidays.

Bump for a good cause.

redrob: I think that if Chris had followed the judge's orders in this case, there would not be an issue. That he decided to be a wise-ass and give the stiff middle finger to the system is his own doing. When he did that in my mind he decided to go it alone.

Alex

Im sorry you are wrong the king is right(Oh my god did I say that lol ) and I'm a liberal. There is not a its not fair clause in the law. You live someplace where they hate porn and decide to run a high profile porn site better be saving for a lawyer. Your attitude is like most webmasters this atitude I can do what I want and its my right. Well in the real world your have to be aware of your surroundings. We work in a very gray industry and most dont have a healthy respect for that and if you tell them they say you worry too much or are paranoid. I feel bad for Chris and wish him the best but if he was in Tampa or Los Angeles or Atlanta it would be a nonissuse and being a cop there he knew the legal climate .

I agree that Chris was not wise to operate his website from a community that distains adult entertainment even though the site was hosted in Amsterdam. I agree that he was not smart to live under the jurisdiction of judges and a sheriff that are bound ?to do the Lord?s work.? On these points we are in complete agreement.

However, I feel that Chris has been denied the due process he is entitled to because he didn?t receive the adversarial hearing to determine if his website is, in fact, potentially obscene. That is my rub. There is no class of speech known as ?Presumptive Obscenity.? The man is due his day in court to defend the content on his website before he is incarcerated.

Without the afore mentioned hearing, all the judge?s instructions constitute a ?prior restraint? on Chris? first amendment rights. To make things worse, Chris?s bond is being revoked because he has continued to express his opinions. As I said before, Chris has not had his adversarial hearing yet so his continued expression is a protected right.

Today, Chris will be returning to jail by a judge that has denied him his right to defend his content. Chris? case is not following the accepted procedure for an obscenity trial and that is what is wrong.

Not that the content was gross; not that the judge and sheriff consider the content obscene and are doing the Lords work to clean it up; not that he has violated every community standard for his community; not that he pissed off GW, Cheney and Rummy; I have a real problem with the process of this prosecution not following accepted methods and denying Chris his right to be heard.

Some webmasters think the FSC should come running to the rescue in this matter. I will tell you that Chris? plight has been noticed by the FSC and is being closely monitored. Different people are doing different things of which, hopefully, more will become apparent in the future as Chris? prosecution progresses. For my part, I have sent money to his defense fund and tried to raise awareness of the un-American treatment Chris is receiving at the hands of these self-righteous Christo-naziis.

I find it disappointing that many webmasters criticize Chris and aren?t interested his plight because he lived in a conservative community. I don?t care where Chris lived: he is still entitled to his Freedom of Speech until through proper due process, the his content is found to be outside the protected speech covered by the First Amendment.

The situation is sad in that this could happen to anybody and anywhere. You don?t have to be in a conservative community to have your rights denied you. Chris wasn?t a big FSC donor or operating megasites: he was an ordinary webmaster who drew the attention of GW?s administration because of the pictures of GIs he was posting at a time the popularity polls of GW and the Iraqi War were falling.

If you can, donate $10 to help Chris?..just a little more than the price of a six-pack, it will make a difference. Visit www.freechris.org

Don't be so negative about the FSC and ACLU. National trade organizations and civil rights organizations generally take on cases with trade or national legal implications and consequences. And, I feel as you do that the webmaster caught in an ordinary obscenity prosecution had better look to his own resources first for his defense. Hopefully, anybody with any brains in this business has a good first amendment attorney on retainer for just such a case as this. It is impossible for the FSC to come to the rescue of every person, in every obscenity prosecution, in every community across the USA. The cost of doing so would be in the multi-millions of dollars and you know that the FSC's income is limited to the dues received from members and donations from companies and individuals interested in donating to a particular issue.

To this end, the FSC has begun to build the structure for the creation of local FSC chapters in which the local leaders can lead fundraising efforts with the help of the national organization; lead lobbying efforts on a local/statewide level to affect the local legal environment; and, serve as a meeting place and forum for all the members of the adult industry in a particular area to address their local needs. Building strong local chapters will go a long way towards curbing localized abuse by local authorities and christo-nazi groups. A strong local organization is your best defense against local prosecutions.

AlienQ, you are very outspoken, knowledgeable, and concerned with the issues facing the adult entertainment industry. We are starting an FSC advisory council and are looking for knowledgeable people to participate in advising the FSC Board on various issues. I find my work with the FSC to be interesting, thought provoking, and a valuable experience. Would you be interested in participating in something like this? If you are, I'll submit your name to the Board. Personally, I think you'd be a great person to work with.

I have to get some work done that is approaching deadlines so I'll post an update when I receive information on the outcome of Chris's hearing today.

you can not police the internet. its impossible!

its a global community, to try and police it is just wrong, if you dont like it, use a little common sense and do not look at it, simple as that.

redrob, you keep harping on the "no due process", but sorry, that just isn't the case here.

In the same manner that COPA and COPA II were not enforced PENDING JUDGEMENT, the content in question can (and was) ordered removed until a hearing could address it's legality.

It is the same case as a building permit. You cannot build until you have the permit. If you build without a permit, even if your building is 100% legal, you can be ordered to remove it.

If Chris felt that the judge's orders were too drastic, he just had to have his lawyers file an injunction in the superior court of his area, and away he could go. Instead he gave the legal system the bird, and as I said before, the legal system has ways of dealing with wiseasses. He got cute, now he got fucked... all his own doing.

Had he removed the content and come here for support, he would have likely gotten a ton. Now he had burned many of the bridges because it isn't about the content, but about his inability to follow the orders from a court.

He made his choices, and he is getting exactly (sadly) what he asked for. I feel sorry for him, but the reason he is in jail instead of just cooling his ass at home running his buisness isn't something I can see to defend.

Alex