[EL] Wisconsin John Doe ruling

[David Keating]

¶133 Our lengthy discussion of these three cases can be distilled into a few simple, but important, points.  It is utterly clear that the special prosecutor has employed theories of law that do not exist in order to investigate citizens who were wholly innocent of any wrongdoing.   In other words, the special prosecutor was the instigator of a "perfect storm" of wrongs that was visited upon the innocent Unnamed Movants and those who dared to associate with them.  It is fortunate, indeed, for every other citizen of this great State who is interested in the protection of fundamental liberties that the special prosecutor chose as his targets innocent citizens who had both the will and the means to fight the unlimited resources of an unjust prosecution.  Further, these brave individuals played a crucial role in presenting this court with an opportunity to re-endorse its commitment to upholding the fundamental right of each and every citizen to engage in lawful political activity and to do so free from the fear of the tyrannical retribution of arbitrary or capricious governmental prosecution.  Let one point be clear: our conclusion today ends this unconstitutional John Doe investigation.

David
_________________________________________________
David Keating | President | Center for Competitive Politics
124 S. West Street, Suite 201 | Alexandria, VA 22314
703-894-6799 (direct) | 703-894-6800 | 703-894-6811 Fax
www.campaignfreedom.org<http://www.campaignfreedom.org>

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of David Keating
Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2015 9:03 AM
To: law-election at UCI.edu
Subject: [EL] Wisconsin John Doe ruling

¶11  To be clear, this conclusion ends the John Doe investigation because the special prosecutor's legal theory is unsupported in either reason or law.  Consequently, the investigation is closed.  Consistent with our decision and the order entered by Reserve Judge Peterson, we order that the special prosecutor and the district attorneys involved in this investigation must cease all activities related to the investigation, return all property seized in the investigation from any individual or organization, and permanently destroy all copies of information and other materials obtained through the investigation.  All Unnamed Movants are relieved of any duty to cooperate further with the investigation.

http://wicourts.gov/sc/opinion/DisplayDocument.html?content=html&seqNo=144525

Our statement:
http://www.campaignfreedom.org/2015/07/16/ccp-reaction-to-john-doe-decision/

"The First Amendment rights of the John Doe victims were trampled on for far too long, and while this decision ends a sorry chapter, great damage was done," said Brad Smith, CCP Chairman. "For three years, American citizens were gagged, intimidated and forced to pay a heavy price for simply speaking out about government. Their speech was suppressed, their lives were disrupted, their reputations were damaged and bank accounts squeezed by legal bills in order to defend their rights in court. The Wisconsin Legislature and legislatures throughout the country should pass reforms to ensure this can never happen to anyone else. This investigation illustrates how campaign finance laws are used to harass political opponents and it shows the need for the Courts to uphold robust First Amendment rights and develop clear, bright line rules for Constitutionally protected political activity, to defend American citizens against such abuses."


David
_________________________________________________
David Keating | President | Center for Competitive Politics
124 S. West Street, Suite 201 | Alexandria, VA 22314
703-894-6799 (direct) | 703-894-6800 | 703-894-6811 Fax
www.campaignfreedom.org<http://www.campaignfreedom.org>
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