You've Been Served.....AGAIN!

Those of you that follow my blog know about the case I'm dealing with regarding the protection of my First Amendment Rights. Well, did I tell you that I was served again on Monday. As I stated in earlier posts, I knew this case was going to become the City of Lumberton vs. the Lumberton Informer based on the individuals that were showing up to testify. It's interesting that Mayor Ben Winston, candidate for District 2 Stupervisor I mean Supervisor is always there, Jay McGraw was absent at the last court hearing but I have a feeling that he will think Zippo-gate is over and he will probably show up, Bobby, the crack head hunter or should I just say the head hunter, Gibson, Tommy, slanger of dirty meat, Dukes was there and Cora Rogers was there with her good wig. Oh, and that troglodyte they hired as a third deputy clerk, Melissa, was there studying my blog in the corridor. According to the documents I received, I allegedly violated a gag order that was in place. Personally, I thought the gag order was in place until I obtained a attorney but I guess they think otherwise. I added photos of the gag order and the new summons so you can see what I'm talking about.

Now if you would look at the first photo, it says that "the Plaintiff requested a temporary restraining order requiring the Defendant to cease and decist from blogging or otherwise disseminating information about (she who's name can not be mentioned for legal purposes) individually, or as the City Clerk of Lumberton, Mississippi." Now, look at photograph three, that from the new summons. Look at the bottom, it seems like the order was amended without my knowledge because it states that "the Defendant continues to use his blog, which is the subject matter of the original complaint as a weapon to attack the Plaintiff personally as well as in her position and other city employees and elected officials of the City of Lumberton..." So look with me at the top of the photographs because maybe I'm missing something. I think I see one name vs. Jonathan Griffith d/b/a Lumberton Informer but somehow I'm supposed to be in violation of a court order that now includes other city employees and elected officials. Did you forget to serve me some papers? Did I miss a court date? I don't think so. Let me pause for a minute and address the part that says I use my blog as a weapon. Well, if your client, I guess I should say clients since it look like they are now Plaintiffs/Petitioners, would stop giving me ammunition, I wouldn't have anything to attack them with because everybody knows that I'm just reporting what they're doing. Here's another thing, if they spent half the time they spend trying to do me and use that time to do their jobs, I would have better things to report. I know a lot of the ones that are lined up to testify against me are not avid readers but I'm glad I can do my part to help you with your reading skills. See Spot run. Run Spot run.

It's amazing that they spend so much time on my blog but they allegedly don't like what's stated on the blog. The fact that you read this blog more than me shows that you're just a confused fan. Sorry, no autographs. The summons included some opinion about bloggers being responsible for content of what's posted on their blogs. So let me get this straight, your attorney used the opinions of others to defend your case because you're offended by my fact based opinions. Cue the Alanis Morrisette song. Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? Now, I'm not an attorney, I'm just a person fighting to get people to elect better representatives because I know and every citizen of Lumberton should know by know, elections have consequences but I was able to find better sources to defend my rights as a blogger than the ones that were copied and attached to the summons that was delivered on Monday. During my days as a student at William Carey University, I learned the importance of using scholarly journals when presenting research. Well, after looking through Lexis, I found the following articles. It seems that in the case of Ward v. Rhode, No. 12-41201, the case against a blogger was dismissed. The Plaintiff claimed that the website allegedly contained false statements about the plaintiff but was dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction over website operators. How about the case of Silver v. Brown, No. 10-2005 where a blogger was cleared of allegations that he harmed the plaintiff and his company. The plaintiff actually claimed that he was slandered, his character defamed and that the blog caused him and his family duress and that he was protrayed in a negative light. Sounds familiar? Well, that case as dismissed because the blogger was protected under the First Amendment. You need another case. Ok, because I'm all about research. How about the libel case Charles B. Ferguson v. William E. Watkins, No. 54629 where they were seeking damages for something said in a newspaper. The case was dismissed because the individuals were not libeled, even though they were described in caustic language and even to a neutral observer the criticism was unfair, but the allegations in the article were not false and they failed to show malice by the editor; therefore, as "vortex" or limited purpose public figures they could not recover. That's just from my research. I'm sure my attorney has more cases that will be used to squash this frivilous lawsuit. I still find it amazing that the same ones that allegedly covered up for a thief so he wouldn't go to jail are now requesting jail time because I know how to use my words. This case marks a new low for the City of Lumberton and all that's fueling it; including but not limited to Ben Winston.