about at robots….

2. Mr. Wolf refuses to comply, mistakenly thinking that “Shield Laws” shield journalists from subpeonas or the legal gathering of potential evidence. In any case, there is no federal “Shield Law” and he’s being tried by the federal courts. so EVEN IF IT APPLIED to him, it doesn’t, y’know *apply* to him.

3. Mr Wolf believes that assuring the judge his tape doesn’t have evidence on it is enough to keep the subpoena/grand jury/law at bay. Mr. Wolf’s word on what is contained is less compelling than recorded evidence which has been legally requested of him.

4. Judge finds Mr. Wolf to be hindering legal investigation (“contempt of court” for you legal-eagles out there), and tosses him into prison.

5. Mr. Wolf preens and plays the victim because he thinks he can flaunt the law and uses his newfound celebrity (and his lawyers’ statements) to rage against the DictatorMcChimpyBusHilterInThiefAndHisJunta.

6a. The gullible 20-somethings of the world who figure themselves to be stickin’-it-to-The-Man rally around Mr. Wolf as some sort of icon of free expression, conflating freedom of the press and “desire to break the law and get away with it.”
6b. Forum posters continue to misunerstand or misrepresent “freedom of the press” and “Shield Laws” as well as what’s really going on/at stake in Mr. Wolf’s case by using terms such as “chilling effect” trying to score on emotional appeals. I’m looking at you, ekal.

7. Geek Entertainment TV gets sucked in by this preening huckster and gives Mr. Wolf a bully pulpit from which he can misrepresent his position in the hopes of garnering more simpathy or money or internet-fame(tm) or whatever. He wants anything but the rule of law, it seems.

8. GETV misrepresents his incarceration saying “he isn’t accused of any crime” which is missing the point and a straw man. He was jailed for “contempt of court” which is or can be either criminal or civil, depending on what he did to frustrate the legal proceedings.

Upshot: Mr. Wolf portays himself as a victim of civil liberties violation, when indeed all he is is hindering lawful investigation of a crime by not producing possible evidence for a duly empaneled grand jury as they try to find out whether or not there is sufficient evidence to charge vandals and possible felons with arson.

In his interview with GETV, he impunes the motives of law enforcement officials, misrepresents why he was jailed, and continues to think he should get a “get out of jail free” card for doing nothing but frustrate the law.

Josh should sit in the pen until he grows up a bit and realizes that his little powerplay-victim-fantasy isn’t doing anything productive.

And GETV is so gullible it can’t be expressed by mere words.

What Josh is standing up for is a free press that should not have to be the surveillence arm of the US Government. In Califronia and 15 other states, the press have protections that allow them to effectively gather news. The California Shield Law (linked above) protects journalists from having to turn over unpublished materials, which is exactly the case here. There is a chilling effect when the press are made to turn over any materials they gather to the authorities anytime they ask for it.

Since you brought up tax dollars, it costs $40,000 a year to lock up Josh. The US Attorney’s office, their staff, judges, the court staff all add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Money better spent in actually going after criminals.

I hope this helps to clear things up a bit.

I just don’t get it, as far as I can tell this is costing California residents no matter what, only financially the cost of him cooperating is less. What principles exactly was he standing up for? And why exactly is he protecting violent behavior in demonstrators?

I’m all for jumping on a bandwagon, but this seems to show a lack of critical thinking. It seems more like an adolescent’s way of shaking his fist at authority rather than looking out for public interest. Legally he’s got no case.

Someone please walk me through the logic of how this guy’s retort helps. I must be missing something.

It seems that Josh Wolf is going back to prison, as he plans to not comply with a grand jury subpoena for his unpublished footage. It’s still not clear to me what principle(s) he is protecting in this matter…….

California need to step up and strengthen state’s rights. Extending municipal (SF) police cars under “federal property” has allowed it to go this far. Everyone in California, please tell your Senators and Representatives to make a stand.

Great followup coverage guys, way to keep the dialogue going!

http://amandacongdon.com/roadblog/2006/09/20/josh-wolf-behind-bars-again/