TRI In The News
VA Attorney General Cites 1st Amendment
8/8/2011
TRI IN THE NEWS: VA ATTORNEY GENERAL CITES 1ST AMENDMENT
From One News Now
Original article available here.
Virginia's attorney general has chosen a side in an upcoming free-speech lawsuit.
The Rutherford Institute filed suit against Fluvanna County, Virginia, on behalf of Bryan Rothamel, a blogger who uses the county seal as a backdrop when his works are critical of county government.
"Well, the local government officials didn't like it, so they passed a law saying that the county seal could not be used unless permission was given by the county -- which, of course, wouldn't come at all," explains Institute founder John Whitehead.
But after Rothamel filed suit, suggesting the county's action unconstitutionally limits free speech, county officials changed the language of the ordinance to make it similar to a state law. That is when Attorney General Kenneth Cuccinelli, II entered the scene.
"Now, the attorney general of the state of Virginia has agreed; he's filed an opinion in the case saying that this would be authorized free speech to use the county seal," Whitehead reports. "And he's asking the courts not to overrule this particular statute because it would also overrule the state of Virginia's statute on seals."
The Rutherford Institute founder concludes that the key point is that the attorney general has agreed that the use of government seals in blogs, newspapers, and on television reports is rightful freedom of expression protected under the First Amendment.
