Roger Shuler might be a wingnut conspiracy theorist and a crackpot.He might unfairly besmirch conservative Alabama politicians with little or noevidence to back up outlandish accusations.
But he is certainly an American. As such, he certainly has aconstitutional right to free speech, and that right certainly has been trampledby a judge in an Alabama circuit court.
It is hard to feel sorry for Shuler: Earlierthis year, he began writing about Rob Riley on his political blog Legal Schnauzer,accusing the attorney of scandalous behavior in his personal life. Riley, sonof former Gov. Bob Riley, sued Shuler, asking a Shelby County judge for aninjunction to stop Shuler from making such attacks. Shuler failed to show upfor the hearing, then ignored a judge's order to make a court appearance. Heeven threw the court's papers out of his car window as he cursed the officerswho were trying to serve them.
That's when Judge Claud Neilson lowered the boom. Heordered Shuler to remove the offending articles about Riley from the website,and forbade Shuler from writing anything further about Riley. Shuler ignoredboth orders, and wound up being arrested at his Shelby County home Oct. 23 forcontempt of court and resisting arrest.
Shuler deserves to be punished for contempt of court.
But Judge Neilson violated Shuler's right to free speech when he orderedhim not to publish anything further about Riley. The U.S. Supreme Court has consistentlyruled that you cannot muzzle an American citizen; you cannot prohibit libelsanticipated in the future, an excess known as "prior restraint."
The strongest Supreme Court rulings protectingthe free speech of Americans have come on behalf of unsympathetic figures, suchas Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt. This is fundamental to the right offree speech -- everyone has it, and to ensure that we must protect it for themost repugnant and objectionable speech, not just polite words.For decades, America's Supreme Court has saidthat those who are impugned by vile or false speech have recourse afterward,through libel suits or by responding with their own free speech. No one has theright to tell an American to stop speaking, but that is what Judge Neilson hasdone.
This cannot stand if Alabamians are the defendersof individual rights we claim to be so daringly in our state motto.
(Thiseditorial was written by Mike Marshall, director of statewide commentary, for theAlabama Media Group Editorial Board. You can reach him at mmarshall@al.com.)