He Who Shall Be Nameless
Only a Republican could claim that he wants to be able to spin the case a bit differently during an upcoming trial because he doesn't like the facts as they exist. That's pretty much what happened during pre-trial proceedings in a civil rights case against the Philly suburb of Upper Darby. And the best part of it all is what the lawyer for Upper Darby wants to suppress -- any reference to President Bush, because he's afraid it will be prejudicial to his client's case.
As Monica Yant Kinney of the Inquirer describes in President? What president?:
For a sign of these strange times, look no farther than Upper Darby.The traditionally Republican township is terrified to be associated with President Bush.
A lawyer representing Upper Darby in a civil-rights lawsuit went so far as to beg the judge not to allow Bush's name to be uttered in court.
It will be hard enough to find people who can be open-minded about an old man arrested for speaking his mind by holding a small sign.
If jurors hear the old man was charged with a crime for protesting Bush and the war in Iraq, they're bound to take his side.
Folks are more than fed up with the president, the township argued.
He's toxic.
Asking a federal judge to suppress evidence as a way to ensure a fair trial is the legal equivalent of a Hail Mary pass.
* * * *
Harold Lischner had a long career in medicine as an immunologist at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and professor at Temple University's School of Medicine.
Lischner was 78 on Sept. 15, 2003, the day the presidential motorcade roared into Delaware County for a Bush fund-raiser. . . .
He and 50 others stood outside - on Drexelbrook's property, as opposed to a public space nearby set aside for protesters. Lischner held a sign reading:
"Withdraw our troops from Iraq. Give the $87 billion to the Iraqi governing council and UN for immediate relief and repair of the destruction we caused."
* * * *
Lischner's sign did draw the attention of Upper Darby police, who repeatedly told him to put the sign away and leave, or face arrest.
He didn't, so they did.
Lischner was 'cuffed and driven to police headquarters.
Two months later, a judge found him not guilty of the disorderly-conduct charge.
Two years later, Lischner sued.
In trying to defend its indefensible action in arresting the peaceful protester, the Township wants to hide the truth of what occurred:
Bush is drowning and could sink us, Upper Darby argued in its court filings, citing a string of sorry stats:
Bush has "the worst approval rating of an American president in a generation," the township's lawyer wrote, using italics for emphasis.
"Currently, 62 percent of Americans believe Bush's actions in Iraq show he is 'stubborn and unwilling to admit his mistakes.'
"President Bush's identity, in and of itself, presents the danger that the jury will favor plaintiff," insisted the defendant, Upper Darby.
Luckily, the judiciary hasn't all gone over to the dark side in abandoning the rule of law. In rejecting this argument, the Court said:
Not sure anything else need be said.Who and what Lischner was protesting that day is absolutely relevant to his case, U.S. District Judge Gene E.K. Pratter ruled last week.
"There is no requirement that trials be made up of the blandest theories, facts and arguments available," she wrote.
The president's identity may not matter to Upper Darby, but it will to the jury and it does to Pratter. Which is especially impressive, since it was Bush who nominated her for the job.
(Via Suburban Guerrilla, who I met last night)
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