Voter Intimidation....Looks like it's okay now...Huh?

[PocketProtector]

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...cube_position1

EXCLUSIVE: Career lawyers overruled on voting case
Black Panthers had wielded weapons, blocked polls

By Jerry Seper (Contact) | Friday, May 29, 2009


Justice Department political appointees overruled career lawyers and ended a civil complaint accusing three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense of wielding a nightstick and intimidating voters at a Philadelphia polling place last Election Day, according to documents and interviews.

The incident - which gained national attention when it was captured on videotape and distributed on YouTube - had prompted the government to sue the men, saying they violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act by scaring would-be voters with the weapon, racial slurs and military-style uniforms.

Career lawyers pursued the case for months, including obtaining an affidavit from a prominent 1960s civil rights activist who witnessed the confrontation and described it as "the most blatant form of voter intimidation" that he had seen, even during the voting rights crisis in Mississippi a half-century ago.

The lawyers also had ascertained that one of the three men had gained access to the polling place by securing a credential as a Democratic poll watcher, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Washington Times.

The career Justice lawyers were on the verge of securing sanctions against the men earlier this month when their superiors ordered them to reverse course, according to interviews and documents. The court had already entered a default judgment against the men on April 20.

A Justice Department spokesman on Thursday confirmed that the agency had dropped the case, dismissing two of the men from the lawsuit with no penalty and winning an order against the third man that simply prohibits him from bringing a weapon to a polling place in future elections.

The department was "successful in obtaining an injunction that prohibits the defendant who brandished a weapon outside a Philadelphia polling place from doing so again," spokesman Alejandro Miyar said. "Claims were dismissed against the other defendants based on a careful assessment of the facts and the law."

Mr. Miyar declined to elaborate about any internal dispute between career and political officials, saying only that the department is "committed to the vigorous prosecution of those who intimidate, threaten or coerce anyone exercising his or her sacred right to vote."

Court records reviewed by The Times show that career Justice lawyers were seeking a default judgment and penalties against the three men as recently as May 5, before abruptly ending their pursuit 10 days later.

[cigarmanpa]

i'd like to say i'm surprized, but i'm not. you can cc/oc at a polling place correct?

[adymond]

i'd like to say i'm surprized, but i'm not. you can cc/oc at a polling place correct?

Legally yes. I do not wish to be the test case for the "other legal purposes" exemption of the prohibition of firearms on school property so I don't carry at my polling place.

[cigarmanpa]

Legally yes. I do not wish to be the test case for the "other legal purposes" exemption of the prohibition of firearms on school property so I don't carry at my polling place.

my polling place isn't a school, so I'm good to go it seems

[adymond]

my polling place isn't a school, so I'm good to go it seems

I gotta add IANAL so don't take my response as legal advice.

[JoeWilliams]

It's only OK if you are attacking people not voting for Obama.

The decision of Obama's Justice Department to endorse such behavior sends a dangerous and chilling message for the 2010 elections. I'm hoping I don't have to shoot my way past the racist thugs supporting Obama with the weight of the Justice Dept behind them. Given that this is who the Democrats are choosing as their poll watchers, though, I'm not overly optimistic.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Does this really surprise anyone? We know these people are going to apply the law only when it suits them. Justice for these assholes is only as blind as far as whose pocket(s) they're in.

[BigBoomStick]

I personally saw these folks in Philly. I was not voting at that polling place (I voted in Chester County), but they were certainly intimidating.

[Philbert]

I personally saw these folks in Philly. I was not voting at that polling place (I voted in Chester County), but they were certainly intimidating.

What were they doing? On the video in the article they just look like a pair of losers.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I personally saw these folks in Philly. I was not voting at that polling place (I voted in Chester County), but they were certainly intimidating.

I think someone openly carrying a pistol would've turned the tables on 'em.