How about those impartial judges?

[grubbs]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ohio-lawyer-arrested-wearing-black-lives-matter-pin-court-article-1.2722989

[Press Virginia]

1. Yeaaaaah...you don't really have a right to free speech in a court room

[marble falls]

2. Then no American flag pins should be allowed, either.

[Dustlawyer]

3. Judges impartial? Since when?

Some are and take their oaths seriously, some never were. Judges rule their courtrooms like dictators. They weld a lot of power and leverage and know it! Attorneys call Federal Judges God because they have all of the power and you better not even be perceived as anything but a faithful worshipper!

I don't believe the one over the BP litigation is impartial. When you allow BP to offer the buddies you appointed to the Plaintiff's Steering Committee a $700,000,000 "Common Benefit Fund", but only if they agree to a one-sided class action settlement and that settlement must survive to the end without being overturned in order to receive the money, you are compromised. He allowed this huge conflict of interest to exist and in fact did everything to protect the deal, including the judge sending letters to the clients advising them to do the opposite of what their attorneys have recommended without even letting the attorneys know that he was contacting their clients.

Sorry, I have to give this BP example as often as I can because the BP litigation has screwed over hundreds of thousands of victims of the BP oil spill. The average person has trouble understanding what the kind of money the tenth biggest corporation in the world has and can do with it. It is a power to do what they want anywhere in the world. And this is only one big corporation!

[malthaussen]

4. His honor is in error...

... "black lives matter" is not a "political" issue, it is a moral one.

-- Mal

[SickOfTheOnePct]

5. I don't agree with the judge that the pin is a political statement

But I'm not sure I would want a lawyer who claims that her right to free speech overrules a Supreme Court ruling that says differently.

A better argument, and one that she perhaps made in chambers but is left out of the article, is that the pin wasn't a political statement.

[Igel]

6. It's not partisan.

But I think it's political.

It deals with policies and the distribution of power, and demands a shift in them.

A pin for GLBTQ rights would be the same. As would a pin against such rights. Or "US out of Afghanistan." "No blood for oil." Political, even if we can't make it partisan and say, "This pin is jab at Obama" or "at Bush."


If visible to the jury, it could amount to persistent attempts at persuasion. Depends on the case and on the jury. Neutral clothing is impartial.

I'd also hope that a judge would rule out a US flag pin if the court case involved something like treason or being an unregistered foreign agent, or church pin if it involved freedom of religion or religious discrimination.

[RAFisher]

7. Judge is right. His court room, his rules. He can allow religious pins and not allow political ones.

Even the lawyer said it was an act of civil disobedience.

[grubbs]

8. Interesting views from all

Thank you for the perspectives.