Minutemen Leader Ordered To Pay $135,000

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: 10News

San Diego Minutemen leader Jeff Schwilk has been ordered to pay $135,000 for repeatedly calling an American Civil Liberties Union contractor vulgar names, it was reported Friday.

The judgement came Thursday after a jury in Superior Court decided against Schwilk in a defamation lawsuit filed two years ago against Schwilk and fellow activist Ray Carney, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

The lawsuit was filed by Joanne Yoon, an independent ACLU contractor who monitored activities of the Minutemen at day-labor sites, where members of the anti-illegal immigrant group and their supporters frequently protested.

According to the lawsuit, Schwilk and Carney repeatedly referred to Yoon in e-mails and on the Web in vulgar terms, the Union-Tribune reported.

Read more: http://www.10news.com/news/19538215/detail.html

[downindixie]

1. Freedom of speech

I guess not!

[frylock]

2. defamation of character..

fuck these racist assholes.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

4. Did you think it was absolute?

Go read your American history, read up on how the American laws work, and you'll be shocked - SHOCKED! - to discover that it always goes back to that old line about truth being the perfect defense, and you can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater if there's no fire.

There is no such thing as absolute freedom of speech.

You also can't call people vulgar names in public places and get away with it.

Go. Learn. You'll enjoy it ..................

[Pavulon]

7. I disagree. You can call a person a stupid asshole

(not you) if they are. That is pretty subjective. So this douchebag had to have some other douchebag caused him damages to get this ruling. Which will be overturned.

I have a real problem with ruling this no matter who is the "good guy" and who is the "bad guy"

[Tangerine LaBamba]

9. You can't do that in public,

you can't publish it, you can't do that, no, you can't.

Try it, and report back.....................

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Have you seen the videos?

These guys go way beyond calling someone a name. They try to run over the laborers. I have done some counter protesting against our local 60 second men and these guys in San Diego are in a whole nuther league.

[Pavulon]

21. No, have not seen the video. I do not agree obviously

but dont want to have to owe 135k for calling someone a silly little ass in public. More info would be cool. If i was not so lazy I would look it up on lexis but am over beer limit for that.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Here ya go

http://www.minutemenunvarnished.com/minutesite/sd.html

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/92379/the_hypocrisy_and_racism_of_the_san_diego_minutemen/

http://www.minutemenunvarnished.com/minutesite/home.html

[AlphaCentauri]

24. more video - Minuteman are proud members of the Tea parties

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yEs3O-yQpU

[Hanse]

22. Yup.

In fact I think there was a precedent-setting case where one man sued another for being called a "butthead." And the judge required the plaintiff to present a working legal definition of "butthead," and then prove that he wasn't one.

[Xipe Totec]

5. Stick around, you might get a full dose of it

:popcorn:

[Tempest]

6. Maybe "downindixie" you can yell fire in a crowded theatre

Or commit slander, but in the rest of the United States it's illegal.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. No they overstepped their first amendment rights

when they threaten and assault Hispanic day laborers.

[TommyO]

18. You can't use your freedom of speech to defame another person

n/t

[No Elephants]

26. The First Amendment does not protect defamation nor slander.

[Rage for Order]

3. Wow. $135,000?

Surely he didn't just call her names? For this kind of judgment, he must have slandered her.

Does anyone know what exactly was said? It was "vulgar", so obviously isn't included in the news article in the OP.

[chascarrillo]

16. Details from the SPLC's Hatewatch blog

"Joanne Yoon sued Carney and Schwilk for $1 million after the men circulated photos of her in late 2006 along with comments referring to her as 'the Korean anorexic ACLU slut.' Yoon, who was then 24, helped monitor SDMM rallies for the American Civil Liberties Union. The images of her were posted to a Yahoo group titled 'Korean Kommie K*nt.' Ever the sensitive soul, Schwilk changed the name of the group to 'Joanne Yoon ACLU Goon' after female SDMM activists objected. But that didn’t stop Carney from sending a mass E-mail to SDMM members suggesting that Yoon was interested in protecting the civil rights of Mexican immigrants because of her fondness for 'Brown Schlong.'"

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2009/05/22/san-diego-minutemen-leader-ordered-to-pay-135000-for-defaming-woman/

[The Croquist]

25. It was a default judgment

Daniel Gilleon, Yoon's attorney, told the newspaper the court entered a default judgment against Carney, who did not file a response to the complaint.

I am NOT a lawyer but it sounds to me like Schwilk and his attorney simply ignored the lawsuit. If that's the case then the case was decided not on it's merits, not on attacks on undocumented workers but because he didn't respond.

The question is; was he an idiot for not responding or did he intentionally not respond and is also an idiot?

I won a default judgment against a mortgage broker once in magistrate court only to have it reopened during a second "damages" hearing (I don't know the correct name). I eventually won anyway but it cost me more time. His excuse was incompetence but this clown had a lawyer.

[slackmaster]

8. That's um, kind of ironic I think

:shrug:

[depakid]

10. Here's a picture of the clown

[happygoluckytoyou]

11. as an HOURMAN, i disrespect the lack of the minutemen's stamina

[happygoluckytoyou]

12. ... tho after 4 hours you should call a doctor, right BOB...

doesn't this guy look like HAPPY BOB from the viagra commercials....

anyway... freedom-of-speech.... is not the same as free-dumb-speech


OBVIOUSLY HE COULDN'T TELL THE DIFFERENCE

..........expect this asswipe carrying a gun in a national park near you

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. The videos of these minutemen in San Diego are very revealing

They are violent mother fuckers. They look right into the camera and spew all kinds of racist crap and threaten to assault Hispanics.

This is great news. This guy, their leader, is particularly repulsive.

[Deja Q]

17. Man, how many minutes does he have to pay all that back?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

19. Oh the irony.

[UTUSN]

20. K&R #1 for ----------awwwwRIGHTTTT!11 n/t