Wisconsin has thousands of bloggers, and among that number is one who covers municipal affairs in Sheboygan. Her name is Jennifer Reisinger, and she is the blogger at Sheboygan Shenanigans.
There are both similarities and differences between her website and FREE WHITEWATER: she is conservative, where I am a libertarian; she uses her own name, while I write under a pseudonym.
She would likely disagree with many of my views; I would expect as much.
Although we have neither met nor written to each other, we have one thing in common – like a few other bloggers across America, we live in communities where municipal officials have committed acts of over-reach against lawful blogging.
She has obtained counsel and filed suit in federal court against Sheboygan and her leading officials for infringement of her First Amendment rights (as a 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 action).
I have followed her
situation these many months, and I have read the recently-filed federal complaint (a public document) in the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
I will briefly summarize her claims, in a second post offer observations on how public officials go wrong this way, and in a third discuss the risks to Sheboygan of litigation.
Ms. Reisinger has retained Paul Bucher, former Waukesha County District Attorney, to represent her in this lawsuit. Her complaint was filed on August 20, 2008 and sets out her allegations against the defendants in 29 paragraphs.
She has filed suit against Sheboygan mayor Juan Perez (as mayor and personally), the chief of police, and the city itself, among others.
Ms. Reisinger is a web designer, and a community activist. She was supportive of efforts to recall the city’s mayor.
Ms. Reisinger alleges that the city’s unlawful insistence that she remove a weblink from one of her websites, and a subsequent police investigation about her because of it, caused damage to her business, health, and subjected her to death threats and other acts of intimidation.
She seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.
(An sad irony of this is that she intended the link to show support for the police, but the leadership of the city – leaders, not patrol officers – saw her actions in a different and wrong light. I find this common – arrogance is to be found principally among leaders, not the field.)
I wish her the very best in the vindication of her rights.
Next: How public officials go astray.