Update on 'MERICA!: "In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State."

(Bloom County)

A reporter for a small paper in Georgia was jailed and charged with identity theft (along with his lawyer) for 'identity theft' after issuing a subpoena for bank records.

The reporter was caught in a battle over records requests trying to prove judges, a prosecutor, and some deputies had used racial slurs during a trial. After suing to get audiotapes, he was countersued for defamation by the stenographer who transcribed the trial. When those two suits were dropped, the stenographer demanded legal fees, and the reporter and his lawyer issued a subpoena to seek bank records which they felt would prove the fees had already been paid.

The issue appears to be that the stenographer's legal fees were (allegedly) paid by the judge involved in the racial slur story. The charges were sought by the chief judge, who was not the judge using racial slurs, but who (in a comment which displays a remarkable lack of understanding of the role of a free press in society)(let alone the FIRST AMENDMENT): "I don't react well when my honesty is questioned."

For those of you who may not practice law, I can tell you that issuing a subpoena for bank records is a supercommon thing to do. I bet bank records are sought in about 75% of my cases, and I've never seen anyone even treated with suspicion because of it, let alone charged with a crime.

(Full Story here)

(Title Quote by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.)