Monday, July 27, 2009

Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation

Minnesota has ANTI-SLAPP laws on the books.
What is a SLAPP?
Retaliatory lawsuits intended to silence, intimidate, or punish those who have used public forums to speak, petition, or otherwise move for government action on an issue.
Link Here

Senior Citizen Arraigned on Criminal Charges

A Centerville senior citizen was arraigned July 22nd in Anoka County on four criminal counts of ordinance violation. This resident was an active participant in obtaining petition signatures for the State audit of the City of Centerville. She was also vocal in the disagreement with City officials on the 2009 road project (Link Here) in which the City scaled back the scope and cost from the initial $7.8 million to approximately $4.5 million. Last but not least, she was also involved with a dispute regarding a variance the City approved for development on her street. Here and Here

This senior citizen is now being charged with violating the Centerville right of way/easement ordinance 93.17. One violation is due to two bricks placed in the ground (see photo above) to protect a sprinkler head from being damaged at the edge of the property. Meanwhile, there are 80+ other properties in town with same or similar easement violations that the city officials have chosen to not pursue.
One interesting example is a mailbox violation (same ordinance 93.03) in which a developer also former planning and zoning member is in violation. The matter was brought to the attention of the City Administrator Dallas Larson and here is his response Feb. 2008. As of today, the mailboxes still stand but not in the required clusters of no less than 4 no more than 6... Right next door to the alleged criminal senior citizen!
Currently there are no charges pending against the two year old mailbox violation.
Click images to enlarge
Other criminal counts the senior is facing pertain to ordinance 150.01 bringing in more than 10 yards of fill, altering the drainage plan for the property and constructing retaining walls without obtaining a permit.
Although the resident has obtained the necessary permits from the Rice Creek Watershed District approving the recent work our City officials have decided to move forward with criminal charges paying City Attorney Kurt Glaser a minimum of 95 (taxpayer) dollars per hour to prosecute.
Neighbors have verified that the retaining walls in question have been there for years and wonder why the City is now pursuing criminal charges.
Mayor Mary Capra is on record stating that the City of Centerville enforces ordinances on a complaint basis. City Administrator Dallas Larson has stated that the matter has been referred to the City Attorney and it has been left to the attorney to resolve the issues.

Is this complaint based/selective enforcement or is this the price citizens will pay for exercising their Constitutional Rights by walking petitions or speaking out at public meetings?

Wikipedia;
Selective enforcement
is the ability that executors of the law (such as police officers or administrative agencies, in some cases) have to arbitrarily select choice individuals as being outside of the law. The use of enforcement discretion in an arbitrary way is referred to as selective enforcement or selective prosecution.

Historically, selective enforcement is recognized as a sign of tyranny, and an abuse of power, because it violates Rule of Law, allowing men to apply justice only when they choose. Aside from this being inherently unjust, it almost inevitably must lead to favoritism and extortion, with those empowered to choose being able to help their friends, take bribes, and threaten those they desire favors from.