Bent Corner

I’ve been participating in a lively discussion over on the Newsarama forum concerning the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) and the Gordon Lee case. And when I refer to it as being lively, I of course mean that the discussion often breaks out into flame wars. The whole thing takes me back to Usenet circa 1994. What I find to be most peculiar is that people who claim to be such extreme lovers of free speech seem to have very little patience for anyone else’s free speech when that speech does not agree with their own.

What I have been mostly focusing on is the policy the CBLDF has of only taking on cases where the defendant agrees not to accept a plea deal in exchange of a lessor penalty. I thought this severely limited a defendants options. This is what FindLaw has to say about plea bargains:

The vast majority of criminal cases are resolved through a “plea bargain”, usually well before the case reaches trial. In a plea bargain, the defendant agrees to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge than one for which the defendant could stand trial, in exchange for a more lenient sentence, and/or so that certain related charges are dismissed. For both the government and the defendant, the decision to enter into (or not enter into) a plea bargain may be based on the seriousness of the alleged crime, the strength of the evidence in the case, and the prospects of a guilty verdict at trial. Plea bargains are generally encouraged by the court system, and have become something of a necessity due to overburdened criminal court calendars and overcrowded jails.

I believe the CBLDF’s no-plea bargain policy causes cases to continue far longer and cost far more money then they really need to. For example, the Gordon Lee case. This case in currently in it’s third year and has cost $80,000 so far and it hasn’t yet even gone to trial. The CBLDF is asking for people to donate more money because the case will cost at least another $20,000.

That’s a lot of money for someone being charged with two (2) misdemeanors. Especially when the facts in the case are not in dispute. Gordon Lee does not deny that a 6-year old child was given an adult comic book featuring nudity and obscenities. His defense is that giving a child a comic book featuring nudity and obscene language shouldn’t be illegal and that the Georgia law making it illegal is wrong.

The other day I decided to email the CBLDF and ask them if it was in fact true. Did they have a policy to only take on cases where the accused agreed not to accept a plea deal. The next day I received a response from Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the CBLDF.

Since Charles Brownstein has since posted the response he sent me in the Newsarama forum, I feel free to post it here as well:

Dear Mr. Rottman,

Thank you for your interest in the Comic Book
Legal Defense Fund.

It is the Fund’s policy to offer legal support
to cases accepted by the Board of Directors, and
our legal support is contingent on the defendant
having an affirmative not-guilty plea, and that
they do not opt to plea bargain.

The reason for the latter is because the Fund
does not set out to participate in creating
precedent that will be harmful to the First
Amendment rights of other retailers. A plea
bargain is a conviction that can be used as
precedent in other cases.

This policy simply formalizes a reality.
Retailers who would actively seek a plea bargain
from the outset wouldn’t be contacting the CBLDF
in the first place, because they wouldn’t be
incurring extensive legal bills. It is those
retailers who are not guilty of the crimes for
which they are accused, and who intend to make a
stand to prove their innocence, that ask for
support from the Fund.

Naturally, it is always the client’s choice to
do what is best for him or herself, and the
CBLDF respects that. Should a client accept a
plea bargain, the Fund does not withdraw or
require reimbursement of the funds spent on the
case. But it is our position that we exist to
protect the First Amendment rights of both the
defendant and the industry at large. The best
way to defend other retailers against later
legal prosecution is to see a case through to
trial wherever possible, so as to ensure that a
harmful precedent is not set by a plead
conviction.

I hope that this speaks to your concern and I
thank you again for the interest in the Fund.

–
Charles Brownstein
Executive Director
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
271 Madison Ave
Suite 1400
New York, NY 10016

He mentions that the CBLDF does not require a client that accepts a plea bargain to reimburse them for the funds spend. The inference is that this is something they could do if they were so inclined to do so. I maintain that it is not. They do not have the power to do this. A defendant cannot be penalized for looking out for their own best interests. This certainly includes not going to prison. Sometimes a defendant’s best option is to accept a plea deal, especially when it means not going to prison. A defendant that accepts assistance from the CBLDF may very well feel obligated not accept a deal even though it is clearly in their best interest.

When a defendant is facing the possibility of going to prison, their first priority should be to themselves and to their own freedom. It should not be to the legal precedent the plea bargain may or may not cause. It’s not like any of the board members of the CBLDF have to worry about going to prison.

I honestly cannot understand what the CBLDF is trying to prove in this case. It’s not as though anyone is trying to ban comic books that show nudity or contain obscene language. The prosecutor’s contention is simply that comics such as this shouldn’t be given to small children. I totally agree.

I was doing some reading on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s website and discovered something interesting. It concerns a 1997 case involving Oklahoma City comic book retailers Michael Kennedy and John Hunter. Undercover police officers entered their store on two different occasions and purchased copies of Verotika #4, a comic book featuring “erotica from Hell”.

Seriously, that’s what it says on the publisher’s website- “erotica from Hell”.

A subsequent raid found other books at the store that the police had problems with. Some of these books included Mighty Morphing Rump Rangers and The Devil’s Angel, a book supposedly featuring cartoon child pornography.

Both men were charged with multiple felony counts of trafficking in obscenity and faced up to 45 years in prison. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund agreed to take on the case and arraigned to pay the men’s legal fees. The case never went to trial.

This is from the CBLDF website:

Rather than risk imprisonment and a permanent felony record, the retailers agreed to plead guilty to the two felony charges. In exchange, they were granted a three-year deferred prison sentence and a fine of $1500 each. Kennedy and Hunter will serve no jail time if they are not convicted of any further criminal activities for a period of three years. After that time, the felonies will be permanently removed from their records.

This action was undertaken without notifying the CBLDF. It is the Fund’s policy to only take on cases where the accused individuals agree not to plead guilty in exchange for reduced penalties. “To say that we’re all disappointed is an understatement,” said Susan Alston, then executive director of the CBLDF. “In human terms, we all share a sense of relief that Kennedy and Hunter’s ordeal is over. But that in no way diminishes the fact that they were convicted in violation of their rights as Americans under the First Amendment.

Evidently when you receive assistance from the CBLDF there are strings attached. Your first obligation isn’t to stay out of prison. No, it’s to ensure your case goes all the way to trial. In exchange for CBLDF assistance you seemingly have to agree that you will not accept a plea deal even if it keeps you out of prison. What this policy does is cause cases to drag out longer then they normally should. It also might land you in prison.

Don’t let the HBO show Oz fool you. Prison is not fun and it should be avoided at all costs.

Most criminal cases don’t end in a lengthy and expensive jury trial. Most end with some sort of plea bargain. That’s why prosecutors start by charging a defendant with as many charges as the evidence allows. That way they can whittle down the charges and offer the defendant a deal. It’s called justice American style. It’s faster, cheaper, and more or less gets the job done.

If a defendant feels as though he is obligated to reject any deal a prosecutor offers no matter how attractive the terms, they aren’t looking out for their own best interests. This ensures the case will go to trial. That means the case takes longer and it will cost a lot more money then it really should. It also carries the risk of going to prison.

I find it ironic that the folks at the CBLDF were “disappointed” that the two men broke their promise not to accept a plea bargain. Who would have thought you couldn’t trust guys that sell such fine comic books as Mighty Morphing Rump Rangers?

“Though I am willing to apologize for this particular art book getting in the hands that found it offensive, I will adamantly agree that the book is not ‘harmful to children’ or ‘obscene.’ In my opinion, this book is no more offensive then viewing the beautiful paintings of the Sistine Chapel or reading one of the best selling books with stories of sex, lust and nudity known as the Bible.”

Gordon Lee
February 07, 2005

“The first sentence in the comic book reads: ‘Brace yourself for a sex and absinthe fueled journey into one of the most exciting period in modern history.’ That’s not appropriate for a nine year old kid. I think that’s a no-brainer.”

District Attorney Leigh Patterson
February 10, 2005

Gordon Lee is a comic book retailer in Georgia. He is currently facing two misdemeanor counts of Distribution of Harmful to Minors Material, each carrying a penalty of up to one year in prison and up to $1,000 in fines. The charges stem from a Halloween 2004 incident in which Lee handed out an anthology comic featuring both female and male full frontal nudity to children.

He doesn’t appear to believe he did anything wrong. He insists that the book is not obscene or harmful to a minor. Though I don’t know if it’s actually obscene, I have no doubt that its not suitable for children. I disagree with Lee when he states that it is similar to the beautiful paintings of the Sistine Chapel.

Has he ever seen the Sistine Chapel?

The book Lee gave the kids (ages 6 & 9) not only shows full frontal nudity, it contains a reference to masturbation. In one panel, it even shows what appears to be an erect penis. There seems to be a difference of opinion whether the penis is actually erect or not. I would argue that if the issue must be debated, the book is not suitable for a child.

Compounding the problem for Lee is that he was convicted of selling pornography in 1993. I would think someone who had been convicted of selling pornography once before would be hyper-vigilant in not doing things like accidentally giving free comics that feature dick pictures to kids.

I honestly don’t understand just how his lawyers expect to defend his innocence in this case. The jury won’t be deciding if the law is valid or not, they will be deciding if Lee broke that law or not. The jury has to consider only the facts of the case, not the merits of the law. Arguing the merits of the law is something that should be brought up in the appeals, not the actual criminal case in front of the Georgia jury.

Do they honestly think a southern jury will have a hard time with a law that prohibits distributing porn to children?

Lee can claim that the comic was no more obscene then the Sistine Chapel or the Bible. The problem is the jury will be looking at the actual book Lee gave the two kids. I doubt many of them will see similarities to the Sistine Chapel or the Bible. I think he is going to have a hard time finding a sympathetic jury in northern Georgia. Especially when he seems to feel he did nothing wrong.

It would be one thing if Lee admitted it was a bone head mistake and apologized for his mistake. He’s not really doing that.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) has already spent $80,000 on this case and expects to pay even more. They are urgently trying to raise more money. Like a lot of comic book nerds, I’ve donated money to them in the past. I don’t think I will be doing so again. Not this time.

I called Capital One the other day to close out a credit card I had with them. The card was paid off last November and we don’t use it anymore. It turns out closing out a credit card with Capital One is a lot like closing out an America Online account, only worse. After navigating one automated menu to another, I finally got a real life person.

Even though I selected the option of closing my account, he still asked me what he could do for me. I told him I wanted to close out my account. He asked me why I wanted to do this as though it was any of his business. I told him because I wanted to. He asked what I thought was the most important feature associated with a credit card.

I told him ones that were easy to close.

He proceeded to tell me about some other cards they offer that have airlines miles or cash back gimmicks. I told him I was not interested and I just wanted to close the account. He then told me that before he could close out my account, he was required to read something to me. I told him that I wasn’t interested and that I just wanted to close the account. He told me that he could not close my account until he read to me. He proceeded to stumble through a prepared statement from Capital One. When he got to the part stating I would be charged all applicable fees until my balance reaches zero, I cut him off. I reminded him that my account has been at zero dollars since last year. I was about to tell him that I even destroyed the cards last year when he interrupted me to say that my account had not been paid off since last year. He said that my account had not gone to a zero balance until November 2006.

I pointed out to him that was last year.

There was a long pause on his end of the line. I imagined him looking at his calendar with his head cocked like a dog hearing a strange noise. He finally admitted that I was right. Before I could celebrate my small victory, he started to read to me again from the very beginning. When he again got to the part about my account continuing to be charged all applicable fees until the balance reaches zero, I cut him off again and asked to speak to his supervisor.

After being on hold for six minutes, a woman came on the line informing me that she was a supervisor and she asked me how she could assist me. I told her that I wanted to close my account. That my account already had a zero balance and I no longer wanted it to remain active. She told me that she was required to read a statement to me. She then proceeded to read the very same retarded statement the other representative did, except her reading skills were even worse then his. Not that I knew that was even possible.

She couldn’t even pronounce the word applicable. She tried three different times to get it out, failing miserably each time. I think I made things worse by asking her to repeat it.

If I cannot close out my Capital One account unless one of their representatives reads something to me, Capital One ought to hire people that can read.

When she finally finished stumbling through the prepared written statement from Capital One, she advised me that my account would be closed in 30 days. I told her I wanted it closed out immediately. She said that was not possible. I asked her why. She said that it was a rule of Capital One. I asked her for a confirmation number or something similar to show that I had indeed called to close my account. If I learned anything from America Online it was to always get a confirmation number when canceling. She informed me that a confirmation letter would be mailed to me. Fine. That’s not what I asked for, but why be picky?

Before hanging up, I asked her to try to say applicable again. I got the feeling she didn’t think it was funny.

I was driving through Hagerstown the other day when I happened to notice the license plate of the car in front of me. Evidently the person was from Texas. At least their car was. It was a white plate with a tiny cowboy riding a horse. The was some oil derricks and some sage brush. In the top right corner was a crescent moon. What got my attention what was featured in the top left corner.

It was the Space Shuttle.

What did the state of Texas have to do with the Space Shuttle? It doesn’t launch from there. It launches from Florida. It doesn’t land there either, even though that is what it is shown doing on the Texas plate. It’s coming in for a landing. It lands in either Florida or California. Once it landed in New Mexico.

It was not built in Texas. I happen to know for a fact that every Space Shuttle ever built was constructed in Palmdale, California. I know this because I grew up only a few miles from the actual plant where every Shuttle was built. They were built by Californians, not Texans.

As a kid growing up, I took great pride in the Space Shuttle. I guess I still do. It bothers me to see that Texas asserting some sort of ownership on something they have nothing to do with. Something like the Space Shuttle.

I started listening to audio books on my iPod. Our local public library has a massive collection of full, unabridged books on CD just waiting to be checked out and imported to iTunes.

This past week, I listened to Brad Meltzer’s The Book of Fate. I enjoyed listening to it. The only problem I discovered was that unlike a podcast, my iPod would not remember where I left off. I would have to do a lot of hunting for the exact place I left off when coming back to listen to more. I eventually got to the point where I would write down on a yellow sticky the file and the time mark where I left off.

There had to be a better way.

I started poking around iTunes and I think I found out how to make it so my iPod remembers where I left off. While looking at each individual album (CD) in iTunes, group highlight the audio files. Hold Ctrl+A if you are a Windows user. Then right-click your mouse button while pointing to the highlighted files. A drop-down menu will appear. Select Get Info located at the very top.

A box will appear with all sorts of options to choose.

Located at the very bottom of the box is Remember Position. Check the box and change it to Yes. Now all the files you highlighted will be bookmarkable in iTunes and on your iPod.

I decided last weekend to move my blog from AQHost to GoDaddy. I was becoming extremely frustrated over the fact that the server my blog was hosted on was increasing going down and becoming not available. When I woke up Saturday morning and tried to access my blog, it was down. I had enough.

It took longer to get my account on GoDaddy up and running then I thought it would. It takes them a while before you are actually allowed to fully access your site and do things. Like upload files.

When I was finally allowed to install WordPrefect and import my blog, something went wrong. All of my categories were goofed up and all my links were gone. I went from 25 categories to over 1,800. Most were just random words seemingly picked from the æther. I actually tried to manually delete them. It wasn’t until I realized that not only did I not have any more links, I couldn’t even add links. It was then I decided I needed to just uninstall WordPress and delete the MySQL database and start over. Once I did that, I installed WordPress and then imported my blog.

It worked. I should have done it sooner.

Three days into her 45 day sentence, Paris Hilton was released from jail and ordered to remain in her home and wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet. The reason given was due to a mysterious and unspecified medical condition.

I bet it was an acute case of richititus.

I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody in the Los Angeles Sheriff department has a brand new boat or something else equally expensive.

The beauty of an unspecified medical condition is that because of federal HIPAA laws, they cannot say the reason she is supposedly too sick for jail. It’s an excuse that nobody can question.

My recent (and final) letter to The Herald-Mail received a response that was printed in today's issue written by a man claiming to be from nearby West Virgina.  Not that I have any reason to doubt where he says he's from.  Who would say they are from West Virginia unless they had to?  Plus, he is a Godly man and they don't lie.  Unless it's about taxes.  Anyway, here is the letter:  

Jerry Falwell's 'flaw' was that he hated sin

To the editor:

Mr. Rottman's May 31 letter proclaiming the Rev. Jerry Falwell's "flaw," deserves a reply, if for no other reason than its attempted character assassination,.

Being exposed to the Rev. Falwell, from his humble beginnings in his ministry to his passing, he continually repeated over and over one sentence that, in my opinion, gives Mr. Rottman's letter a bad name.

It is: "You love the sinner, but hate the sin."

What this means is by paraphrasing, without the entire gist, one can mold the meaning favorable to one's slant.

Whatever Mr. Rottman proclaims to be, it is very apparent in his first paragraph he is a liberal marching with those who hate toward Christianity and Christians. Biblically speaking, thanks to Adam and Eve, all of humanity, save for "I Am," is flawed with sin.

Pastor John Miller is not a liar. Rev. Falwell's virtues are not supposed and no honest person who knew him or his dedication to the service of the Lord could possibly say he made Christians "look bad."

Even syndicated columnist Charley Reese in The Herald-Mail on June 2 acknowledges the virtues of the Rev. Falwell.

Those who read, study and know the Bible realize morally decadent nations and peoples are subject to judgments from God.

The actions of those who converged like vultures before the Rev. Falwell was even buried speaks volumes about the crowds who attack people when they no longer can defend themselves.

Phillip M. Snider

Martinsburg, W.Va.

Phillip is right about one thing - I am a liberal.  Debbie Schlussel even says so.

I don't march with anyone though.  Especially those that hate Christians or Christianity.  I don't hate Christians.  Far from it. 

I hate bullies.  Even the ones that put the word reverend in front of their names.  Especially the ones that put the word reverend in front of their names.

Joe Quesada once again touches upon the controversy surrounding the cover of HEROES FOR HIRE #13.  Will this be a weekly thing until he admits that it’s wrong and pulls the cover from publication?  This from Newsarama:

So once again, no tentacle rape was intended, implied, or even in our thought processes as we were doing this cover nor was it in the thought process of the artist who created the cover. If some have chosen to see it that way there is nothing I can do except to say that I’m sorry.

And yes, if that was indeed what we intended the imagery to be, then shame on us, but that is not what happened and certainly not the case.

What did they intend the imagery to be?  Remember, this is a book intended for ages 9 and up.  I would love to see what written instructions the cover artist was given when she was assigned the job of painting the cover.  That certainly would go a long way in establishing the actual original intent of Marvel Comics.  Not that the intent is really all that important.  At the end of the day, they still have a cover showing tentacle rape.

Joe Quesada can tell Newsarama each and every week that the cover was never intended to show rape.  The problem is that he told Newsarama last week that the creature molesting the women was the Brood.  I’ll be honest.  I didn’t know what the Brood was.  I do know how to use Wikipedia.  This is what it says about the Brood:

The Brood possess wings, fanged teeth and a stinging tail. They have a hive mentality and mindlessly follow a queen. To reproduce, they must infect other races with their eggs.

So there you have it.  This isn’t rape.  This is forcible reproduction by means of tentacle infection.