Sheriff ordered to take Constitutional Law class for denying CWP!!

[Sebastian the Ibis]

Sheriff Douglas L. Weber of Osceola County Iowa was ordered to take a First Amendment Class by the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, for denying a concealed weapons permit to a frequent protester.... He also ordered the Sheriff to issue the concealed weapons permit!

The opinion is linked here:
http://ia331221.us.archive.org/0/items/gov.uscourts.iand.30917/gov.uscourts.iand.30917.58.0.pdf

This is also under discussion over on Volokh:
http://volokh.com/2010/07/08/iowa-f...ders-sheriff-to-take-a-first-amendment-class/

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

Hooo - RAH!! I'd like to see more of this!

 

[harmonic]

Wow, those judges would have a great time in the People's Republic of California.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Its about time

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Give that judge a cigar.

 

[Legionnaire]

That is too cool! I'd like to shake Judge Bennett's hand!

 

[danez71]

Thats awesome.

This would be a good chance for us to show support and everyone e-mail the judge a vote of support.

Anyone know how to get an e-mail to the judge?

 

[sonier]

we need that judge to come to denver.

 

[Sebastian the Ibis]

Anyone know how to get an e-mail to the judge?

District Judge: Bennett, Mark 712/233-3909 [email protected]

 

[wishin]

It sure is refreshing to have a judge take a top LEO to task for violating gun owner rights.

 

[CraigC]

It's unfortunate that so many law enforcement officers are so short-sighted that they think that the ease with which they do their job is more important than individual rights.

 

[rhenriksen]

Thanks for the email address - thank you sent.

 

[alsaqr]

I just love it when an anti-gunner is put in his place.

 

[Sav .250]

A victory for the ....little guy!

 

[AirForceShooter]

It's guys like this that get us Shall Issue

AFS

 

[Six]

Just keep in mind that this was a first amendment issue, not a second amendment. It only very tangentially has anything to do with gun rights.

He was punished for exercising his 1st amendment rights, this happened to manifest as a denial of CWP , but it could have been denial of a business license, building permit, or whatever else local government issues.

Not saying the judge shouldn't get credit, just that he should get credit for the right thing.

 

[rattletrap1970]

Well he used the denial of the guy's 1st to deny him his 2nd, and this guy is an LEO? That is frightening. The funny thing is LEO's that do their jobs properly get a bad name from jerks like this. They wonder why they as a group are not trusted by the masses. Well... This is why.

 

[JoeMal]

This is awesome....definitely should be more like him!

 

[Tim the student]

I'd be curious to see if the judge would have found the same way if the guy exercised his 1A rights about something "crazier".

 

[Salty1]

One step at a time, now if other citizens would fight the denial of a permit just maybe they will get tired of paying court costs and issue as required by law...

 

[Ernie Mccracken]

Specifics aside, I think any judge willing to go against local law enforcement/popular opinion to reinforce individual rights deserves praise.

I wrote him a quick thank you email last night, and when I woke up this morning, he had already emailed me back.

 

[Tim the student]

Specifics aside, I think any judge willing to go against local law enforcement/popular opinion to reinforce individual rights deserves praise.

He certainly does.

Ernie, would you care to share the gist of his reply?

 

[CoRoMo]

I'd like to see more of this!

+1, and in addition, I'd like to see all the CLEO's who refuse to signoff on NFA forms to get reprimanded from the likes of Judge Bennett.

 

[shockwave]

So I read the case (PDF linked above) and checked out what "OCTA" is and what Door and his kid were doing.

The Sheriff did grant Dorr a CWP several years back, before Dorr got weird. In the years following, this clown amped up to full-blown psycho whackadoodle nut-ball. But that's OK if he's just your standard aliens-and-tinfoil-hat fluoridated water conspiracy theorist. That's fine and he can have a permit.

Dorr ain't that kind of freak. He's a hardcore militant antiabortion crazy. Like Scott Roeder's murder of Dr George Tiller showed, this type can be lethal. Now, if Dorr wants to write letters to the editor (which he has done), that's fine. But his behavior has worried local residents who consider him to be unhinged, and we know he's established an effort to defund the local schools because he thinks that they "teach abortion."

So he's out there trying to shut down schools, blocking access to clinics, making a first-class nuisance of himself and at some point, he's getting into that zone where maybe you don't think this guy is of sufficient moral character to be carrying concealed firearms. He is not acting sane. This is the sort of person who does not appear to have good judgement.

Since this (Iowa) is a shall-issue state, the Sheriff doesn't have discretion and even though Dorr has been arrested on multiple occasions, they weren't felonies, so the judge is right here. But this case isn't about an "anti" getting his comeuppance.

 

[Polish_Pounder]

Nothing in the pdf substantiates what you have just said. He may have beliefs that differ from yours, but handing out fliers for an organization that seeks accountability in local government or opposing abortion by legal means does not make him militant. I agree that the sheriff does not appear to be an anti.

People may think I am "weird" or "un-hinged" because I OC. Should I lose my CPL this September when it is up for renewal?