(Classic Re-run post)
Linked here is who a group of Louisiana AP Government Students are battling for their right to free speech:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/corps.html
From the "Teaching the Levees.org" blog here is the story of the PSA Students ran and posted on YouTube and Levees.org that has been taken down (or has it?) by a "cease and desist" letter written by lawyers for the Army Corps of Engineers.
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=s_ezG_ahQOw
"Why Levees.org removed PSA from YouTube"
Levees.Org was served an order to Cease and Desist from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) on November 10, 2007. We were ordered to remove our funny student-made Public Service Announcement (PSA) from YouTube. If we refused, the ASCE promised “appropriate legal action.”
We stand behind every word of our PSA. But had we fired back with a rejection of the Cease and Desist, ASCE would likely have sued Levees.org not in Louisiana, but rather in Virginia where they are based. In that forum, it would have been difficult and expensive to find legal representation. Levees.Org does not possibly have the personnel, the resources nor the scope to take on a legal battle with a large powerful organization such as the ASCE.
Further, Levees.Org in no way wanted to bring harm to Newman school who was copied on the Cease and Desist.
So we removed our PSA video from YouTube late Tuesday night Nov 13, when the webmaster, my 17 year old son returned home from his State Cross Country meet.
Sandy Rosenthal, Exec Director, Levees.Org
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By the way, cease and desist is is a legal term used primarily in the United States [citation needed] which essentially means "to halt" or "to end" an action ("cease") and to refrain from doing it again in the future ("desist"). The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization.
The term is used in two different contexts. A cease-and-desist order can be issued by a judge or government authority, and has a well-defined legal meaning. In contrast, a cease-and-desist letter can be sent by anyone, although typically they are drafted by a lawyer.
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Full blogging coverage of the fansinating story of the power of students and the constitutional right to get the words out can be found here:
http://www.teachingthelevees.org/
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3 comments:
This case seems like a perfect example of the sometimes flawed nature of cease and desist orders when used by private individuals or corporations. Often, wealthy individuals and organizations utilize a cease and desist order to silence opponents who are unable or unwilling to engage in an expensive lawsuit, and thus may feel compelled to comply with a cease-and-desist letter even if it is unjustified. The video seems justified and not overly hyperbolic, and it is a shame that the student’s first amendments rights were violated.
This is a clear violation of the first amendment and is just plain ridiculous. The video was merely stating the facts as to what really happened and is showing the flaws of our system of government. By making these people take down this video, it impedes on their right to free speech just so the government can keep significant information out of the ears of the American people. This is unconstitutional and cannot be justified.
I agree with both Gabi and Sai and feel that in this case the cease and decease order was used unlawfully and in violation of the videomaker's rights according to the Constitution's First Amendment in the Bill of Rights. I feel like this video was legitimately trying to state facts and was not overly satirical or ridiculously exaggerated or anything of the sort.
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