AXJ WILL DEFEND CRYSTAL COX BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

[AXJ USA]

AXJ WILL DEFEND CRYSTAL COX BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Crystal Cox Yes Of Course you have my Permission to post anything I post, EVERYWHERE. The object of my STAND at this point is to protect all Citizen Journalists, Investigative Bloggers Speaking out about Corruption. ( http://www.facebook.com/InvestigativeBloggerCrystalCox http://www.facebook.com/crystal.cox.585 )

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/144683006/Obsidian-Finance-Group-LLC-V-...

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/133576894/ScotusBlogcom-Amicus-Brief-Re...

AXJ USA Members have decided to take this case on PRO BONO since one of our members has suffered an attack on her First Amendment Rights to Freedom of Speech. We do not know why Crystal Cox was dragged into an Oregon Court room, not given the right to defend herself of the accusations, not challenged the jurisdiction and venue since the internet is not resident in any one State or country of the world, not permitted to bring in US Constitutional experts on the matters of Fundamental rights such as free speech, and not awarded other defenses.

Her case is on Appeal in the Ninth Circuit, and she is now a Resident of Port Townsend. Washington, but above all, she is a citizen of the United States of America and cannot be deprived of your First Amendment Rights, whether she is a journalist, a blogger, or just a simple person expressing her comments, facts or opinions on the internet. In this specific case she even says she has the evidence to prove everything she has stated on her blog.

Her attorney in the Appeal is UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh, and we are naturally very happy with this choice since he is now representing the freedom of speech, not only of Blogger Crystal Cox, but of all the students attending UCLA.

The matter now before the Supreme Court is not at all important except for the fact that was is at stake is not the definition of Journalist vs Blogger, but that a US Citizen has been unfairly discriminated and not afforded the protection of the First Amendment as it is to all US Citizens.

Actions for Justice ( AXJ ) is the fastest growing civil and political rights organization in the world presently with over 200,000 members that "blog", and we have always held that as long as someone has evidence of what they are saying, they have the freedom to publish it, even if it, unfortunately, contains information about cases of corruption.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

"First Amendment" redirects here. For other uses, see First Amendment (disambiguation).

United States of America
This article is part of the series: United States Constitution
Original text of the Constitution

The Bill of Rights in the National Archives

The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights that prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering with the right to peaceably assemble or prohibiting the petitioning for a governmental redress of grievances.

Originally, the First Amendment applied only to laws enacted by the Congress. However, starting with Gitlow v. New York (1925), the Supreme Court has applied the First Amendment to each state. This was done through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, by what is called incorporation. The Court has also recognized a series of exceptions to provisions protecting the freedom of speech. - Wiki Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_C...

From what we understand this case specifically involves infringing on the freedom of the press and defining if a "blogger" is considered to be the "Press" and/or a Journalist and therefore afforded the protection of the First Amendment by publishing on her private websites on the internet?

According to Wiki A journalist collects, writes and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journalist

According Wiki a (*) Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003. Generally, the blogs are hosted by Google at a subdomain of blogspot.com. Up until May 1, 2010 Blogger allowed users to publish blogs on other hosts, via FTP. All such blogs had (or still have) to be moved to Google's own servers, with domains other than blogspot.com allowed via custom URLs Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogger_%28service%29

(*) See Blogger disclaimer below.

We received this email from Crystal which gives us the details regarding this strange case:

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Crystal L. Cox, in Love and Light" <[e-mail]>
To: "[e-mail]" <[e-mail]>
Sent: Thursday, April 4, 2013 1:45 PM
Subject: from Crystal Cox

Here is a Bit about my case, in a nutshell per say:

The Judge in my case ruled that the Shield Law Did not Apply to me, Retraction Laws did not apply to me, and the First Amendment did not apply to me. This was, in my opinion to protect powerful law firms and financial companies in Portland.  The first amendment applies to ALL citizens and I should not have been singled out as the only person that the First Amendment Did not apply to.

Another important issue is along with the shield law, their is the issue of Actual Malice, the Judge ruled that the Jury was not to consider actual malice, this is a BIG deal, as it means that regardless of whether I knowingly posted false information or not, or was negligent was not even a factor, and it should have been.

The day before my Trial, there was a hearing, this is where the Judge ruled that the Shield Law did not apply to me as a blogger, Retractions laws did not apply, and he ruled that the first amendment did not apply to me.

Ask yourself this, who does the First Amendment Apply to? If it applies to all citizens, then why did this ONE JUDGE, say that the First Amendment did not Apply to ONE blogger, because she was "not" a "journalist"? It makes no sense as a matter of law.

Here is the Hearing Transcript

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/117804185/Obsidian-Finance-Group-Vs-Cry...

Here is the Judges Official Ruling

http://www.rcfp.org/sites/default/files/docs/20111208_164702_cox_op...

As a blogger I do have editing capability, I do have a unique product, I do take notes, and I am a "medium of communication". The Shield Law and  Retractions laws should have applied to me.

 

I was not given a chance to prove the post was true. I brought over 500 documents to prove my source of that ONE blog post and I was not heard.

Here is my Trial Memorandum ( Keep in mind, I was Pro Se)

 

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/107169114/Obsidian-V-Cox---Explanation-of-My-Exhibits---Trial-Memorandum-I-was-Denied-Use-Of

 

Here is the proof I brought to court as my source of ONE blog post, it was thrown out as hearsay. 

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/107076940/Obsidian-V-Cox---Trial-Documents-Blogger-Crystal-Cox-Was-Denied-into-Court

Many have asked me,   " Why did the judge make this ruling of bloggers but use you as an exception? " 

It was unconstitutional to single me out as the only person that the First Amendment does not apply to. His reasons do not make sense and to me only further proves he was protecting corruption.  

 

I was on trial for defamation, which is a civil matter. The opposing counsel alluded to me being a criminal guilty of extortion, and they used this to get big media to make me look uncredible. However, first of all i was not on trial for extortion, not accused of extortion, not under investigation of extortion, this criminal issue was not a material fact in my case. Secondly if the judge or anyone thought I was a criminal, then they should have filed a criminal complaint and give me due process. Instead the New York Times and Forbes simply ran with articles that defamed me, and they are protected under the laws that I was not. 

 

Even if I had a criminal trial and was found guilty, that has nothing to do with shield laws, retraction laws, the first amendment and whether as a blogger I deserve equal protection under the law as traditional journalist.

 

It is a very big deal for bloggers in the future, as it chills speech, and makes them not want to expose controversial issues.

 

The Judge, in my opinion was protecting elite, high powered law firms and other judges in the Portland Oregon area that were involved in the $40 Million Dollar bankruptcy that I was exposing.

 

Many think "Journalism" is about calling both sides, staying neutral and that this is the only way news should be, impartiality somehow. I don't feel that way. If you call both sides, to me that is a double dose of hearsay, both sides telling you something and then you write it down and call it news, that is not news I want to here. The news is about digging into the documents of the case, the facts, depositions, videos, hearings, and lot's more then just asking someone if they did it. And once, as a "real" investigator I believe at that point morally, intellectually and ethically the investigative blogger cannot help but then be "biased" as the TRUTH biases you to one side or the other of a story, as one side is factual, oftentimes way more then the other. 

 

Investigative Bloggers are not paid for the story, they tend to be more passionate, dig deeper, get more real news. 

 

In today's Culture of Corruption Investigative Blogs are the ONLY news source that "We the People" have to expose corrupt courts, judges, law firms, attorneys and more. Main Stream media will not cover what Investigative Bloggers will. 

 

If you answer to politicians, corporate media, ad dollars, how can you really report the story as factual as possible?

 

As an Investigative Bloggers I am TRULY independent, truly alternative, and I answer to no one, good or bad, this makes me a unique, independent source for a story. 

 

Investigative Bloggers oftentimes break the story before any other mainstream outlet.

 

People learn law in school, learn the ethics and how journalism works traditionally, the thing is, once in the world, politics, money, corruption rules the courts and when you are exposing corruption, the laws are often used against you in order to STOP the flow of information, (real news) because it exposes the elite, the attorneys, judge, and big money.

 

Check out this recent article in the Bar Association Journal regarding my case

 

Read the First Amendment Caste System article

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/146669625/American-Bar-Association-Litigation-Journal-Regarding-the-First-Amendment-and-the-Crystal-Cox-Case-Obsidian-Finance-Group-V-Investigative-Blogger-Crystal-Cox

 

My case in on Appeal in the Ninth Circuit, I am now a Resident of Port Townsend Washington, 

 

My attorney is UCLA Law Professor Eugene Volokh, here is the opening brief and secondary brief in my appeal

 

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/132977266/Eugene-Volokh-Crystal-L-Cox-Appeal-Obsidian-Vs-Cox-Appeal-Opening-Brief

 

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/144314839/Obsidian-Finance-Group-LLC-V-Crystal-Cox-Eugene-Volokh-Reply--Response-Brief

 

 

Here are some briefs in the appeal that were support briefs, Amicus Briefs that really clarify the issue that matters most to all.

 

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/133576894/ScotusBlogcom-Amicus-Brief-Regarding-Obsidian-Vs-Cox-Appeal

 

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/133593941/Obsidian-V-Cox-Appeal-the-Reporters-Committee-for-Freedom-of-the-Press

 

http://www.crystalcoxcase.com/

For More Case Information

 

 

Here is an EFF Support Brief

http://www.dmlp.org/sites/citmedialaw.org/files/2012-01-11-EFF%20Amicus%20in%20Support%20of%20Cox%20Motion%20for%20New%20Trial.pdf

 

Here are a few Videos regarding my case

http://youtu.be/TEJBmZ0Zozo

http://youtu.be/2E4azU9--q8

http://youtu.be/PCLWU1VnGXo

http://youtu.be/A1Fvky1aIuE

https://www.youtube.com/user/WhistleblowerMedia

Here is a Playlist on how I became an Investigative Blogger

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8020348DB0F9064B

 

A Case Summary and Overview, Missing a lot but still a decent Summary

http://www.dmlp.org/threats/obsidian-finance-group-v-cox

 

 

Crystal L. Cox

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