Photojournalist Carlos Miller was acquitted of failure to obey and officer and disorderly conduct, but convicted of resisting arrest without violence. Apparently the judge, Jose L. Fernandez, didn't take kindly to Miller's use of the Internets. From Miller's blog:
Although prosecutor Ignacio Vazquez was (thankfully) asking for only three months probation and court costs, Fernandez slammed me with one year of probation, 100 hours of community service, anger management class and about $400 in court costs.I hate to see what I would have received had the prosecutor asked for jail time and had the jury found me guilty of three misdemeanors instead of one.
Fernandez said something to the effect of “your non-remorse in this case appalls me” as well as laying into me about by body language and demeanor during the trial not to mention the “chit-chat” between me and my “fans”, which actually were my aunt and my mom.
He accused me of getting arrested on purpose for the sole purpose of launching a blog and becoming a “hero”. He then reminded me that the real heroes are buried in Arlington who fought for my freedoms and suggested that I pay a visit to the cemetery.
Your (dis)Honor: I have visited Arlington several times so you don’t have to remind me of the veterans who fought for my freedoms.
In fact, my father was a navy pilot during World War II. He was born in Virginia, a few miles south of Arlington. He was killing “Japs” before you were born, to use the non-PC word my dad would use.
Just because hundreds of thousands of veterans have died defending democracy and my freedoms does not mean I should refrain from utilizing these freedoms, whether it be blogging, photographing or simply saying “Fuck You, Judge Fernandez.”
Well put, Carlos. Fuck the power! (Seriously, it feels good).
-- I'm hearing from the Miami Herald that Wanda J. DeMarzo, the newspaper's long-time crime reporter, has been officially fired. Apparently, the Herald allowed DeMarzo to take care of some health issues before she was laid off, which seems like an honorable thing for the paper to do. It's not clear whether DeMarzo was counted among the 250 job cuts announced by the Herald on Monday. I hate to see DeMarzo -- one of the best crime reporters I've seen -- go, but there were a lot of issues here, not the least was alleged plagiarism, so it's hard to cast judgment on management. The Pulp wishes Wanda well. Remember: You can't keep a good reporter down.
