First Amendment Rights Discarded by Arkansas Supreme Court.

Oscar A. Stilley, Esq., a lawyer in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, is currently suspended from practicing law in Arkansas courts, and faces disbarment, for allegedly saying uncomplimentary things about judges.  This speech is not alleged to be false, and some of it is admitted to be the truth.  If Oscar gets disbarred on the basis of this speech, the state of the law in Arkansas will revert to the 1734 trial of John Peter Zenger.   At that time, truth was not a defense to libel charges, but rather an aggravating factor.  After all, falsehoods can be rebutted, the truth sticks. 

This assault on the 1st Amendment right to free speech and peaceful petition is the handiwork of amongst others the sitting Arkansas Supreme Court justices, and panels "A" and "B" of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC).   Public records here are exempt from the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Furthermore, the instigators named above have prevented the issuance of meaningful rulings on the constitutional claims made.  On June 20, 2008, when Oscar asked for a ruling whether Mr. Ligon, Exec. Dir., bore the burden of proving falsity of the speech Mr. Ligon lamented that Mr. Stilley had already been suspended for speech not alleged to be false.  CPC refused to give a ruling on the legal question squarely placed before the chair of the panel for decision.  

Help me tell these bureaucrats what you think about their disregard of their own oaths to uphold the constitution of this state and the United States.  By signing this petition, you are asking the above named parties to withdraw their complaints, and send a message that a violation of federal constitutional rights to due process, freedom of speech, and peaceful petition for redress of grievances is not acceptable!