Oklahoma-3 Are Free! AG Dismisses Charges

Free at last! Oklahoma AG Drew Edmondson today dropped all charges against the “Oklahoma 3″—Paul Jacob, Susan Johnson, and Rick Carpenter—in response to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal’s refusal to approve his request for a rehearing.

Edmondson had asked the court to rehear the case in which the 10th Circuit judges invalidated Oklahoma’s residency requirement for petition circulators. Edmondson had indicted the Oklahoma 3, claiming they had willfully violated the requirement.

In addition to dropping charges, Edmondson told the Tulsa World that he has decided not to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn 10th Circuit court. Edmondson acknowledged that the out-of-state petioner ban “is no longer enforceable.”

Paul Jacob released the following statement in response to the charges being dismissed:

Today is a great day for justice, for freedom of speech and the right to petition one’s government. It is a great day for Rick Carpenter, Susan Johnson, and me—now known as the Oklahoma Three.

The charges brought against us by the attorney general have now been dismissed. They should never have been brought in the first place. We did not break the law and, as we all now know, the law itself is unconstitutional.

Our prosecution has sadly had a chilling effect on Oklahomans, who want to reform their government and to hold it accountable through the petition process. My goal throughout this ordeal has been to encourage Oklahomans and Americans everywhere not to let their rights be eroded through fear and intimidation. Today we have won a victory.

But the battle to protect citizen rights is far from over.

As President of Citizens in Charge, I look forward to working with all Americans to see the voter initiative process triumph over attacks from politicians. The will of the people should always prevail over the desires of politicians.

Thanks to all of you for the support you have given to Paul and the Oklahoma 3 during this terrible ordeal!

AR Statewide Paper says “Free Paul Jacob”

Yesterday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (the state’s biggest paper) ran a very strong editorial entitled “Free Paul Jacob,” calling on Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson to drop his prosecution of the Oklahoma 3…Here is a link to the editorial at the NW Arkansas paper’s site.

Here is an excerpt:

…This indictment has been hanging over the heads of Paul Jacob and those helping him garner signatures for a year. If convicted, they would have faced 10 years in prison for the heinous crime of taking part in American politics. Now they’ve been freed at last, or certainly should be in a free country. This indictment should be quashed; it should never have been filed in the first place. As the Tenth Circuit now has indicated.

But no right is safe unless citizens are willing to exercise and defend it. For there will always be Drew Edmondsons around to challenge rights they don’t care for, and not even the Constitution of the United States, for all its virtues, is selfenforcing. Only citizens willing to fight for their rights, and courts able to enforce its letter and spirit, can keep the Constitution alive.

The bad news is that General Edmondson may pursue his prosecution/ persecution of Paul Jacob even after this appellate ruling. His official spokesman says Oklahoma’s attorney general will appeal the Tenth Circuit’s decision. But at least now he’ll have the First Amendment to contend with. Paul Jacob, who once again has stood up for the rights of all Americans, deserves congratulations. Also, thanks and respect…(more)

I’ve also attached a PDF copy of it from the Democrat-Gazette.

BIG Victory – 10th Circuit Strikes Down Okla’s Law

Friends,

Just got word that the federal 10th Circuit struck down Oklahoma’s residency law 3-0! That’s the third federal circuit court this year to UNANIMOUSLY overturn residency laws as unconstitutional.

This is very good news. It puts another nail in the coffin of these residency bans that thwart the people’s right to petition, and it “should” mean that the outrageous prosecution of the Oklahoma-3 will come to an end.

As I’ve always contended, whether the residency law is struck down or not, we will be acquitted. We did not willfully violate any law in the course of the 2005 Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights petition drive. However, the fact that this statute has now been invalidated should stop our persecution in its tracks.

If the Okla AG continues now, it will be an even clearer sign that his only goal is to harass political opponents.

However, this 10th Circuit decision can be appealed to the US Supreme Court and likely will be. The recent 9th Circuit decision has already been appealed. Still, I’m hopeful the High Court won’t take either of these cases, or, if it does, will agree that residency requirements are unconstitutional.

My battle is certainly not yet over, and the battle for initiative rights is far from over, but let me take this opportunity to say thanks so much for all your support throughout this ordeal. It means more than you may ever know.

PJ

P.S. Here’s the actual decision

Also see:

• Free Paul Jacob
• Drew Edmondson Wants to be OK Governor
• Free the OK3 Rally on Tuesday! (Updated – The Madness Continues)
• Citizen Leader Faces Felony Charges for Petitioning Oklahoma Government

 

Citizen Leader Faces Felony Charges for Petitioning Oklahoma Government

National Initiative and Referendum Expert’s Statement Before Trial for Violating Petition Laws
(Oklahoma City, OK)…Paul Jacob, President of Citizens in Charge released the following statement before his preliminary hearing on felony charges of violating the state’s statute requiring petition circulators to be residents of Oklahoma:

“Today, Attorney General Drew Edmondson continues his attack on the right to petition one’s government. We are innocent. We sought to understand and to fully comply with the letter of the law. Indeed, those running the petition drive were advised by state officials and followed that advice.

“Furthermore, the very statute being used to prosecute us is being challenged as unconstitutional. In recent months, statutes similar to Oklahoma’s have been struck down as unconstitutional by two federal circuit courts – the Sixth and Ninth Circuits – in unanimous decisions.

“Make no mistake: We are here today facing 10 years in prison because we worked for an issue adamantly opposed by the rich and powerful in Oklahoma. The goal of this prosecution is to threaten us and scare Oklahomans away from the initiative process, which gives citizens their best opportunity for real reform.

“But we will not be bullied out of our rights as Americans. We will fight this vicious, politically-motivated assault, and we will prevail.”

Citizens in Charge works with activists, legislators, media, opinion leaders and voters to protect the initiative & referendum process where it exists in 24 states and to expand the process to the 26 states where voters currently lack the initiative.

Also see:

• Free Paul Jacob
• Free the OK3 Rally on Tuesday! (Updated)

The War on Direct Democracy

…Common Sense with Paul Jacob (Listen to the Podcast):

Career politicians and ideological allies have been waging an ever-more-vicious war on citizen initiative rights.

Some of the sordid details are reported in political journalist John Fund’s Wall Street Journal article, “The Far Left’s War on Direct Democracy.”

The tactics used to assail statewide petition drives range from “restrictive laws to outright thuggery.”

The restrictions involve anything from slashing the time allowed for collecting signatures to massively increasing the cost of running a ballot campaign.

The thuggery also takes many forms. Often, so-called “blockers” are recruited to harass circulators and prospective signers.

Seeking to imprison people for ten years for promoting an initiative, based on zero evidence of wrongdoing, also counts as thuggery, I think. That’s what the Oklahoma attorney general is trying to do to Rick Carpenter, Susan Johnson, and Yours Truly. Fund notes the hypocrisy of indicting us for allegedly hiring “out of state” petitioners, when state officials couldn’t care less about how “out of state” the blockers are.

Visit freepauljacob.com for more details about our case.

The groups using the most vicious tactics to undermine the process tend to be far left-wing. Their pet causes tend to be much less popular than reforms like term limits, capping state spending, and the like. If they have to destroy democracy to get their way, that’s fine with them.

But we don’t have to let them get away with it.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.