In an excellent editorial today, the Northwest Arkansas Times discusses the First Amendment, individual freedom of speech, and the Draconian persecution of Judge Wendell Griffen by the Arkansas Judicicial Discipline and Disability Commission. It is good to see the local daily standing up for the First Amendment, a task that usually falls to The Morning News.The Times editorial suggests that Judge Griffen was singled out because of "his personal views on the mindless nature of attacks on immigrants and homosexuals, his support of raising the state’s minimum wage, and why the Iraq war isn’t such a hot idea." Then they surevy the parameters of the constitutional guarantee and observe, "In light of the evidence, we can’t imagine why the commission pursued a case against Griffen in the first place."
They don't mention that "in the first place" someone filed an anonymous complaint against Judge Griffen when he had the audacity to point out that the University of Arkansas wasn't doing a very good job with encouraging racial diversity or making blacks feel welcome on campus. Perhaps no one at the U of A filed the complaint, but a transcript of administrators' testimony in the Nolan Richardson lawsuit revealed that there were several who might have been so inclined, and the University's history with trying to limit speech with which the administration disagrees offers nothing to suggest otherwise. You'll notice also that none of the UA officials have expressed support for Griffen's First Amendment rights or for the decision to drop the charges.
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