First Amendment
Case summaries below:
A copy of a part of the Dead Sea Scrolls in question.
(AP Photo/Dan Balilty)
Raphael Golb
Whether the Dead Sea Scrolls were authored by the Essene-sectarianists or were the contents of Jerusalem libraries hidden by scholars during the Roman sack of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. matters to relatively few people. But to them it matters a lot. Raphael Golb (left—the one not Kuby and not in uniform) was indicted in 2009 by Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau and convicted in 2010 by DA Sigh Vance of dozens of felonies and misdemeanors for creating “gmail” accounts in the names of Essene-sectarian scholars and then publishing satirical confessions and engaging in internet avatar arguments. Golb was sentenced to six months in jail and five years probation.
The case wended its way through post-conviction proceedings. And landed in the New York State Court of Appeals. You can watch the pretty entertaining Court of Appeals argument, March 25, 2014, Calendar 72, here:
On May 14, 2014, the New York Court of Appeals overturned all of the felony counts and a number of the misdemeanors. In the process, it declared N.Y. Penal Law section 230.10(1) unconstitutional insofar as it criminalized intent to be annoying and engaging in annoying behavior. A special legislative session passed a new law, confining the crime of “harassment” to its limited constitutional reach.
The decision is reported at 23 N.Y.3d 455 (2014), and may be accessed here. Watch the unusually funny oral argument here:
Upon further proceedings in habeas corpus (because nothing ever ends for us until we run out of courts), the Second Circuit, in Golb v. Attorney General, dismissed numerous additional counts on vagueness grounds. Read the second Circuit decision here:
Finally, on April 16, 2018, Golb was re-sentenced on the remaining misdemeanors to “time-served” (one day).