Pain Treatment Activist Fined for Contempt

Yesterday I noted that pain treatment activist Siobhan Reynolds is fighting a subpoena from a federal grand jury in Kansas demanding documents and a film as part of an investigation into whether Reynolds "obstructed justice" by taking up the cause of a local doctor accused of writing inappropriate narcotic prescriptions. Today U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson fined Reynolds and her group, the Pain Relief Network, for contempt of court because she refuses to turn over the material, arguing that the investigation, which was instigated by a vindictive federal prosecutor, violates her First Amendment rights. The fines, $200 a day for Reynolds and for her organization, take effect in 10 days. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Reynolds, plans to appeal.

Comments

[Elemenope]

Well...

FUCK!

[brotherben]

Ole Vlad was right about some things.

[Andrew S.]

Unfortunately, I'm not surprised.

Sigh.

Kick some butt, ACLU.

[megs]

I have been cheering on the ACLU a lot lately.

[LarryA]

Contempt of this court certainly seems appropriate.

[R C Dean]

"Your honor, I did not mean to give the impression that I hold this court in contempt, and I apologize if I did so.

I meant to be very clear that I hold you in contempt, sir. I hope this clears up any misunderstanding."

[Episiarch]

Does this surprise anyone?

[creech]

Anyone who can give a legal definition of "contempt of court?" I can see lawyers, who are officers of the court, getting cited if they refuse to follow the judges instructions, but plaintiffs and defendants aren't officers of the court. And wouldn't filing an appeal to the judge's decision be an act of contempt?

[Fluffy]

Isn't the US Attorney's office compelled to lay out some plausible basis for conviction in seeking an obstruction of justice warrant?

Don't they have to somehow describe what evidence they think they'll find that will support the charge?

By the way, I hope Julie Robinson develops a lingering and incurable disease that wracks her with horrible pain that goes on, day after day and year after year, and that she is unable to get her pain adequately treated. And since I'm just following the maxim of this cunt's action, I don't even have to consider myself a bad person for hoping that.

[Ian MacLeod]

Fluffy,

Yes, they SHOULD have to do that. It's very clear that Siobhan wasn't holding the court in contempt, she was fighting an illegal misuse of the Grand Jury process, and an attempt to define legal opposition and an attempt to get legal evidence admitted as "obstruction of justice." There is no justice here - it's a frame-up job from the word go in which the government takes away money for defense, practices stalking and other intimidation, stalking and if necessary financially destroys anyone attempting to make this a fair trial. They're perfectly willing to imprison potential witnesses, and the threat can make them refuse to testify. Chronic pain patients are especially vulnerable. The Drug War is their gravy train, and they won't tolerate anyone who threatens it.

Ian

[MNG]

What colossal bullshit. It's an outrage, a horrible outrage. WTF?

Thank goodness for the ACLU, America's premier liberal organization! I hope they kick much ass at appeal.

[Ian MacLeod]

Just FYI, the ACLU was able to do NOTHING. Between a vindictive and corrupt prosecutor and a corrupt judge (this being my personal opinion) who apparently never heard of the Constitution, we lost that case. And a lawsuit when the SCOTUS said she didn't have standing to sue. And one more thing, remembering that one person in the courtroom has been described as "vicious" and "vindictive," Siobhan Reynolds died Christmas day, 2011 in a small plane crash. The plane was flown by her fiancee and former lawyer who also did work for the ACLU, Kevin Beyers. People have noted how incredibly careful a pilot he was, and the day was clear and windless; he missed the runway and crashed on a road running parallel to the runway.

Merry Christmas

Ian MacLeod
Pain Treatment Activist
Chronic Pain Patient 29 years
PRN Administrator

[MNG]

If this lady has contempt for that court and the US Attorney then she is just giving them both what they clearly deserve...

[dennis]

The judge and prosecutor both need to be horse whipped (unless they are into that sort of thing in which case they most emphatically should not be horse whipped.)

[nmg]

We hates them we do, nasssty courtses

[Citizen Nothing]

Thank goodness for the ACLU, America's premier liberal organization!
They're libertarian, MNG, even if they don't admit it. The proof? The ACLU card in my wallet.

[MNG]

CN, I disagree, they are what non-partisan liberalism looks like; but I'll not argue further, I'm just glad you're a member. I don't agree with everything they do (or don't do, as 2nd Amendment suits), but they are so necessary in this nation.

[MNG]

How do you emphatically NOT horsewhip someone?

[R C Dean]

How do you emphatically NOT horsewhip someone?

Over to you, SugarFree.

[BakedPenguin]

How do you emphatically NOT horsewhip someone?

What's the old joke? A sadist has a masochist tied up in his basement. Slowly, one by one, he brings out devices of torture and pain infliction, gleefully showing each of them to the masochist, and explaining just how they work. Finally, the sadist runs out of torture devices.

"So your going to start hurting me now?" the masochist asks

"No." laughs the sadist, walking away.

[bigbigslacker]

If the ACLU fails, there is always violence.

[John C. Randolph]

Federal Judge issues a writ of "Respek mah authoritah!"

Go to hell, Julie Robinson. You should be disbarred at the very least.

-jcr

[hmm]

at least they didn't shoot her

WTF?

[CFroh]

I'm so honored I've been able to consult for clients like Siobhan Reynolds' Pain Relief Network. There's an old saying that one knows ones friends by the nature of their enemies. If the enemy of pain medicine activists are judges and prosecutorsas disgusting as Judge Robinson and Prosecutor Treadway, then I truly have been blessed to have the friendship of someone as wonderful as Ms. Reynolds. Please go to http://www.painreliefnetwork.org, and help fight this Big Brother attack on Speech and Health Rights.

[edna]

aclu libertarian? an understandable error. as long as you define mandated discrimination, racial quotas, gun control, and picking people's pockets to subsidize others as "libertarian." of course, then "libertarian" loses any recognizable meaning.

that said, they're more often on the right side of freedom of speech/press issues than anyone else (of course, so is clarence thomas, who is equally bad in other areas) and they should be applauded for that. robinson and treadway should be impeached and disbarred, respectively for violating their oaths.

[Ian MacLeod]

I've been with PRN for a couple of years now. Something that angers me as much as this abuse of an advocate is the judge's snide comment to the effect of the fine not being "meant to cause harm," but to "encourage" Ms. Reynolds to obey the subpoena - which should have been quashed, and would have been if the judge had been neutral. That fine will pauperize Siobhan and destroy PRN.

We have people come to us in suicidal straits often, their doctors, families and even spouses against them. Doctors tell them to "Suck it up, get out of that bed, go get some exercise," trying to send them to PT (all impossible for the patient), offering them drugs that make them ill and that kill some people. Unlike opiates, they don't protect the nerves and don't control the pain. Medical science knows why, and knows why pain takes over people's lives - then destroys them. I know, too - I've been in pain for 25 years. It's insane, and cruel, and the ONDCP,DEA and DOJ have no interest in learning the Medical Standard of Care for chronic pain. They and others profit too much by keeping us un- and under-treated. Ignoring the law in an unaccountable government is much easier.

Ian MacLeod