The public loses in court

Palm Beach Post Editorial

Friday, June 02, 2006

To the Los Angeles prosecutor at the center of Tuesday's Supreme Court whistle-blower ruling, the message to public employees who allege wrongdoing is: "Keep quiet. Keep your mouth shut."

Richard Ceballos, who made those comments to the Los Angeles Times, believed that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies lied in 1999 to obtain a search warrant. He wrote a memo outlining his findings. He sued, blaming the memo for his subsequent demotion.

The Supreme Court said free speech doesn't offer him relief from punishment because it doesn't extend to public employees performing their duties. The court ruled 5-4 that government, like private business, needs to control what its employees say. "Without it," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote, "there would be little chance for the efficient provision of public services."

The ruling broke an apparent 4-4 tie, created by the departure of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. That made the court's newest member, Justice Samuel Alito, the swing vote. As he and Chief Justice John Roberts made clear during their confirmation hearings, they will side with the government and its assertion of power, not individuals ...

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/opinion/epaper/2006/06/02/m10a_scotus_edit_0602.html

"Chief Justice John Roberts made clear during their confirmation hearings, they will side with the government and its assertion of power, not individuals" I hate these f**cking pieces of shit. How's that for free speech Alito scumbag.

People still close their eyes to the fact that this is a fascist dictatorship.