I don’t have much respect for or confidence in Washington State Courts’ these days, but in the case of what constitutes illegal subpoenas, the Washington Court of Appeals Division One got it right on Media Shield laws.
According to the Washington Court of Appeals ruling in The Republic of Kazakhstan v. DOES 100 LLC, the Court of Appeals held, “We decline to read the statute so narrowly. The plain language of RCW 5.68.010 (1)(a) is very broad. It protects against disclosure of the identity of a source of any news or information. It also protects against the disclosure of any information that would tend to identify a source.”
In November 2013, Washington State Bar Association’s lead counsel Linda Eide sent an illegal subpoena to the Gold Bar Reporters seeking media files and the testimony of a news reporter, the Gold Bar Reporter. Basically, the Gold Bar Reporter told Linda Eide to “ go pound sand, go get a court order. ”
I always knew the subpoena the Washington State Bar Association sent to the Gold Bar Reporter seeking media files and the deposition testimony of a news reporter was not only illegal but also unconstitutional on its face.
The Gold Bar Reporter views her First Amendment rights as “ non-negotiable, not for sale, and not subject to the Washington State Bar Association’s approval or disapproval, so we objected on First Amendment and Media Shield grounds.”
The Washington State Bar believing themselves to be above the Constitutional protections afforded to all citizens here in Washington State ignored and spit on the First Amendment and Media Shield laws, RCW 5.68.010.
Why is simple, Washington State Bar lead counsel Linda Eide is a personal friend to a corrupt political appointee named John E. Pennington, a man who killed 43 people in the Oso Washington mudslides. John Pennington is the man responsible for the Oso mudslides here in Snohomish County Washington. Just one issue I was reporting on, who some say, will bankrupt Snohomish County. Welcome to capitalism.
In March 2016, a source from the Attorney General’s Office in Olympia called to let us know that John Pennington, the man who caused 43 people to suffocate to death in the Oso mudslides, was finally deposed in the Oso cases, and it didn’t go well.
No surprise to those us who investigated John Pennington’s criminal conduct over the last thirty years.
Before my readers send me emails, let it be known that we requested a copy of John Pennington’s deposition and we intend to post it. We hear that the Plaintiffs’ attorneys also videotaped it too, and once received under RCW 42.56, we’re going to upload it to U Tube.
Thankfully, others are now requesting copies of John Pennington’s deposition too.
For those interested to know more about the county man who caused 43 people to suffocate to death can See https://goldbarreporter.org/2015/11/21/5258/
Now for those of my readers who know me, know beyond any shadow of doubt that my God is not the all mighty dollar, she’s a non-tangible item, and her name is “ Justice.”
Justice is not something one can purchase nor is it something that can be described by people who view the all mighty dollar as proving one’s accomplishments in this World.
Justice is something that I hold heavy on my heart, especially when I see government officials spiting and trampling on the rights of the accused or citizens who have little or no resources to fight back. Sad for the powers that be, my publishers made sure that I don’t have to think about money for some time.
Justice means holding the criminals accountable, and not abusing the power granted to you by the State. Justice requires sacrifice and doesn’t come without sweat, hard work, years and years of demands, hardships, and has no price tag.
When I think of Justice I think of John F. Kennedy’s speech “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
The United States has entered a dark and gloomy time in its history, which I hope is never repeated by the next generation. Martin Luther King, Alice Paul, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton would be quite ashamed of where America is today. On the other hand, Adolf Hitler would be quite proud.
When we fight back saying “ hell no, were not going to take it anyone.” They come after you. Perhaps the powers to be had no idea that I was raised by five older siblings who taught me to fight when pushed by a bully, or that my parents taught me that the most patriotic duty an American has is to question government officials. This attribute, I see in everyone of my parent’s children, and almost all of my close friends.
When I think of my mother, I think of a phrase she said often “this World isn’t about you or me!” As a child, I had no idea what she meant, but today I couldn’t agree with her more.
Activism is slowly evaporating, and I fear America will soon become a 3rd World country if the average middle class American doesn’t start pushing back against corrupt government officials.
Judge Ricardo Martinez, a Washington State Bar member, refuses to recuse himself from Block v. Washington State Bar Association, et al, filed in US Federal District Court, even though public records document that Martinez has a personal and pecuniary interest ( public speaker) with the Washington State Bar and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals already held in four cases that anytime the Bar is listed as a Defendant, all Washington Bar members must recuse themselves and assign an out of state judge. Ethics complaints against Martinez followed.
(Sitting far left is Supreme Court Justice Barbara Madsen; next left is Bobby Riggs, a former leading member of the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, convicted of drunk driving, and Judge Kato, King County Shoreline Division, who originally assisted a corrupt police officer in Duvall Washington, Lori Batiot, in her efforts to hit the Gold Bar Reporter with a SLAPP suit to stop the release of her criminal history records. Judge Kato’s SLAPP was overturned as an unconstitutional “prior restraint” on free speech and the corrupt police officer Lori Batiot is being sued for racketeering and 1983 violations.
Judge Ricardo Martinez’s unconstitutional Order in Block v WSBA et al (Seattle Federal District) from filing lawsuits is an unconstitutional order, amounts to a Strategic Suit Against Public Participation ( SLAPP), and violates the First Amendment to the US Constitution.
Perhaps Judge Ricardo Martinez failed or skipped constitutional law, but I didn’t. I ate, slept, and dreamed constitutional law before, during and after law school.
My First Amendment protected activity is not subject to Judge Martinez’s approval or disapproval and in my opinion Judge Martinez should be removed from the bench for breaching judicial ethics.
By violating my First Amendment rights forcing his blatant disregard for the rule of law, Judge Martinez strengthened my resolve to make sure every law school and every constitutional law professor understands just how dangerous Judge Martinez and the Washington State Bar’s blatant disrespect of free speech and our right to report on the news are to a free and open society.
Amy Goodman your help would be much appreciated.. the 9th Circuit has already issued a briefing schedule.
A friend said to me last night “You’re going to make history!” and I said “ No, we’re going to make history by standing up against corrupt government officials who are abusing their power, making criminals out of non-criminals, and we’re going to stop them with every legally permissible tool. The courts are just one monkey wrench, RCW 42.56 the Public Records Act is another, but the First Amendment’s free speech is the most essential bundle of rights we Americans have to exposing corruption inside our government offices. Without it, America is no better than Saudia Arabia or The Third Reich. Networking is key to a healthy democracy, so lets get to work.
A Special Thanks to Washington State Court of Appeals, Division One.
On February 22, 2016, the Court of Appeals, Division One, agreed with us confirming what we already knew – the subpoena Washington State Bar Association’s counsel Linda Eide issued to the Gold Bar Reporter was illegal and non-enforceable on its face.
For us, this makes the Washington State Bar Association’s subpoena a per se infringement on our First Amendment rights to engage in lawful news reporting and blogging free from government interference.
Hence why I filed an Interlocutory Appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The day I stand by idle while anyone, including his Majesty Ricardo Martinez tramples on my First Amendment rights is the day I take my last breath on this planet.
Linda Eide soiled my feelings about the Washington State Bar beyond reconciliation, and I am now a member of the Reformed Washington State Bar Association. We promise, the next chapter will be a thriller and forever change the Bar.
The American Bar Association called the Washington State Bar Office of Disciplinary Counsel “the fox in the hen house.” Last year alone, the Washington State Bar was sued for racketeering and Sherman Anti-Trust six times. All but one case is still pending in the US Federal Courts, and my hope is to file a class action lawsuit soon.
Most the Washington State Bar members I know are ready for change and believe that I am the Rose Parks to the movement. I’m not sure about being the Rose Parks to abolishing the corrupt Washington State Bar, but I’m ok if people believe that I can help lead America away from fascism and toward my God, “ Justice.”
Therefore, until the day I die, I am going to do what I can, regardless of the cost to me, to try to stop this awful corruption that is destroying our beloved democracy. John Jay Hooker
For my readers who would like to know more about the First Amendment rights of news reporters or bloggers, might read Wikipedia’s article on the topic. Its a pretty good read.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
GOLD BAR REPORTER 
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