06-21-2010, 02:46 AM
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
Speaking at a tea party? You're fired!
'I shouldn't have to trade my constitutional rights for a paycheck'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: June 03, 2010
5:01 pm Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
When an assistant state attorney in Florida spoke at several tea-party rallies about her beliefs and the Constitution, her boss, a prominent Democrat, fired her – but now protesters are taking to the streets to get her job back.
Former Live Oak prosecutor KrisAnne Hall, was ousted May 24 by Democrat Robert "Skip" Jarvis, state attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida, after he said she refused to stop speaking at tea-party rallies, on the radio and to the Suwannee County Republican Executive Committee.
Hall, a 40-year-old mother and U.S. Army veteran who describes herself as a "constitutional originalist" and "fan of American Revolutionary history," sought an injunction in federal court to allow her to continue speaking. Three days later, Jarvis received the motion and fired her. Now Hall is suing, claiming her First Amendment rights have been violated.
"I shouldn't have to trade my constitutional rights for a paycheck," she told Florida's Fox 30 News. "If we don't learn why we have the Constitution that we have, we are doomed to repeat the history that brought it to us."
Tea partiers rally for fired prosecutor
The North Central Florida 9/12 Project called an 11 a.m. "free speech" rally outside Jarvis' office in Live Oak, telling tea-party protesters to "bring your signs and let people know that you are standing up for our constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of speech."
Hall spoke to WND while the rally was taking place.
"There are about 100 people," she said. "I'm really impressed because that's good for our little town. They've come from as far as Tallahassee."
According to her request for an injunction, Hall had made an appearance on a local radio program and "addressed a variety of issues of public concern, including constitutional originalism, the legal dispute between the State of Florida and the federal government over the recent national health care bill and the threat posed by large federal budget deficits."
The Gainesville Tea Party released a copy of Hall's April speech to its group, noting that she spoke about the Constitution, the Founding Fathers and the importance of informing and educating oneself.
Hall claims she didn't discuss cases handled by the state's attorney's office during her speaking engagements, and she was introduced only as an attorney with expertise in constitutional matters. Hall also explained that she spoke at the events on her own time as a private citizen – not an employee of the state's attorney's office.
"I never said anything bad about my office," she told WND. "I never said anything bad about my boss. I never talked about my cases."
She added, "When I stand up to speak, I don't consider myself a motivational speaker. I consider myself a teacher. That's why I was asked to come and speak on the Constitution, based on the perspective of our Founding Fathers and blend it with current events. I think that's what my speeches did."
Jarvis, who claims Florida law allows him to appoint and fire his assistants without cause, wrote a series of e-mails on April 22 and 23, according to the complaint. He told her to stop speaking before a "fringe right-wing group" and ordered her to "disassociate yourself from these folks."
"He wrote a letter to my attorney telling him that he could hire and fire me at will and I had a choice to make: I could speak or I could work for him," Hall said. "He was clearly throwing down the gauntlet, saying you can keep your First Amendment rights or you can work for me."
However, as the chairman of the Suwannee County Democratic Executive Party, Jarvis himself was involved in politics and spoke at political events while he was the assistant state attorney.
"I spoke to Democrats, Republicans, independents, everybody in that room," he told Florida's CBS 47 Action News. "It was on unity because I started out, 'Look to you left. Look to your right. Everybody in this room is an American.'"
Hall said, "He was the Suwannee county chairman for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate – all while he was an assistant state attorney under our previous boss, Jerry Blair."
Hall 'spoke against the government'
However, he claims Hall went too far because she spoke out against the government.
"The position I've seen her advocate in some of her speeches is that 'We the people think differently, and only we the people think like me.' That is very divisive," Jarvis said.
But Hall told the station she's not against the government and she's only attempting to convey the importance of the Constitution.
More on this Story
Speaking at a tea party? You're fired!
'I shouldn't have to trade my constitutional rights for a paycheck'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: June 03, 2010
5:01 pm Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling
© 2010 WorldNetDaily
When an assistant state attorney in Florida spoke at several tea-party rallies about her beliefs and the Constitution, her boss, a prominent Democrat, fired her – but now protesters are taking to the streets to get her job back.
Former Live Oak prosecutor KrisAnne Hall, was ousted May 24 by Democrat Robert "Skip" Jarvis, state attorney for the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida, after he said she refused to stop speaking at tea-party rallies, on the radio and to the Suwannee County Republican Executive Committee.
Hall, a 40-year-old mother and U.S. Army veteran who describes herself as a "constitutional originalist" and "fan of American Revolutionary history," sought an injunction in federal court to allow her to continue speaking. Three days later, Jarvis received the motion and fired her. Now Hall is suing, claiming her First Amendment rights have been violated.
"I shouldn't have to trade my constitutional rights for a paycheck," she told Florida's Fox 30 News. "If we don't learn why we have the Constitution that we have, we are doomed to repeat the history that brought it to us."
Tea partiers rally for fired prosecutor
The North Central Florida 9/12 Project called an 11 a.m. "free speech" rally outside Jarvis' office in Live Oak, telling tea-party protesters to "bring your signs and let people know that you are standing up for our constitutionally guaranteed right of freedom of speech."
Hall spoke to WND while the rally was taking place.
"There are about 100 people," she said. "I'm really impressed because that's good for our little town. They've come from as far as Tallahassee."
According to her request for an injunction, Hall had made an appearance on a local radio program and "addressed a variety of issues of public concern, including constitutional originalism, the legal dispute between the State of Florida and the federal government over the recent national health care bill and the threat posed by large federal budget deficits."
The Gainesville Tea Party released a copy of Hall's April speech to its group, noting that she spoke about the Constitution, the Founding Fathers and the importance of informing and educating oneself.
Hall claims she didn't discuss cases handled by the state's attorney's office during her speaking engagements, and she was introduced only as an attorney with expertise in constitutional matters. Hall also explained that she spoke at the events on her own time as a private citizen – not an employee of the state's attorney's office.
"I never said anything bad about my office," she told WND. "I never said anything bad about my boss. I never talked about my cases."
She added, "When I stand up to speak, I don't consider myself a motivational speaker. I consider myself a teacher. That's why I was asked to come and speak on the Constitution, based on the perspective of our Founding Fathers and blend it with current events. I think that's what my speeches did."
Jarvis, who claims Florida law allows him to appoint and fire his assistants without cause, wrote a series of e-mails on April 22 and 23, according to the complaint. He told her to stop speaking before a "fringe right-wing group" and ordered her to "disassociate yourself from these folks."
"He wrote a letter to my attorney telling him that he could hire and fire me at will and I had a choice to make: I could speak or I could work for him," Hall said. "He was clearly throwing down the gauntlet, saying you can keep your First Amendment rights or you can work for me."
However, as the chairman of the Suwannee County Democratic Executive Party, Jarvis himself was involved in politics and spoke at political events while he was the assistant state attorney.
"I spoke to Democrats, Republicans, independents, everybody in that room," he told Florida's CBS 47 Action News. "It was on unity because I started out, 'Look to you left. Look to your right. Everybody in this room is an American.'"
Hall said, "He was the Suwannee county chairman for a Democratic gubernatorial candidate – all while he was an assistant state attorney under our previous boss, Jerry Blair."
Hall 'spoke against the government'
However, he claims Hall went too far because she spoke out against the government.
"The position I've seen her advocate in some of her speeches is that 'We the people think differently, and only we the people think like me.' That is very divisive," Jarvis said.
But Hall told the station she's not against the government and she's only attempting to convey the importance of the Constitution.