美国国家公共电台 NPR The Curious Case Of A Florida Man Who Called Politicians Corrupt, Got Thrown In Jail

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

A case before the Supreme¹ Court today could parse² when it's OK to put limits on free speech. It started when a man who went to a city council meeting in Florida complained about local politicians and got arrested for it. His name is Fane Lozman, and it's not his first trip to the nation's highest court. Five years ago, Lozman won when the court decided³ his houseboat counted as a house, not a boat. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg has the story.

NINA TOTENBERG, BYLINE⁴: Back in 2006, Fane Lozman was not exactly a welcome sight for the Riviera Beach City Council. He'd managed to scuttle⁵ their plans to convert the local public marina into a private one, and state law enforcement officers were now investigating allegations of corruption⁷. So on November 15, as Lozman put it...

FANE LOZMAN: They were not in a very good mood when they realized they had to abandon their entire redevelopment plan. They were throwing in the towel that night. And that's when I got up to make my public comments, and the chairperson was just livid looking at me.

TOTENBERG: The video of the whole episode can be viewed on YouTube.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LOZMAN: You're probably aware that the U.S. attorney's office has arrested the second corrupt⁶ local politician. This time, it was former Palm Beach County Commissioner⁸ Tony Masilotti.

ELIZABETH WADE⁹: Mr. Fane Lozman...

LOZMAN: ...Former commissioner...

WADE: Fane Lozman, you have a right to say what you want to say publicly, but you will not stand up and go through that kind of...

LOZMAN: Yes, I will.

WADE: No, you won't.

LOZMAN: Commissioner...

TOTENBERG: That's presiding Commissioner Elizabeth Wade, who summoned the policeman on duty to the podium and told Lozman to leave or be arrested.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LOZMAN: I'm not walking outside. I haven't finished my comment.

WADE: Well, carry him out.

TOTENBERG: They didn't carry him out, but they did handcuff him at the podium, take him to the local lockup, and charge him with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. The charges were subsequently dropped. But Lozman continued to fume¹⁰, so he sued the city, alleging¹¹ a number of retaliatory¹² acts including his arrest at the council meeting. A jury sided with the city, and a federal appeals court upheld the verdict, concluding that there was probable cause to believe that Lozman was violating or was about to violate a Florida law that makes it a second-degree misdemeanor to disturb a lawful¹³ assembly. Lozman hotly disputes that characterization of his conduct.

LOZMAN: I did maintain order. Disorderly conduct relative to a public meeting is if you go beyond your three minutes, if you use profanity, if you're screaming or yelling. I was doing none of those.

TOTENBERG: He maintains that what the City Council chair objected to was the content of his speech.

LOZMAN: If she didn't want to listen to that content, she shouldn't run for public office because the First Amendment¹⁴ protects comments that are critical and maybe comments people don't like to hear.

TOTENBERG: And Lozman says this Supreme Court case is far more important than his last one.

LOZMAN: If I lose, then police and municipalities and the final policymakers who run the city - they're immunized. They can just come up with any bogus misdemeanor arrest to remove you from making your public comments.

TOTENBERG: The city declined NPR's request to provide anyone to discuss the case. But in written briefs filed in the Supreme Court, the City Council, backed by the Trump¹⁵ administration, contends that the policeman was justified¹⁶ in making the arrest even if Lozman's speech was perfectly¹⁷ legal. If you're having difficulty understanding that argument, well, here's one of the examples the city gives in its brief. A policeman sees someone illegally driving a van through the parking lot of a federal building with a sign that says, remember the children of Waco. The policeman might reasonably decide to arrest the driver rather than just issue a citation¹⁸, thus buying time to determine whether the driver is a concerned citizen or another Oklahoma City bomber¹⁹.

Lozman's lawyers, in their briefs, counter that the defendant²⁰ here isn't the individual policeman, it's the city. The arrest didn't occur in the field, it occurred while Lozman was, quote, "calmly speaking during the public comment portion of a city council meeting," and that what he said, quote, "provided no basis for the arrest," close quote. A decision in the case is expected by summer. Nina Totenberg, NPR News, Washington.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHARK QUEST'S "SIN THE MOON")

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 parse   

v.从语法上分析；n.从语法上分析

参考例句：

• I simply couldn't parse what you just said.我完全无法对你刚说的话作语法分析。
• It causes the parser to parse an NP.它调用分析程序分析一个名词短语。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 scuttle   

v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗

参考例句：

• There was a general scuttle for shelter when the rain began to fall heavily.下大雨了，人们都飞跑着寻找躲雨的地方。
• The scuttle was open,and the good daylight shone in.明朗的亮光从敞开的小窗中照了进来。

6 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

7 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

8 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

9 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

10 fume   

n.(usu pl.)(浓烈或难闻的)烟，气，汽

参考例句：

• The pressure of fume in chimney increases slowly from top to bottom.烟道内压力自上而下逐渐增加，底层住户的排烟最为不利。
• Your harsh words put her in a fume.你那些难听的话使她生气了。

11 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

12 retaliatory   

adj.报复的

参考例句：

• The process can take years before the WTO approves retaliatory action. 在WTO通过此行动之前，这个程序恐怕要等上一阵子了。 来自互联网
• Retaliatory tariffs on China are tantamount to taxing ourselves as a punishment. 将惩罚性关税强加于中国相当于对我们自己实施课税惩罚。 来自互联网

13 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

14 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

15 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

16 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

17 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

18 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

19 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

20 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。