Woman sues city after it orders her to remove a link to the local cops' website

A woman in Sheboygan, MI WI is suing the city because the city's attorney used legal threats to get her to remove a link to the local police department website -- the city apparently believes you need permission to communicate the URLs of its pages:

Jennifer Reisinger says the Sheboygan city attorney ordered her to remove from her Web site a link to the city’s police department, in what she believes was retaliation for her support of recalling Mayor Juan Perez, according to the suit filed last week.
The city went further, the lawsuit claims, launching a criminal investigation of Reisinger for linking to the department on one of her sites.

Sheboygan women files landmark case over Web links (via /.)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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The Snowden Principle

jphilby

There’s something happening here
What it is ain’t exactly clear
There’s a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you’re always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what’s that sound
Everybody look what’s going down
Gainclone

Do the Sheboygan Shuffle!
jennybean42

Perhaps this is the page that should be linked to:

http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/who.htm

Not by me, of course :-P
my_belly

What Brats!
OM

“Note: I’m not linking to it, I don’t want anyone to get into trouble.”

…Coward.

“Ooops, somehow all my non-links turned into links. I was not aware that BB automatically converts some strings to hyperlinks. “

…Awww.

“Please feel free to remove/edit my previous post as you see fit.”

…Yeah, right. Which reminds me: Cory, Xeni? Isn’t it about time you guys posted an update thread on Teresa’s status?
Baldhead

Does it seem to anyone else that actually following the law seems very low on the priorities of lawyers in the US? If the lawyer in question here was unaware that he had no ground to stand on, he should be forced to re-do his bar exam since he doesn’t know anything about his job. If he DID know he should face penalties for abusing the law.

Frivolous legal actions should be considered contempt of court. Simply for bringing it to a judge.
Keeper of the Lantern

Hey, Membrain:
I’d bet bin Laden and his minions are plotting to destroy Sheboygan RIGHT NOW. They are aware of how Sheboygan is a cultural and economic lynchpin in the US and how devastating it would be if it were attacked.

Because Sheboygan has not been successfully attacked thus far, I can only conclude that the Sheboygan police have been “standing in the gap” and valiantly defending this jewel in the crown of our democracy.

Who knows what would have happened if they weren’t on the job.
Secret_Life_of_Plants

Can I just add…Since when do people license CATS?

“Every cat kept in the City of Sheboygan must have an annual license prior to April 1st, or by the time the cat reaches thirteen months of age, or within 30 days of acquiring ownership.”

I feel like wanting to license cats, and not wanting to be linked to by other pages on the web, are co-evolved symptoms of a larger disease.
taj

There must be more to the story. Was she listing website she supposedly designed or administered? (straight out fraud?)

It’s just too inconceivable otherwise.
godfatherrules

This is my town. I’m from Sheboygan and let me tell you, she’s a needed voice in this community. The mayor and his staff have come under fire for possible wrong-doing on more than one occasion. The mayor has been accused of giving key positions on his staff to people who are wholly unqualified. In fact, there was an attempt at a recall on the mayor but it was unfortunately put together too hastily and without enough publicity for it to go anywhere and it never got to a vote. It just goes to show, though, that the mayor and his office are not well respected.

I read about this story quite some time ago and I’m surprised that it’s made such a splash. Not because it’s not important, but because coming from a small town like mine you don’t expect it. Hopefully this case can set some sort of precedence and stop at least a few willy nilly cease and desist letter.
madjo

Why does the Sheboygan police website, this one I mean: http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/, show an article on the death of a police officer that happened on March 27th, 1937?
I’m all for paying respect for officers who were killed in the line of duty… But this somehow made it feel like it happened today or something, were it not for the fact that the date is right there on the page.
BenTGaidin

As an ex-Sheboygan resident, I have to say that this doesn’t really suprise me very much.
(It’s not like they’ve got too much else to worry about there – the 10 most wanted criminals typically includes at least a few people who are wanted for simply walking away from the jail…)
madjo

Race: white? ‘caucasian’ I can understand. Though I put questionmarks on that one, on a few of these suspects here:
http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/wanted.html
Secret_Life_of_Plants

Oops, I forgot to add a link for my cat licensing rant (#32 above)…

http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/animals.htm
Baldhead

Well… “white” is a bit anachronistis these days, but these folks you question are probably latin… and north america is the only place where we think of “latin” as seperate from “white”- ask a brazilian, for example.
mdh

Since when do people license CATS

Ever since Toonces drew attention to their poor driving habits?

Roadway fatalities are down, someone is doing something right.
Chas44

I just added a link to the site in question, http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/ to my blog. You never know when you’re gonna have to contact the police. BTW, here’s a great blog about the whole issue, with lots of contact information for the knuckleheads that caused it: http://badgerblogger.com/?p=6120
skatanic

Of course the city is in the wrong here, but the sad/scary part: is anyone certain that there isn’t some part of the Patriot Act that could actually be used to prevent linking to certain government sites.
Nword

They can’t use the deep linking precedent, and a URL can’t be considered anything if not public info.. otherwise, why in the hell would you put it online (and un password protected)?

Are they going to threaten google next?
coldspell

Because the police wouldn’t want anyone contacting them or actually reading the web site they paid someone to create.

“Hello, 911? I have an emergency!”

“Where did you get this phone number?!!”
mdh

More citizens like her please!
Jacques

Nice. Anyone else notice the Homeland Security Advisory system graphic on the police department’s page? Morons.
jtj608

I believe the city in question in the story is Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Michigan does not have a Sheboygan (it does have a Cheboygan, which may be the cause of the error). A quick look at the website for Sheboygan, WI reveals that Juan Perez is indeed the mayor for Sheboygan, WI. The news story does not mention Sheboygan’s state because it appears in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, and, unfortunately for non-Wisconsinites, the Milwaukee paper assumes that all of its readers know that Sheboygan is a city in Wisconsin.
NicoNicoNico

That has to be the silliest thing I have ever heard. What did the city think they’d accomplish by having that done? They should have known word would’ve gotten out, and then they’d look like complete dweebs.
dainel

Before you all go overboard linking to that site, give a thought to what will happen to their google rankings if they suddenly get a million incoming links. It may be a side effect that results in a reward for the mayor and city attorney. Is this what we want?

PS: boingboing.net uses rel=”nofollow”, if you’re linking from your own site, please use that too.
Cory Doctorow

JT608 — thanks for the correction!
Keeper of the Lantern

Come on, gang! You know what to do! Everyone should throw up as many links as they can to that page.
mikelotus

Will need to add the link to my blog too. And a link to this story.
andygates

“Nonetheless, McLean said he could issue a â€œcease and desistâ€ order to Reisinger, and the mayor said to do it.

“Reisinger said she felt intimidated by McLeanâ€™s letter and removed the link.”

See, that’s the problem, right there. Lawyers issue “cease and desist”s like confetti – just because they’ve got fancy letterheads and fancy wording doesn’t mean they’re worth a damn.

The correct response would have been to ignore it.

Second, maybe, if you felt like fun, would be to write back pointing out exactly how worthless and harassing the notice was, counter-accusing the lawyer of barratry and the office of intimidation.
spazzm

Are we talking about the website located at http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/?

Note: I’m not linking to it, I don’t want anyone to get into trouble.

So if we can’t link to http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/, can we link to pages that link to http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/?
Like Google?

This is what happens when the sphere of lawyers and politicians intersect with technology. Total idiocy.
spazzm

Ooops, somehow all my non-links turned into links. I was not aware that BB automatically converts some strings to hyperlinks. Please feel free to remove/edit my previous post as you see fit.
bamboozlde

the chief’s message from the sheboygan police department’s website: “Lastly I like to have an open door policy. In this case, an open website policy.”

wunderbar!
js7a

I feel sorry for the judge that has to deal with this crap, but he probably likes it more than throwing minorities in jail all day.
Andrew Katz

@8 – in England, where I am a lawyer, we have a professional conduct rule that we are not allowed to send unjustifiable cease and desist letters (or make any other unjustified threats). Of course, as a matter of simply human decency (don’t laugh) I wouldn’t make unjustifiable threats anyway (not that I have much opportunity to, not being a litigation lawyer).

Don’t state bars in the US have a similar rule? I can’t comment on this case, as there doesn’t seem to be enough information to determine whether the C&D is justifiable or not (although at first sight it seems pretty unlikely), but I would have thought that where unjustified C&Ds, DCMA takedown notices and the like are prepared by attorneys, that complaining to their professional body may prove effective.
acx99

In case any BB readers live there, the ten most wanted criminals may be found at http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/wanted.html Be vigilant and keep a look out for these dangerous people!
Anonymous

Well the police shouldn’t have to be distracted by stupid linking controversies. After all they have more important things to deal with, like giant monsters. http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/1783
zandar

Nice little site. And not one dead link- I checked every single one, thousands of times.
airship

I, for one, am glad that our diligent public servants are protecting us from these Godless linking terrorists.
worp

I hope you noticed the survey at the bottom of the chief’s message…

I’d link it but, well i think you know where i’m going with this
http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/surveyresults_interface/Results/submission_form.asp
membrain

Gotta love the “Homeland Security Advisory System” badge on their page: http://www.sheboyganpolice.com/_borders/terror-yellow.gif

That’s just made up as far is I am convinced, and is just pure FUD (Fear, Uncertainity, Doubt, in the non-commercial sense.) Yeah spread fear among the people until you don’t know anymore whom to fear more, the terrorist or your fellow citizens (right..)