New Hampshire: Tobin's convication reversed, remanded for new trial
TalkLeft reports: RNC Regional Director James Tobin's phone jamming conviction has been reversed. It's remanded for a new trial. The opinion is here. (pdf). -- First Circuit Tosses Republican Phone Jammer's Conviction - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime
Here is the nub of the decision:
Tobin's first and most far-reaching claim of error relates to the proper meaning of section 223(a)(1)(D)'s "intent to harass" requirement. From the outset, the district judge was concerned that the government was seeking to extend the statute from one directed at harassment of the called party to one embracing the disruption of telecommunications systems. In the end, the judge adopted a compromise ....We side with Tobin on this single issue. The district judge made a creditable effort to make sense of the perplexing statute. But in the end, the district court's "unjustifiable motive" and "good faith" language, used virtually to define "intent to harass," broadens the statute unduly. In considering the objection, we are required to consider just what Congress meant by harassment and the problem is not straightforward.