Crowdsourcing Request: Help Transcribe the Best Parts of Aaron Walker’s Hearing
Lee Stranahan has published the audio of the hearing where Aaron Walker was arrested for blogging about a public figure.
Ssshhhh. We’ll keep it under wraps for now. It’ll be our secret: just you Patterico readers and me. (And Stranahan readers, and Jawa readers, and . . .)
All I’ll say for now is: my report of the events of the hearing is completely vindicated, as is David Hogberg’s. This is a clear-cut case of a First Amendment violation — about as clear-cut as you’ll ever hear.
Always trust content from Patterico.
Our plan is to release a post on Monday morning with the audio and the best bits transcribed. Ideally, Lee will do a video.
I’ve taken a rough cut at a few passages, but I had to work on a trial before I could transcribe the rest. To save you time, I’ll give you the parts I partially transcribed:
At 9:58:
KIMBERLIN: Last week, he got all these bloggers all over the country to create Let’s Blog About Brett Kimberlin day. Over 350 bloggers blogged that I framed him. And that led to a number — probably scores of death threats. . . . They threatened my daughter, who is a preteen, my mother, they called on the phone and threatened SWAT teams —
WALKER: Your honor, I would like to object here. He is characterizing the statements of third parties —
THE COURT [to Aaron]: You got any clients?!
At 13:53:
WALKER: And you were known as the “Speedway Bomber,” were you not?
KIMBERLIN: I don’t know that.
He doesn’t know that he was known as the Speedway Bomber.
WALKER: You don’t know that you are known as the Speedway Bomber? Do you not know that you — you never read this before in your life?
KIMBERLIN: I’ve read a lot of things.
At one point, Kimberlin claims that the civil judgment against him was “thrown out” and is “considered satisfied.” Since these statements are false, I’d love for them to be fully and accurately transcribed as well.
At 40:30:
WALKER: It is my right under the First Amendment to talk about what this man did to me. It is my right to tell the world what he did to me. Galloway vs. State —
THE COURT: Within reason, my friend.
There is much more in this hearing that is gold. Listening to the audio, I am struck by how much more respect I have for Aaron, and how much less respect I have for the judge, than I did based on the published reports.
Again, leave your efforts at transcription in the comments. With luck, we can put all the best parts in a video to be released on Monday morning, which will be publicized far and wide.
I am not asking for a transcription of the whole thing. I am asking you to listen to the file, pick out the most outrageous parts, and provide an accurate and usable transcription, as well as the time when the notable passage occurs.
Make sure you read the comments first to see if someone has already transcribed your favorite passage.
This must be done quickly. Every minute that a judge’s order prohibits Aaron from blogging about a public figure, his free speech rights are being violated. This must end as soon as possible. Again, our goal is to get out a comprehensive post on Monday morning.
So get cracking!
This is a situation where you can truly advance the defense of the First Amendment in a tangible way. By accurately transcribing the most shocking parts of this hearing, you can help end this injustice.
Here is the audio:
Release the Army of Davids!
UPDATE: The post with excerpts of the most relevant clips is here.