MANALAPAN — An Internet advocacy group says it plans to fight a subpoena that the township issued to Google for the name of a blogger whose snarky posts targeted local officials.
Attorneys for the township filed a subpoena Sept. 26 in state Superior Court in Freehold to Google for all account information on the blog, datruthsquad.blogspot.com. Township officials believe the owner of the blog is former township attorney and past mayor Stuart Moskovitz, according to court papers.
"Individuals have the constitutional right to speak anonymously and just because a litigant doesn't like what someone else says anonymously doesn't give them the right to use the court system to unmask that critic," said Matt Zimmerman, attorney for Electronic Frontier Foundation of San Francisco the group representing the blogger.
The subpoena is part of an ongoing lawsuit filed in June against Moskovitz. The township claims the lawyer botched negotiations for a recreation land purchase in 2005.
"I have no idea who (the blogger) is," Moskovitz said Tuesday. "Just because I read it doesn't mean I wrote it."
Among several insults issued in the blog, the author dubbed Republican Mayor Andrew Lucas "Andy Boy da Democrat's Toy" for following up on former Democratic mayor Drew Shapiro's request that the township investigate Moskovitz.
Court papers also include the author's lengthy diatribes defending Moskovitz's position in the land purchase case.
David Weeks, an attorney for the township, said if Moskovitz is the author, the posts contradict Moskovitz's earlier requests for dismissal in which he claimed the case would damage his business and reputation.
"If you read the thing, it sounds an awful lot like he could be the author," Weeks said. "He has said he is not. It speaks to his credibility."
Zimmerman said he will move to have the subpoena dismissed because, by New Jersey law, it must be filed in a California court. Google's headquarters are in Mountain View, Calif. Weeks said he plans to reissue the subpoena.
Cameron Stracher, professor and co-director of the law and journalism program at New York Law School, said courts base rulings in such matters on whether the disclosure is necessary to pursue a case.
"It really depends on why the plaintiff wants to know it," Stracher said. "It comes down to the merits of the claim."
Google representatives did not respond to an e-mail or phone call for comment.
A hearing is scheduled to continue in court Dec. 7, when Judge Richard W. English is expected to rule when Moskovitz must file an answer to the township's initial complaint. Moskovitz asked for an extension because of questions regarding whether a malpractice insurance attorney should represent him.
The lawsuit revolves around the state's discovery of a leaking oil tank on a Route 522 property, which the township purchased from the Dreyer family for $465,000. The complaint claims Moskovitz should have included a clause that made the purchase contingent upon environmental inspection.
Moskovitz says he had to go through with the property purchase because it was court ordered.
My Article Response
This article is about Google being demanded by an internet advocacy groups to hand over a blogger's ID.
I think it is interesting because even though external blogs usually express a vartiety of different topics and subjects, usually without restriction, this article brings up the implications of being restricted or being prohibited to express certain viewpoints in fear of being confronted by the opposing parties in court.
I used to blog on livejournal, but I didn't go into any extreme viewpoints. But what this means is that even though you are permitted to write about anything in your blog, you hsvr to remember that your blog, an external blog, is open to public access and viewing. You are likely going to be under the scruntiny of individuals, companies, and other obscure parties and bodies. You aren't invincible and there are limits to what you can post before you provoke others or ruin your own credibility/image.
My response would be to express my viewpoints in a more social-friendly and non-provocative way.
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