North Carolina
Judge: Regulators wrong to ban beer label that had naked man
ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina regulators were wrong to reject a beer label that featured a silhouette of a naked man standing next to a campfire, a federal judge has ruled.
The owners of Maryland-based Flying Dog Brewery argued that the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Commission violated their First Amendment rights by rejecting the label for its Freezin’ Season Winter Ale. The commission had said the label was in “bad taste,” but later allowed the beer to be sold. Flying Dog proceeded with the lawsuit anyway, hoping to get the regulation struck down.
U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle ruled in favor of the craft brewery last week, finding that the regulation was vague and overbroad, violating the free speech rights of Flying Dog and its competitors. The ruling requires North Carolina to remove the current regulation.
Flying Dog CEO Jim Caruso said it was “heartening” to see such a court decision.
“The First Amendment is the last defense against authoritarian and arbitrary government and it must be protected against any and all threats,” Caruso said in a statement Monday.
“The NC ABC Commission respects Judge Boyle’s decision and appreciates his time and consideration in hearing this case,” commission spokesperson Jeff Strickland said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday. “NC ABC Commission staff are reviewing the decision to determine the appropriate next steps.”
This is not the first time Flying Dog has gone to court over its labels. A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the brewery in 2015 regarding a ban of the sale of its Raging Bitch beer in the state of Michigan, news outlets reported. The dispute began in 2009 when a board determined the label to be “detrimental to the health, safety, or welfare of the general public.” The label featured a drawing of a female dog with accentuated features, bared teeth and a tongue covered in blood.
Both of the labels were created by artist Ralph Steadman, who frequently collaborated with Hunter S. Thompson, the founder of “gonzo” journalism.
New Mexico
Court weighs clash on online publication of voting records
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A conservative-backed foundation that aims to post online registration records for voters across the country urged a federal judge Tuesday to override objections by New Mexico election regulators who say the initiative violates state law and would discourage people from registering to vote out of privacy concerns. The VoteRef.com website does not list details of how people voted regarding candidates or initiatives.
The Voter Reference Foundation has posted voter rolls from at least 20 states that can be searched by names or addresses to verify where people live and view whether they voted in various past elections.
A companion website highlights the difference between the number of ballots cast according to certified election results and the number of people listed as having voted on registration rolls at various points in time as local registrations are added and purged.
Eddie Greim, an attorney for Voter Reference Foundation, urged a federal judge to intervene and ensure voter rolls can be published online to provide direct accountability and allow people to vet the accuracy of most registration records submitted by others.
“The entire purpose of this is for voters to take control of their own records and become responsible,” Greim said during a hearing Tuesday at U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. New Mexico voters already can look up their own registration online by providing a date of birth.
New Mexico election regulators say the unprecedented efforts flouts state statutes that limit the acquisition and sharing of voter registration rolls to governmental activities and political campaigns.
Democratic Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver in December referred the group’s effort for possible prosecution to the state attorney general. No charges have been filed.
On Tuesday, an attorney representing the secretary of state’s office warned that many residents will be reluctant or unwilling to register to vote if they know that required personal information is distributed openly.
“People will simply not register if they think we will sell their data or make it available to the world,” said Olga Serafimova, an attorney for the state attorney general and secretary of state. “The system will unravel.”
She said election regulators in several states see flaws in the foundation’s methodology for highlighting “discrepancies” between voting tallies on Election Day and registration records that are updated continually.
Tuesday’s hearing included testimony from Voter Reference Foundation Executive Director Gina Swoboda, a former official with the Arizona secretary of state’s office, and the state elections director for New Mexico.
Federal District Court Judge James Browning peppered attorneys with questions and said the hearing would be extended to another day to allow more testimony. He took no other immediate action.
Voter Reference Foundation, created by former Republican Senate candidate Doug Truax of Illinois, removed New Mexico registration records from its website in March and filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s restrictions on voter registration data violate free speech guarantees of the U.S. Constitution.
Massachusetts
Baron Cohen drops lawsuit over cannabis dispensary billboard
SOMERSET, Mass. (AP) — Actor Sacha Baron Cohen has dropped his lawsuit against a Massachusetts cannabis dispensary that used an image of his character Borat on a billboard without his permission.
A document filed in Boston federal court on Tuesday said the two sides have agreed to dismiss the case brought last year by the “Borat” star.
The legal filing did not mention any settlement in the case. Emails seeking comment were sent Wednesday to lawyers for Baron Cohen and the dispensary, Somerset-based Solar Therapeutics Inc.
The billboard showed Baron Cohen posing as Borat with two thumbs up and the words “It’s nice!” — one of Borat’s catchphrases. The billboard along a Massachusetts interstate highway was taken down three days after Baron Cohen’s attorneys sent a cease-and-desist order to the dispensary, according to the suit.
His attorneys said in the complaint that the actor “never would participate in an advertising campaign for cannabis” and that the use of his image falsely conveyed to the public that he endorsed the company’s products.
Baron Cohen and his California-based company Please You Can Touch LLC were seeking $9 million in damages.
