NOT THE SHARPEST KNIFE IN THE DRAWER: Zoo Director Goes Ape Over Giraffe Satire
As Charles Dickens’ Mr. Bumble observed, “the law is an ass.” And sometimes, it’s the judge who interprets the law who’s the bigger ass.
Inspired by the SeaWorld killer whale incident, college student Nicholas Brilleaux published a fake news story, “Giraffe Claims Third Victim at Global Wildlife,” on his satirical Website, Hammond Action News. The February 25th post related how "veteran wildlife guide Dizzy Dimarco" had been tossed into the top of a tree by a “rogue giraffe” and directed readers to watch an upcoming TV special, "When Good Giraffes Go Bad,” on a local TV station.
Global Wildlife Center officials didn’t find the spoof amusing. The Folsom, LA, wildlife preserve’s president, Ken Matherne, sent an E-mail to Brilleaux threatening to file criminal charges, FCC charges, fraud charges, an IRS complaint, a governor’s office complaint, and a federal lawsuit against him, reports FPTV (Channel 17-Hammond, LA). Global Wildlife Foundation also hired Metairie lawyer Robert McComiskey to request an injunction against HAN on the grounds that the killer giraffe story is “malicious” and “defamatory.”
As Law.com’s Legal Blog Watch points out:
HAN does not pretend to be a real news source. Its posts are blatantly satirical and the site even includes a disclaimer that reads, simply, "The content of Hammond Action News is purely satirical and for entertainment purposes only."
Nevertheless, LA District Judge Brenda Bedsole Ricks incredibly signed a temporary restraining order requiring HAN to remove the post and and scheduled a hearing for March 15th in 21st Judicial District Court in Amite on whether to make the injunction permanent.
Ponchatoula attorney Parker Layrisson, who is representing Brilleaux, correctly notes that “[a]rtistic expressions like parody and satire are protected from censorship by the First Amendment.” Let’s hope that when Judge Beth Wolfe will hears the case in a couple of weeks, she either has a better sense of humor than her colleague – or a better understanding of free speech.
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