By: E & P Staff In what the newspaper portrays as a "stark turnabout from its free-speech advocacy," the American Civil Liberties Union urged a judge Monday to prevent the Omaha World-Herald from publishing the name of a Nebraska man who sued the city over a Ten Commandments monument.
Amy Miller, legal director of ACLU Nebraska, asked the U.S. District Court for an order prohibiting the Omaha paper from disclosing the man's identity, arguing that his safety and well-being would be endangered.
The newspaper is fighting the ACLU action, vowing to continue to report on the Ten Commandments case "because it is part of a major public policy issue. The case, like several across the country, has sparked widespread debate about the placement of religious objects in public places," the newspaper wrote.
U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf will hear arguments this afternoon.
ACLU filed a lawsuit on the man's behalf three years ago. Its attorneys argued that the man should be able to proceed under a pseudonym because of threats the man received over his protest of the monument in a city park.
Lucy Dalglish, executive director for the national Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told a reporter for the Omaha paper that the Supreme Court has never upheld an order preventing the press from publishing. To get such an order, someone would need to demonstrate that harm is so imminent and serious that preventing publication is the only way to avoid it, Dalglish said.
Larry King, executive editor of The World-Herald, said the fact that the man has previously said he received threats shows that his identity is already known. He said it was "naive of the ACLU" to think otherwise.
The World-Herald, however, is not at the point of publishing any article identifying the man, King added.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here