Polk Law Blog

Commentary from Polk County, Florida attorney Kemp Brinson

Tag: first amendment

Is The Greaves Obscenity Charge Just The Beginning?

I was thinking… could there be more to the arrest of Phillip Greaves than meets the eye? What will the next headline be? In all likelihood, the arrest warrant for Phillip Greaves came with a search warrant, too. The search warrant would have permitted the authorities to search for evidence of the crime he was [...]

An Initial Critique of the Greaves Obscene Materials Arrest

It was widely reported yesterday, and again in more detail today, that Phillip R. “Ray” Greaves, II, a Colorado resident, was arrested by Colorado authorities to face extradition to Polk County, Florida. His alleged crime: distribution of a pedophilia how-to book entitled “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child-Lover’s Code of Conduct”. The book contains [...]

Oral Argument Set in Child Pornography Case

Oral argument is set for Oct. 13 before the Second District Court of Appeals (the argument will be in Tampa, not in Lakeland) in the case of John Stelmack, a former principal at Scott Lake Elementary in Lakeland who was convicted of possession of child pornography (article from The Ledger). The case raises an interesting [...]

City of Lakeland Moves to Dismiss Lawsuit Filed By Atheists of Florida

The City of Lakeland has filed a Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit filed against the City and Mayor Gow Fields. Read the document: Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss The argument is fairly straightforward and the motion is very well written. The City argues that the claims of the plaintiffs are moot because of the resolution passed [...]

Atheists of Florida Amend Lakeland Complaint to Address Changes to Invocation Policy

The Atheists of Florida have amended their complaint in their lawsuit against the  City of Lakeland seeking to have the invocations conducted by the Lakeland City Commission held unconstitutional. Download Documents: First Amended Complaint and Verification Exhibit A – letter number 1 Exhibit B – letter number 2 Exhibit C – new invocation policy My previous [...]