CCJS loses bid for injunction (11/09/86)

CCJS loses bid for injunction

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Coalition for Constitutional Justice and Security (CCJS) appeared on October 30 in Superior Court of the District of Columbia to ask for a preliminary injunction to compel the Washington Times to publish CCJS's issue advertisement on November 3.

The next day, Judge Richard S. Salzman acknowledged the existence of a valid contract between the Coalition for Constitutional Justice and Security and the Washington Times. However, Judge Salzman refused to issue an injunction against the Washington Times compelling it to publish the CCJS advertisement on November 3.

The full page advertisement, featuring the headline: "Could Nicholas Daniloff Get a Fair Trial in the Soviet Union? Can Anyone? Then Why is a U.S. Agency Cooperating with the KGB to Turn American Citizens over to Soviet Justice?" had been paid for and was originally scheduled for publication October 6.

Although the Washington Times accepted the ad and cashed CCJS's check in full payment, the dramatic ad was apparently cancelled at the last minute by the newspaper's general manager and vice-president, Paul Rothenburg, for as yet unexplained reasons. CCJS's attorneys, Richard Mayberry and Associates, asked the court to issue a preliminary injunction compelling the Washington Times to honor its contract with CCJS by publishing the time-sensitive ad on the next best date, November 3.

After Judge Salzman's decision, CCJS's attorneys commented, "The key to democracy is access to the people. The Washington Times' claim to First Amendment protection in this matter ended when they accepted the ad and CCJS money on September 30."

"By refusing to issue the injunction, Judge Salzman has allowed the Washington Times to put itself above the law, to breach contracts. This judge has affirmed the Times' perverted use of the First Amendment to deny CCJS access to the people and to deny the American people access to vital information. The American people need to know what our government is doing in our name and with our tax dollars," stated Mari-Ann Rikken, vice-president of CCJS.

She added, "The question remains: how is it possible that a major newspaper could be more harmed by printing this ad than our citizens' action group has already been harmed by not having this ad run in a timely manner?"

"Judge Salzman has dealt a severe, perhaps fatal, blow to a citizens' coalition fighting for due process. We are talking about some heavy issues here - the rights of the individual versus the power of the state and large institutions, the Constitutional right to freedom of speech, the public's right to know about the intrusion of Soviets into American justice," said Anthony B. Mazeika, president of CCJS. "We are now considering our next step in this action."

"We were shocked and astounded not to find our ad in the Times October 6 - especially since that newspaper editorially takes such a strong anti-Soviet stance," said Mr. Mazeika. "Although we got coverage by the Times on our prayer vigil held October 5, someone in the advertising area apparently performed a timid act of censorship. We did not want to litigate, but by refusing even to return our calls or to discuss the cancellation with us, the Washington Times forced us to take this legal action to protect our rights. Our continued existence as an organization is threatened."

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