Kenyan immigrant Nancy Njoroge had been living in the United States for a year when a Montgomery County SWAT team burst into her Gaithersburg apartment at 4 a.m., handcuffed her and her two teenage daughters, and searched her apartment, court records show. Police found nothing. The reason: Njoroge lived in No. 202 of her apartment complex. The police had a search warrant for apartment 201. After rejecting an offer from the county’s claims adjuster of a “couple of movie passes,” the American Civil Liberties Union is suing the county on the family’s behalf for unspecified damages, according to ACLU records filed in court. [continues 338 words]
Mertz Says Supreme Court Ruling Did Not Address All the Issues Involved in the Case The "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case is headed back to court. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case in September, local attorney Doug Mertz said Wednesday. Mertz represents Joseph Frederick, the former Juneau-Douglas High School student who displayed the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner that sparked a free speech debate that has been going on for six years and has been heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. [continues 264 words]
A lawyer representing the former local high school student whose "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" banner unfurled a lengthy free speech debate is accusing the attorney for the Juneau School Board of harassing his client over a $5,000 legal bill. Douglas Mertz said the board's lawyer is trying to force his client, Joseph Frederick, to leave his job in China to face a February deposition in Juneau regarding his personal finances. "The only motive here is revenge, retaliation and harassment," said Mertz, who filed a motion Tuesday with the U.S. District Court to prevent Frederick from being forced to appear in court in person. [continues 751 words]
