Two days ago I posted a message on the Phoenix Board about what I thought was a real window of opporunity to really fight old Joe on this one. I suggested we all pledge $100 not just for a defense fund but to sue the sheriff and county for the way they handled this circus. The public is really outraged over this and I think it is the time to strike. On a talk show the night of the raids and the next afternoon out of over twenty callers I heard only two supported the raids and they were both cops. Even women called in and said it was a waste of time and manpower. And the host Preston Westmoreland, a conservative Republican came out for legalization. At a dinner party last night (with all Republicans) when the men got alone they really came down on Joe as a total ass and that it was a waste of manpower. I think now is the time to really make something out of this stupid asshole's actions.
But alas only three people replied to the Phoenix board and two said they were in for $100. What about the other 500 or so that are on the board. What can we do to capitalize on this public relations nightmare Joe has created?
SlowStart
I don't see any basis for suing the sheriff or the county. Whether you agree with prostitution laws or not, they are there and it is the county's prerogative to enforce them, even if you would prefer that the laws be ignored. What would your lawsuit allege, anyway? You couldn't very well claim that the sheriff was acting illegally, since the arrests seem perfectly legal from what I have read. Nor could you claim that the actions were a waste of government funds, since the state has decreed these things to be criminal and presumably did so with the expectation that local jurisdictions would spend money enforcing the law. Besides, courts won't even entertain the "it's a waste of funds because I think they shouldn't have bothered with this" type of lawsuit. These decisions are for the sheriff and the D.A. to make, and the courts won't intervene.
Spend it on lobbyists, not litigators. Fix the unjust law.