Police parody website case goes to Supreme Court

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FAKE WEBSITES AND THE LIMITS OF FREE SPEECH

In 2012, Anthony Novak created a parody Facebook page called "Parma Police Department." The page featured fake news stories and humorous posts about the police department in the city of Parma, Ohio. Novak's page was widely shared and liked by members of the community. However, the city of Parma was not amused. In 2013, the city filed a criminal complaint against Novak, arguing that the page interfered with government services and was therefore against the law.

The case made its way to the Ohio Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of Novak, citing the First Amendment right to parody. The court found that Novak's page did not cause any actual harm and that it was clearly intended as a parody. As a result, the city of Parma was forced to accept that Anthony Novak's Facebook page was protected speech.

Novak, then sued the law enforcement officers in civil court for a violation of his civil rights, but the case was kicked out due to an alleged "qualified immunity" of the officers. Novak is now seeking review by the United States Supreme Court.

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