Legal Commentary

More on the Pennsylvania Attorney General?s Subpoena to Twitter, Demanding Identification of Anonymous Critic of Corbett?s

By Eugene Volokh

A Philadelphia Fox station?s Web site reports:

Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett?s ... [s]pokesman Kevin Harley ... [said] the subpoena?s intent will be made clear when a former government aide, Brett Cott, is sentenced on Friday in connection with the Bonusgate scandal.

Cott is one of three people who were convicted of public-corruption charges in March after a trial that lasted nearly two months.

Apparently the theory is that Cott might have been one of the anonymous commenters, and that this would bear on his sentencing ? perhaps if he claims at sentencing that he?s sincerely contrite, and if his tweets are seen as undermining the claim of contrition.

The Fox news story also says, ?ACLU attorney Vic Walczak said Thursday he would file a motion to quash the subpoena if an agreement with the attorney general?s office can?t be worked out.? Presumably the agreement that the ACLU is contemplating is something like ?Twitter will turn over the identity if it?s Cott, but not if it?s someone else, who?s not being sentenced, and whose identity is thus irrelevant to the sentencing.? Looking forward to seeing what happens.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on May 21, 2010 (boomark / email).