Perjury

Last Tuesday, I promised to write on Judge Painter's conflict of interest in a case involving me.  This was going to be that post.  But after helping edit the video links included in this post, I decided to save my Judge Painter conflict of interest posting for another time.  This topic is more serious.

What do you think would happen to Cincinnati Mayor Charlie Luken if he was subpoenaed to testify in a criminal trial and lied on the stand?  What if the City's chief criminal prosecutor also lied on the stand?  If the trial was held in Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Guy C. Guckenberger's courtroom, the answer is: Absolutely Nothing!!!

[The events described below actually happened in Judge Guckenberger's courtroom on April 22, 2004.  The names have not been changed to protect the guilty.]

This case involved me, Nathaniel Livingston, Jr., carrying a sign into City Hall on April 7, 2004.  The sign read: "John Cranley Says He Doesn't Want Any Nigger Neighbors".  Luken objected to the word "nigger", ordered the cops to remove me from City Council chamber, and had me arrested and charged with Criminal Trespass.  Here is what the Complaint read:

The complainant states that this complaint is based on Mayor Charles Luken ejecting arrested from City Council meeting and ordering officers to remove arrested.  Arrested was escorted out of meeting and repeatedly told not to re-enter.  Arrested knowingly and recklessly forced his way back into meeting and stated "the only way I'm leaving is if you arrest me for criminal trespass."

Of course I argued First Amendment, but my main defense was that the alleged Council meeting (referenced three times in the Complaint) hadn't actually commenced and therefore Mayor Luken had no authority to have the cops remove me or my sign Council chambers.  (The purpose of this post is not to argue the case here.  I was convicted.  The case is under appeal.  And a separate, but related, civil lawsuit challenging the legality of the rules governing City Council is pending in federal court.  I'll save my legal arguments for court.  This post is designed to do one thing: allow everyone to see and hear Mayor Luken and Ernest McAdams lie on the stand and Judge Guckenberger do nothing about it.  I only hope someone from the Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline stops by this blog.)  (Video links are provided to make it easier to follow along.)

Link number one shows me giving my opening statement.