American parody publication asks the Supreme Court to take up the right to parody
The Supreme Court of the United States (illustrative image).
REUTERS/Al Drago/File Photo
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
As the US Supreme Court began a new session on Monday, October 3,
The Onion
, a famous parody publication, relayed and supported the request of an Ohio resident to convince the highest US court to take up the "
right to parody
.
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The very conservative Supreme Court of the United States began
a new session
on Monday, October 3 which - after
the right to abortion
- could end with other reversals, in particular for the rights of African-Americans or homosexual couples.
The highest American court is also called upon to take up the "
right to parody
".
The request comes from a man in Ohio.
This one has been endorsed by
the famous satirical publication,
The Onion
,
which pokes fun at everything and especially the Supreme Court lately.
The plaintiff, Anthony Novak, indeed spent four days in jail in 2016 for creating a parody Facebook page almost identical to that of the local police.
He has since been found not guilty but wants to be able to sue the police for infringing on his freedom of expression.
The Ohio courts having rejected his request, he turned to the Supreme Court.
“
Can Americans be put in jail for making fun of the government?
»
To support his request and the right to parody,
The Onion
sent
a brief
to the nine judges, written with his finest pen.
“
Can Americans be put in jail for making fun of the government?
“, the Supreme Court must answer this question, thus pleaded the American equivalent of
Gorafi
.
In the brief sent to the Supreme Court
, The Onion
humbly presents itself as the most influential media in the history of mankind, whose members of the editorial board have advised "
with distinction
" countries such as China, Syria or the former USSR.
Thousands of requests
The legal plea is wacky, sprinkled with words in Latin – to please “
those morons of magistrates
” they write, – but also with solid arguments.
The document aims to convince the Supreme Court to take up a case that affects the limits of freedom of expression in the United States.
So "
incidentally to our livelihood
", insists
The Onion
.
Each year, the highest US court receives several thousand such requests.
The support of the famous satirical site can therefore help Anthony Novak's case to stand out.
If it chooses to seize it, the Supreme Court should not study it before next year.
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