Frank J. Jordan, Jr.
Frank J. Jordan Jr. was a judge of the Chatthoochee Circuit of Georgia.[1] Jordan was appointed to the court in 2000 and elected to his first full term in 2002. He retired on December 31, 2017.[2]
Biography
Jordan received his undergraduate degree and his J.D. from Mercer University.[3] Jordan was admitted to the Georgia Bar in 1972. He served in the army and was honorably discharged as a captain. Prior to joining the court, he worked in private practice for over 28 years.[4]
Elections
2014
See also: Georgia judicial elections, 2014
Jordan, Jr. ran for re-election to the Chatthoochee Circuit.
General: He won without opposition in the general election on May 20, 2014.
2010
- See also: Georgia judicial elections, 2010
Jordan was re-elected to the Chatthoochee Circuit after running unopposed.[5][6]
Noteworthy cases
Georgia court censors website (2013-2014)
On March 4, 2013, Judge Frank J. Jordan, Jr. of the Muscogee County Superior Court of Georgia, Chattahoochee Circuit issued a restraining order against Matthew Chan for posts made on a website he operated. The order stated that comments on the site amounted to harassment and intimidation.[7]
Chan was the owner and operator of ExtortionLetterInfo.com (ELI), a website that criticized "copyright trolls"—people who send threats of lawsuits for copyright infringements to Internet users in order to obtain hefty settlements from them. The message boards on the site had targeted poet Linda Ellis, who had threatened people with lawsuits for posting her poem "The Dash" online without permission. The maximum statutory award for each count of copyright infringement in the U.S. is $150,000. In her letters to copyright infringers, Ellis claimed that she would pursue this amount in court, or settle for $7,500. ELI users criticized her online.[8]
Ellis filed for a restraining order against Chan, saying that his and the ELI's actions amounted to stalking. Judge Jordan agreed, saying:
| “ | "[Chan] placed the Petitioner [Ellis] in reasonable fear for the Petitioner's safety, because Respondent [Chan] contacted the Pelitioner (and urged others to contact Petitioner) and posted personal information of the Petitioner for the purpose of harassing and intimidating Petitioner."[9][10] | ” |
Jordan also ordered Chan to remove all mention of Ellis by any user from the entire ELI website. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights organization, protested the judge's ruling, saying that it violated the First Amendment. They argued:
| “ | "The Georgia Court's overreaching order against Chan also contradicts federal law because it holds a service provider to account for users' posts. Section 230 protects websites that host content posted by users, providing immunity for a website from state law claims (including criminal law) based on the publication of "information provided by another information content provider."[8][10] | ” |
For the full text of the order, click here.
Appeal
Chan filed a Notice of Appeal with the Georgia Court of Appeals and the case was added to that court's docket on August 19, 2013. A motion to move the case to the Georgia Supreme Court was filed one month later, on September 19, due to constitutional issues (particularly regarding the First Amendment) being raised in the case.[11][12][13] On October 23, 2013, Chan's appeal to move the case to the supreme court was denied.[14]
On July 2, 2014, the court of appeals decided to transfer it to the state supreme court. The court explained that the case had raised issues regarding the First Amendment and the internet, as well as the issue of first impression in Georgia.[15][16]
On March 27, 2015, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in favor of Chan and overturned the lower court's ruling. According to the decision, because Chan was speaking about Ellis, but not directly to her, he was not threatening her. Chan said in an email to 11Alive News,
| “ | I am guilty for being overly-passionate and I have pushed the boundaries of the First Amendment. The First Amendment is NOT just for socially-acceptable, polite speech. It is MOST important when it is the minority, controversial, and impolite. I have been hated by some for using impolite language, rhetorical metaphors, profanity, and sharing controversial ideas (ALL NON VIOLENT). But I NEVER SUBSCRIBE TO THREATENING PERSONAL SAFETY or PHYSICAL HARM.[10] | ” |
| —Matthew Chan[17] | ||
| “ | To those who are victims, right now, to say don't let this [ruling] stop you from trying to protect yourself. This is an unusual circumstance, but by all means seek every resource you have to protect yourself, because cyberstalking, cyberbullying, this is only the beginning, and this touches on an epidemic.... I just say, if you're a victim, find help. Quickly. Before it escalates.[10] | ” |
| —Linda Ellis[17] | ||
For a collection of the documents pertaining to this case, click here.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Administrative Office of the Courts, "Superior Court Directory," accessed May 4, 2014
- ↑ Ledger-Enquirer, "Longtime Superior Court Judge Frank Jordan confirms decision to retire," October 23, 2017
- ↑ Martindale, "Frank J. Jordan, Jr.," accessed March 7, 2013
- ↑ Columbus, Georgia, "Judges," accessed March 7, 2013
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Non-Partisan Candidates on the November 2, 2010 General Election Ballot," archived July 24, 2012
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "Superior Court Judge Race Results," November 2010
- ↑ EFF.org, "Georgia Court Censorship Order Threatens Message Boards Everywhere," March 26, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 TechDirt, "Georgia State Court Issues Censorship Order Blocking Free Speech On Anti-Copyright Troll Message Board," March 27, 2013
- ↑ Muscogee County Superior Court, "Case No.: SU-13-DM-209," March 4, 2013
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Scribd, "Press Release - Anti-Troll Website Founder Files Appeal Against Georgia Censorship Order," August 29, 2013
- ↑ Georgia Court of Appeals: Case #A14A0014
- ↑ Information submitted to Judgepedia via email by defendant Matthew Chan on 9/19/2013
- ↑ JD Supra Law News, "Matthew Chan v Linda Ellis Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia Order," October 23, 2013
- ↑ Scribd - Court of Appealsof the State of Georgia, "A14A0014. CHAN v. ELLIS," July 2, 2014
- ↑ ARS Technica, "GA Supreme Court will consider sweeping gag order against anti-troll site," July 21, 2014
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 11Alive News, "GA Supreme Court rules online criticisms were 'free speech,' not cyberstalking," March 29, 2015
Federal courts:
Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Middle District of Georgia, Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Georgia • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Middle District of Georgia, Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Georgia
State courts:
Georgia Supreme Court • Georgia Court of Appeals • Georgia Superior Courts • Georgia State Courts • Georgia Business Court • Georgia Tax Court • Georgia Juvenile Courts • Georgia Probate Courts • Georgia Magistrate Courts • Georgia Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Georgia • Georgia judicial elections • Judicial selection in Georgia
