Thomas Flugaur
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Thomas Flugaur was a judge for the Portage County Circuit Court, Branch 3 in Wisconsin.[1] He was first elected to the position in 1994 and served until his retirement from the court effective on December 4, 2020.[2]
Education
Flugaur earned his B.S. from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1976, and later his J.D. from Marquette University Law School in 1979.[1]
Career
- 1994-2020: Judge, Portage County Circuit Court
- 1979-1994: Trial Attorney, State Public Defender’s Office
2012 election
Flugaur ran unopposed and was re-elected to the Portage County Circuit Court Branch 3.[3]
- See also: Wisconsin judicial elections, 2012
Noteworthy cases
Judge overturned, appeal finds student's vulgar YouTube video protected
- See also: Wisconsin Court of Appeals District IV
Fourth District Court of Appeals Judge Gary Sherman ruled on November 27 that a vulgar YouTube video posted by a 15-year-old student is protected under the First Amendment as free speech.[4] His judgment partly affirms and partly overturns an earlier ruling made at the trial level. The student, identified by court documents as “Kaleb K.” posted the defamatory video about his Spanish teacher at Stevens Point Area High School.[4]
In September 2012, Judge Thomas Flugaur of the Portage County Circuit Court found Kaleb delinquent for disorderly conduct and breaking Wisconsin’s law against abusing a computer communications system.[4][5] The law prohibits the sending of messages meant to “frighten, intimidate or abuse another person with the expectation the target will receive the message."[6] Flugaur stated that the video was one of the most obscene and hate-filled things he’s ever seen.[4] The boy’s attorney, public defender Eileen Hirsch argued that the video was protected under the First Amendment. Hirsch also argued that posting it on YouTube did not constitute sending a message because the boy took measures to ensure his teacher wouldn't see it by telling his friends to keep the video “on the down low and stuff.”[5]
In the appeal, handled for the state by Portage County District Attorney Veronica Fay Isherwood, Judge Gary Sherman overturned the original judgment by ruling that the First Amendment did protect the video.[6] He noted that in the trial court, prosecutors failed to raise the argument that the video was not protected speech due to it's defamatory nature. Therefore, the same argument was invalidated at the appellate level.[7] Sherman upheld the original ruling in part by rejecting the boy’s claim that posting a YouTube video does not amount to sending a message. Kaleb had testified at the trial level that his intent in posting his videos to YouTube was “to get lucky and get a bunch of views on a video or something.”[8] Kaleb had used his YouTube username on a project for the teacher who was the subject of the video, told people about the video and posted it on a public forum.[8] Because of this, Sherman concluded that the arguments that Kaleb had taken measures to ensure the teacher did not see the video were without merit.
In light of the Sherman’s verdict, Hirsch questioned how the court could issue a split ruling, arguing the boy can’t be prosecuted if the video is protected speech. She stated that she hasn’t spoken with the boy about taking further action with the case.[5]
See also
External links
- Portage County Circuit Courts Website
- Green Bay Press Gazette, "State appeals court: Student's vulgar video is protected speech," November 27, 2013</ref>
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wisconsin Election Watch, "Thomas T. Flugaur," accessed December 3, 2013
- ↑ Urban Milwaukee, "Gov. Evers Seeks Applicants for Portage County Circuit Court," accessed July 6, 2022
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2012 SPRING PRIMARY - 2/21/2012"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 NECN.com', “Wis. court: Student's vulgar video is protected,” November 27, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Green Bay Press Gazette, “State appeals court: Student's vulgar video is protected speech,” November 27, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 WKOW News, “Wis. court: Student's vulgar video is protected,” November 27, 2013
- ↑ Court of Appeals District Four, “Appeal No. 2013AP839 page 5,” November 27, 2013
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Court of Appeals District Four, “Appeal No. 2013AP839 page 7,” November 27, 2013
Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin
State courts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court • Wisconsin Court of Appeals • Wisconsin Circuit Courts • Wisconsin Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wisconsin
