This Week's WTH - First Amendment Edition

Sometimes I come across something that just leaves me blinking in disbelief.  The fact that this slid by at all is amazing to me.  What the hell was he thinking?

RENTON, Wash. -- The judge who signed a criminal cyber-stalking search warrant, seeking the name of an anonymous cartoon animator mocking the Renton police department, has apparently changed his mind.

King County Judge James Cayce, issued a "stay" of the search warrant Tuesday, pending full court hearing on the matter scheduled for August 19. The ruling is in response to a ‘motion to quash’ filed by a Seattle first amendment rights attorney.

The first article is short and sweet, but I am sad that it missed my radar on the first print.

Only KIRO Team 7 Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne holds a key document that really lays bare the city’s intent. The document was quietly filed in King County Superior Court last week. It’s a search warrant accusing an anonymous cartoon creator, going by the name of Mr. Fiddlesticks, of cyberstalking (RCW 9.61.260). The Renton Police Department and the local prosecutor got a judge to sign off as a way to uncover the name of whoever is behind the parodies. Halsne talked with three nationally respected legal experts who believe the use of the cyberstalking statute is likely stomping on the constitution. 

Without clearly defined laws and boundaries, this actually poses a risk.  A judge came to his senses this time, but I don't feel confident that we are safely removed from this type of invasion.  Cyberstalking?  While that is a very real problem, I don't think it usually comes wrapped in poor taste and jittery animation.  One stupid decision might open a door that we can never close again.  Right now there is a lot of wiggle room in how different companies and agencies store, share and publish information.  We control none of it.  That is a Very Bad Plan.