From: PINAC Nation
Like several cases we have seen over the years,
North Carolina resident Felicia Gibson was arrested for video recording a
traffic stop from her front yard.
Salisbury Police Sgt. Mark Hunter even went as far as chasing Gibson inside her home where he arrested her for resisting arrest.
And when Gibson took the case to trial, Judge Beth Dixon further pissed on the Constitution by convicting her.
The
story struck such a nerve with me that I launched an online drive to
derail her re-election campaign in 2010, which included several blog posts, localized online ads as well as a Facebook page that still ranks in the top three when you Google “Judge Beth Dixon.”
The PINAC Wrath was so strong that she was forced to delete her campaign Facebook page as I wrote back then:
An onslaught of criticism on that page, much of it from Photography is Not a Crime readers, forced her to delete the page entirely on Tuesday.
At first she tried to keep up with the comments by deleting them every few hours. Then she tried to disable comments to her wall.But that still allowed comments on her previous posts.Finally, she just deleted the page altogether – exactly 24 hours after I launched the Defeat Beth Dixon on Rowan County District Court Judge Facebook page – and 11 days after she convicted Felicia Gibson for resisting arrest.
My efforts failed as Dixon was reelected anyway.
But late last year, Gibson redeemed herself by winning a $25,000 settlement after she had her conviction reversed upon appeal.
The story was reported last month in the Salisbury Post:
Rowan District Court Judge Beth Dixon convicted Gibson of resisting an officer in 2010, saying she had interfered with Hunter’s ability to do his job. That conviction was erased in January in superior court.
“After a thorough review of the evidence and relevant case law and after considering the circumstances surrounding the civil settlement between the Salisbury Police Department and the Defendant, the State is dismissing this charge in the interests of justice,” a dismissal notice signed by prosecutor Seth Banks said.
The only unfortunate thing is that Dixon and Hunter are not forced to foot the costs of the settlement.
Send stories, tips and videos to Carlos Miller.
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To help support the blog, send donations through here or purchase Photography is Not a Crime apparel on PINAC Nation.
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