International Society for Animal Rights Skype Presentation

"Unpublished insights into United States v. Stevens"

Presented by Professor Henry Mark Holzer
Chairman, International Society for Animal Rights

Supporters of ISAR know that we've filed an amicus curiae brief in the United States Supreme Court in the First Amendment/Animal Rights case of United States v. Stevens (see ISAR's Amicus Curiae Brief Has Been Filed In The Supreme Court, ISAR Amicus Curiae Brief in U.S. v. Stevens, ISAR In The Supreme Court Of The United States, Free Speech and Cruelty to Animals).

In our most recent posting about the Stevens case, Animals in Court, we provided a list of, and links to, the briefs of the parties -- the government, and Stevens -- and those individuals and organizations who have filed amicus curiae briefs, and we encouraged our supporters to review the Tables of Contents to see which amici are making what arguments.

Here's an update. Nine justices will hear oral argument in the Stevens case on October 6, 2009, one of them, Sonia Sotomayor, having been only recently appointed to the Court.

The question is: who's going to win the case?

Will it be the government, if the Court upholds the statute making it a federal felony to create, possess or sell depictions of cruelty to animals?

Or will it be Stevens, who was convicted of violating the law, if the Court strikes down the statute as a violation of his First Amendment rights?

Utilizing the facilities of Skype, ISAR will present (at no charge to listeners) an analysis by Professor Henry Mark Holzer of the possible outcome of the Stevens case. He will focus on what can be expected of each justice in light of Supreme Court precedent, their own philosophies, and the nature of the case.

On September 30, 2009, Professor Holzer's fifteen minute presentation entitled "Unpublished insights into United States v. Stevens" will take place at 1:00PM Eastern Standard Time. Immediately following this presentation, Professor Holzer will take a few minutes to answer questions relating to the United States v. Stevens case.

To sign up for this Skype presentation, be sure to add username ColleenGedrich to your Skype contact list.

On September 30, 2009, ISAR will contact interested individuals by initiating a Skype-to-Skype call at 1:00PM Eastern Standard Time. If you do not have a Skype account (which is free), please visit http://www.skype.com/ to sign up.

Please note: this presentation will be recorded.

As a follow-up to "Unpublished insights into United States v. Stevens," ISAR will welcome back Professor Holzer (and interested Skype members) on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 1:00PM Eastern Standard Time for his commentary and critique on the oral arguments in the Supreme Court two days earlier.

Profit Trumped Principle

Nationally, ISAR had taken the anti-Vick lead by obtaining numerous signatures in our petition campaign in support of our effort to deny Vick economic and other benefits which he might enjoy as a result of the "celebrity" he acquired from his criminal acts.

To this day, ISAR continues collecting many signatures from supporters.

When in May 2009, ISAR received an e-bulletin from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) stating that it was going to "provide an opportunity for Michael Vick to get involved in some of their anti-dogfighting outreach programs." ISAR immediately sent not one letter, but two letters to HSUS President Wayne Pacelle questioning the humane society's latest move to paper over what Vick had done.

When it became apparent to ISAR that Vick and his handlers were engaged in a sophisticated campaign to have him reinstated and re-employed in the NFL, we wrote to league Commissioner Goodell registering in the strongest terms our disapproval. Our letter can be found here.

Lest any of ISAR's supporters, let alone Vick, think that we're finished with him, here's what happens next.

ISAR has designed a striking poster displaying the slogan "Profit Trumped Principle" for our supporters to have printed and distributed at events such as NFL games where Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles will be present.

Simply click here to obtain a larger file for higher printing quality. Next right click your mouse on the larger image. You will be offered options to save, email or print the image. For best quality results ISAR recommends saving the art file to a flash drive and taking it to your local print shop. There you can have the poster printed in color on a thicker stock of paper. Some printing companies may accept the file via email or if you have access to a color printer feel free to print ISAR's "Profit Trumped Principle" poster at your convenience.

Please help ISAR--in public, and in his face--keep fighting Michael Vick!!