Novak v. Parma
2022-10-04 00:50:32.329277+02 by Dan Lyke 0 comments
The Onion's Amicus brief to the Sixth Circuit cout of appeals for Novak v. the City of Parma, Ohio. It's a hilarious and enlightening read, although...
Just to be clear, this was not a close call on the facts: Mr. Novak’s spoof Facebook posts advertised that the Parma Police Department was hosting a “pedophile reform event” in which successful participants could be removed from the sex offender registry and become honorary members of the department after completing puzzles and quizzes; that the department had discovered an experimental technique for abortions and would be providing them to teens for free in a police van; that the department was soliciting job applicants but that minorities were “strongly encourag[ed]” not to apply; and that the department was banning city residents from feeding homeless people in “an attempt to have the homeless population eventually leave our City due to starvation.” Pet. App. 139a–41a.
It may not be all that far-fetched that the Parma Police Department would hold such an event. Maybe, much like The Onion's long track record of amazing predictive accuracy, the problem is that the Parma Ohio Police Department recognized themselves all too well in this satire.