Beachwood councilman Burkons pleads not guilty—Cleveland Jewish News

“We’ve never seen in the state of Ohio this statute used to prosecute someone for violating someone’s First Amendment right to freedom of speech,” Pattakos told the judge. “Under our research, we’ve looked at every federal case. No one has ever been held liable, even civilly, let alone criminally, for sending an email critical of another public official on a matter of public concern. So the idea that Mr. Burkons is a criminal is something that we very strongly object to. …