Parsing the Order Evicting Occupy Boston – Part II

I cross-posted my earlier thoughts regarding Judge McIntyre’s Order clearing the way for the eviction of Occupy Boston over at The DailyKos.  That generated a lot of comment and a great deal of pushback from a handful of people who argued hard with me that Judge McIntyre got it exactly right.

So I spent a good deal of time riding herd on the comments and fleshing out my argument re:  Judge McIntyre’s lack of intellectual honesty in Sections I(A) and (B) in her Order.  It turned out to be a great experience, because it helped clarify (and simplify) for me what it really is that I find so offensive about it.  I thought I’d leave a short post here revisiting the issue.

Parsing the Order Evicting Occupy Boston

On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Frances McIntyre issued an Order finding that Occupy Boston’s continual occupation of Dewey Square is not protected First Amendment activity.  This clears the way for the Boston Police Department to start evicting Occupy Boston from Dewey Square. 

I used to clerk for a federal judge, and so I have some hands-on experience in the crafting of Court Orders.  Having reviewed Judge McIntyre’s ruling, I’d describe it as clearly a “results oriented” decision.  That is, it is apparent that Judge McIntyre intended from the beginning to find that Occupy Boston could be evicted from Dewey Square, and was simply searching for a rationale to support that foregone conclusion.  The logical inconsistencies and the circular reasoning in her opinion give the game away.