Photo by Elizabeth Carnegie Attorney Geoffrey Fieger says freedom of speech is in danger during his talk at the Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills Sept. 24.

By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

FARMINGTON HILLS — Hundreds of protesters chanted in New York City Sept. 24 as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University and questioned research on the Holocaust.

A White House spokesman called the event proof that America is “a country where people can come and speak their minds.”

But inside the Birmingham Temple in Farmington Hills Sept. 24, attorney Geoffrey Fieger disagreed.

“We think we have freedom of speech,” he said. “It’s a myth. Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t have freedom of speech.”

The Bloomfield Hills attorney is known for defending assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian in the 1990s. In 1998, Fieger also ran as the Democratic challenger for governor and lost against Republican John Engler.

Fieger, 56, told the audience that he is more afraid to speak out now than he was 10 years ago because, he said, corporations control society.

“Each and every one of us are controlled in a manner and ways that are mind-boggling,” he said.

‘We have a lot to be afraid of’
Fieger said corporate ownership of almost all newspapers, television stations and radio stations results in coverage that distracts people from serious issues while dwelling on Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and O.J. Simpson.

The media keeps Americans docile by making it appear that they have free speech, he said.  “(Author George) Orwell couldn’t have imagined the type of propaganda that we’re being exposed to,” he said.

News networks have replaced journalism legends like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite with “cheerleaders,” he said, calling comedians like Jon Stewart and Bill Maher, who resemble the court jesters of old, pop culture’s last outlets of truth.

Fieger blamed the media for distorting anti-war protests and for ignoring the Blackwater USA security contractors in Iraq. He also slammed the government for wiretapping and the USA Patriot Act, which he said have voided the Fourth Amendment.

“How in the world … were we willing to give up our freedoms for security because of the deranged act of some Saudis who unfortunately got on some airplanes and killed several thousands of us — less than 3,000,” he said. “To live in (a) constant state of fear is truly shocking.”

Although Fieger was pessimistic on the average person’s power to speak, he noted an exception. If not for the thousands of demonstrators, most people would’ve never heard of the “Jena Six” — six black Louisiana students whom civil rights activists say were unfairly charged in the beating a white student.

Fieger said he knows firsthand what happens when people speak out against authority.

In 1999, Fieger insulted some appellate court judges on his radio show because they overturned a verdict on one of his medical malpractice cases. According to a Michigan Supreme Court opinion, he called them jackasses, declared war on them and made allusions to Adolf Hitler and other Nazis.

“I said intemperate things, things that today I would’ve thought twice about,” Fieger said, though he denied calling the judges Nazis.

The Michigan justice system reprimanded him for being discourteous to the bench. Fieger fought back on free speech grounds, and a federal judge struck down the reprimand.

Fieger was brief about his latest legal woe. In August, a federal grand jury indicted him on charges of breaking campaign finance laws, making false statements and obstructing justice. The case centers on donations given to Democrat John Edwards’ 2004 presidential campaign. Fieger pleaded not guilty, and he is free on bond.

After his lecture, Fieger cited a Sept. 22 entry on the Web site of Harper’s Magazine. The entry, written by Scott Horton, suggested that the investigation of trial lawyers’ political contributions was a White House conspiracy.

Rochelle Eick, a 15-year member of the Birmingham Temple, called Fieger an excellent speaker and said she was surprised that no other liberal attorneys would rally behind him during his legal battles.

She also said he made some good points about freedom of expression. “We’re allowed to say whatever we want, but it doesn’t mean anything,” she said. “Our First Amendment rights are being taken away.”

She disagreed with Fieger on one issue. He lamented that “we don’t want the president of Iran to speak” at Columbia because of his inflammatory views.

“I think that the university would have a right to refuse (Ahmadinejad) because he’s not American,” Eick said.

The Birmingham Temple is a Humanistic Jewish temple located in Farmington Hills. It was home to the late Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the philosophy’s founder. Humanistic Judaism celebrates Jewish traditions, but ignores the supernatural parts.

Fieger said he greatly admired Wine. “He was a very brave man because he wasn’t afraid to speak,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1058.