The Gentle Readers who have been following the saga of The Dread Pirate Kimberlin for a while may remember the first post I did related to the Motion to Order Plaintiff to Cease and Desist and for Sanctions Against Plaintiff’s Counsel filed by TDPK in the Virginia Walker v. Kimberlin, et al. civil case. In that post I wrote:

I did not deal with all of the claims in the motion above that seem disconnected from reality. I’ll leave that to opposing counsel.

It’s a four hour round trip from my house to the Prince William County Courthouse (or a three hour side trip on the way to or from work), so I was unable to get there from when I picked up a copy of TDPK’s motion until today. While I was there for the hearing this morning, I went by the Clerk’s Office and picked up all of the publicly available documents filed through yesterday. Here is the Plaintiff’s Response to Defendant Kimberlin’s Motion to Order Plaintiff to Cease and Desist and for Sanctions Against Plaintiff’s Counsel:

<mockery>Counsel addressed the “‘merits’ of the MOTION, to the extent they can be said to exist …” Mr. Backer, Aaron Walker’s attorney, boils TDPK’s issues down to three.

First, he doesn’t like the fact that documents have ended up online. Well, tough. The only documents posted on this blog have been a part of the public record, and, as part of the public domain, they’re fair game.

Second, he doesn’t like the fact that Aaron Walker has solicited donations to support the litigation. Well, tough. That’s legal. It’s also substantially more moral than having a “defense fund” for jailed musicians that doesn’t actually contribute to their defense. A side note here: One of the things TDPK whined to the Judge about today was a blog post that seem to be the one linked to in this paragraph.

Third, he doesn’t like the fact the Aaron Walker once ran a blog the posted pictures that TDPK says were offensive. Well, tough. The Justice Through Music Project and Velvet Revolution US websites contain material that many people find offensive to their religious beliefs.

Here’s the money quote from Mr. Backer’s filing:

13. Defendant Kimberlin’s is [sic] entitiled to an ipse dixit version of events on the preliminary stages of a lawsuit. It is this Court’s prerogative; however, not Defendant Kimberlin’s to decide the merits of the claims after properly filed and labeled motions. The discovery process is, of course, designed to aid the Court in reaching its conclusions.

The Judge agreed with Mr. Backer.</mockery>

I was unable to stake out the Clerk’s Office to see if TDPK did in fact file the discovery material ordered by Judge Potter in a timely manner. We’ll find out more by the middle of next week. Meanwhile, I’ve got a couple more filings that TDPK made this week to go over. Stay tuned.

Expect more mockery.