By Robert Simels
Originally published in amNewYork on
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Robert Simels connects two events from the same week. On March 30, OneTaste leaders Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz were sentenced in Brooklyn federal court after their conviction for conspiracy to commit forced labor. The next day, the Supreme Court ruled 8 to 1 for Kaley Chiles, a Colorado counselor who challenged the state's ban on conversion therapy for minors, holding that her speech was protected by the First Amendment.
Simels points to Justice Neil Gorsuch's majority opinion, which warned against letting the government silence professional speech that departs from prevailing views. He argues the same principle applies to OneTaste, a sexual wellness organization whose teachings prosecutors told the jury were "not correct." Whether or not one agrees with those teachings, he writes, they were protected speech, not a crime.
The commentary lists problems Simels sees in the prosecution. He writes that more than 35,000 people took part in OneTaste courses, yet the government built its case on about a dozen former participants. He describes allegations that the FBI used privileged documents obtained through hacking, that the lead agent altered evidence, and that the judge overruled a magistrate judge's finding of taint, excluded videotapes of participants, and limited the defense.
Simels calls the sentences of nine years for Daedone and six and a half years for Cherwitz harsh, and criticizes the order of almost $900,000 in restitution and $12 million in forfeiture. He hopes the appeals court will reverse the convictions.
Disclosure: amNewYork's disclosure with this commentary states that Robert Simels did research work for defense counsel in the OneTaste prosecution.
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This page is a summary prepared for robertsimels.com. The full commentary was published by amNewYork and remains on amNewYork's site.
Robert Simels. Robert Simels hosts the podcast Injustice for All and serves as a consultant on criminal justice matters. He is no longer practicing law.
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