Paul Smith committed a “hate crime” on a Tuesday afternoon in downtown New Haven, in the shadows of the Yale hospital buildings, the Yale Medical School, the Yale School of Art, and the Yale Psychiatric Ward. Paul accosted a small group of men wearing yarmulkes and in a drunken rage yelled at them and called them “baby killers” and asked them if they liked “genocide.” Paul threw a rolled up newspaper at them and knocked a yarmulke off the head of one of the men. After Paul’s tirade he left the area and went home to his crib in East Haven, where he got arrested a week later. Good job NHPD. The NYPD are still searching for four teenagers who painted swastikas on synagogues and private properties in Forest Hills and Rego Park, after posting their pictures all over Queens and offering a reward.

The New Haven Jewish community, of which I am a member, was outraged. The New Haven Police posted a picture of Mr. Smith that was captured on a video surveillance camera on Crown Street, the hottest area in town for bars, restaurants and parties. In the background of the surveillance video were stolen Kias crashing into various bars and restaurants. Paul Smith was found and arrested within one week. The drivers of the stolen Kias are still at large. I am outraged that the New Haven and Yale University Police still haven’t found my Kia.

Paul was charged with disorderly conduct, a low level misdemeanor and intimidation based on bigotry, a low level felony. Connecticut has adopted a long list of “hate crime laws” that have elevated misdemeanor level crimes into felony level “hate crimes.” The State’s attorney has to prove the following on the hate crime: (a) A person is guilty of intimidation based on bigotry or bias in the second degree when such person maliciously, and with specific intent to intimidate or harass another person or group of persons motivated in whole or in substantial part by the actual or perceived race, religion, ethnicity, disability, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of such other person or group of persons, does any of the following: (1) Causes physical contact with such other person or group of persons, (2) damages, destroys or defaces any real or personal property of such other person or group of persons, or (3) threatens, by word or act, to do an act described in subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection, if there is reasonable cause to believe that an act described in subdivision (1) or (2) of this subsection will occur.

Having represented criminal defendants for many years, argued criminal cases before the Connecticut Appellate and Supreme Courts, and having personally served a federal prison sentence for a crime I committed, I believe hate-crime statutes contribute to an already over-criminalized society. There are thousands of criminal laws on the books at the federal, state, and local levels, regulating an ever-expanding range of conduct. At the same time, the United States maintains one of the highest incarceration rates in the world, even with the recent drop in overall crime.

If a person becomes intoxicated and utters racist slurs, the conduct obviously is offensive but should it result in enhanced criminal punishment solely because of the speaker’s upbringing? If an individual posts hateful comments on social media, such as when Kanye West posted “Death Con 3 on the Jews” should the government respond by arresting Kanye?

History teaches that the power of the government to punish disfavored beliefs can be turned against anyone who is unpopular at the moment. The First Amendment protects unpopular speech against overzealous governmental employees who abuse their positions and power. In a nation already burdened by over-criminalization and mass incarceration, the answer is more protection of speech, not more prosecutions, and more people behind bars. When will the government start subjecting us to lie detector tests and ask us whether we every had a racist thought or uttered a racist slur, and make arrests basted on our thoughts?

Paul Smith is being represented by attorney Zach Reiland at BBB Attorneys. Paul’s next court date is July 16th. If Paul doesn’t have a prior criminal record he most likely will apply for accelerated rehabilitation (AR), which would lead to the dismissal of the charges. Usually you can’t get AR if the victims object. Will the Jewish community show up at the Court house and hold signs and publicly scold, shame and humiliate Mr. Smith? I don’t think that would be productive. I was raised by a family of poor Jews who immigrated to the very wealthy and preppy town of Fairfield, and purchased a house using subterfuge with the realtor in order to hide their Jewish identity, as Jews were mostly barred from the beach area in the 1960s, and largely lived on the border of Bridgeport in the Black Rock Turnpike area. My patriarchs survived for many years in a dangerous foreign land known as the Bronx. I was the victim of all kinds of hate crimes growing up in this very Irish and WASPy town of Fairfield. At the same time I was treated very kindly by my Irish overlords and they always invited the Jew boy to their keg parties at Sasco Beach. I never went crying to the police every time someone called me “Christ killer” “Jew-boy” “Kike” “Heeb” or laughed at me for wearing cheap Pro Ked sneakers because that was all my parents could afford at the time, the Japanese destroyed the family’s shmatta business with cheap imports. It wasn’t my fault. It was the Japanese who killed Christ, not me.

Mr. Smith may have some good defenses to these charges. The State has to prove that Mr. Smith was motivated by the “race or religion” of the victims when he yelled “baby killers” who support “genocide.” It doesn’t appear that Mr. Smith called anyone a racial slur such as “Heeb” or “Jew-boy.” Mr. Smith can argue that he thought that the men wearing skull caps were doctors wearing surgical scrub hats on their way to perform abortions and he was against abortion. Mr. Smith would be able to claim he was not motivated by the victims’ race or religion when he yelled “baby killer.” Mr. Smith can also argue that he removed the surgical scrub hat on one of the doctors because he was trying to prolong the life of the unborn baby by delaying the abortion. The doctor would have to re-scrub and sanitize for surgery. You can only be charged with a simple assault for tipping off a surgical scrub hat, a low level misdemeanor.

WASPs, Gaelic’s, preppies, and Jews of all stripes, rich and poor, should all come together and have a green beer summit with Obama and pray for the second coming of Obama the Messiah. Baruch HASHEM!!!

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