In mid-March, Chun Ping "Eddie" Lau was arrested for violating a state campaign ethics law during the recent election that prohibits distributing knowingly false information in a campaign.Â
Prosecuting Lau may be difficult, however, as the Louisiana Supreme Court has erred on the side of free speech in previous court cases dealing the with law, declaring parts of the law unconstitutional. Additionally, experts say proving Lau knowingly spread misinformation is a high bar to cross.
The law, Louisiana Revised Statute , states, "No person shall cause to be distributed, or transmitted, any oral, visual, digital, or written material containing any statement which he knows or should be reasonably expected to know makes a false statement about a candidate for election in a primary or general election or about a proposition to be submitted to the voters."
Lau's arrest came after Brach Myers defeated Jesse Regan for the state Senate District 23 seat. Myers filed a complaint with the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office, saying someone distributing information during the campaign that he was endorsed by the Lady Democrats of Lafayette group, a group that no longer exists.
Myers said his polling numbers dropped after the allegation was made.
One of the earliest cases involving the law was in 1987 when were charged with violating parts B and C of the statute when the Westbank Citizens for Better Government sent a letter suggesting that Burgess'Â opponent, in an election for state representative, supported former governor Edwin Edwards. The letter was signed by Fitzgerald.Â
The state argued that false, scurrilous or irresponsible statements were not constitutionally protected unless the publication contained the names of the person who published it and that it was against the law to falsely allege that "any candidate or group of candidates... are supported by or affiliated with another candidate, group of candidates, or other person, or political faction."
In 1989, the Court disagreed, arguing that the state had to prove that Burgess had knowledge that the information was false and that the legislature's understanding of false information fell under protected speech.
The justices declared parts B and C of the law unconstitutional. Later, , part C(3) of the law dealing with anonymous campaign literature was also deemed unconstitutional.Â
Police arrested Lau under a section of the law that has remained largely unchanged since the Burgess case. The law was amended a year before a judge made a decision in that case, and it hasn't gone before a Court since.
The entire law should have been taken off the books after the 1989 decision, said William Davie, a communications law and ethics professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He argued the courts would have a hard time finding that Lau knowingly spread false information and that most of these instances would normally be handled in civil courts.Â
"Clearly, the Louisiana Supreme Court, at some point, thought this law was fatally flawed. And the question is, is that irrelevant now?" Davie said.
Lau's case also opens up questions about who determines what is true and false, said Albert Samuels, Ph.D., a political science professor at Southern University, calling the law a "textbook violation of the First Amendment."
He said false statements are made throughout political campaigns and suggested the district attorney should drop the charges against Lau. He questioned whether it's the government's job to determine what is the truth and whether this could impact candidates' ability to speak freely under the idea that making a false statement could land them in jail.Â
"The free speech clause protects political speech," Samuels said. "It doesn't necessarily protect accurate speech or truthful speech; it protects speech. Some political ideas are wrong, better than others, not as well thought out. Some are incorrect, but in a free society, that's part of the price we pay for this notion of free speech.
"To apply criminal statutes to someone's viewpoint, even if they are incorrect, even if they're false, I think it put us in some very dangerous territory."
Myers didn't directly comment on whether he believed the law to be constitutional but argued that elections should be protected from dishonest actors.
"There's a difference between smearing and being flat-out dishonest," he said. "If you're smearing someone, freedom of speech, 'Brach Myers is not a good person. He's a bad person.' If somebody says that, that's their opinion… When they knowingly say something and produce something that's false, and they've created a false organization… that's not smearing. That can impact something as sacred as our elections. "
Lau also worked as a campaign manager for Youngsville Police Chief Jean-Paul "JP" Broussard and is alleged to have been involved in similar tactics.
In this instance, a text message was sent out questioning the political party affiliation of interim Chief Cody Louviere, paid for by the Louisiana Republican Citizen's Group, a group that does not exist.Â
Broussard confirmed his campaign did hire RM Partners and that he has spoken with Lau on several occasions. He added that at no time did Lau suggest spreading false information.
Staff Writer Megan Wyatt and Staff Writer Claire Taylor contributed to this article.Â
