Clifford once stated on the air that one member of the liquor board got the job because he is gay, and another because he's Hispanic and in a wheelchair. But Clifford and Osgood work well together, both in court and behind the scenes. Ever since the city and the liquor board cracked down on Clifford's club, Jersey's All American Sports Bar, in the early '90s, the former Republican Party staffer has been bringing together allies from all over the political map to rail against Sidran's arrogance and the liquor board's ignorance. Jersey's is still open, as is its offshoot, the 700 Club, but both are on the ropes as the liquor board tries to take away Clifford's license. The only reason it's remained a law for 60 years, Osgood said, is because nobody has challenged it.
Prior restraint means the government curbs free expression before the expression can occur.
Coughenour was in true form during last week's liquor board trial. That's your problem. But Osgood got off easy compared to Barbara Herman, the attorney for the liquor board. Coughenour attacked her argument that the state should decide whether the law is constitutional, rather than the feds. They would just have to do what I tell them to do.