By Carlos Miller
Duane Kerzic is one of the most talkative people I’ve known.
After he was arrested for photographing an Amtrak train in December, I found his story on his website and noticed he had listed his phone number. I called and he answered immediately and I spent an hour interviewing him.
And later that night, as I was working on the article, I called him again to ask more questions and we talked for an additional 30 minutes.
And as I was putting the finishing touches on the article that would eventually make the front page of various news aggregating sites, crashing my server in the process, he responded to my followup questions via email within minutes. And since the article came out, I’ve talked to Kerzic various times on the phone for extended periods of time.
But suddenly Kerzic doesn’t want to talk.
The man known for leaving War and Peace length comments on this blog is suddenly speechless.
The man who was seen walking his cat on The Colbert Report appears to have had his tongue snatched by that same cat.
The man who published every detail of his arrest on his website, including letters to outgoing president George W. Bush and incoming president Barack Obama, has removed his site from the internet with the following explanation:
“No comment!”
Last week, when I called Kerzic to inquire about his February 5th hearing, he gave me the same response:
“No comment”.
This is how the conversation went:
Me: How did the hearing go?
Kerzic: “No comment.”
Me: “Did you actually have a hearing?
Kerzic: “No comment.”
Me: “Is this the same Duane Kerzic that was arrested by Amtrak police after he photographed Amtrak trains as he was participating in an Amtrak photo contest?”
Kerzic: “No comment.”
So I called Kerzic’s attorney, Gerald Cohen, who had represented another man who had been arrested by Amtrak police for photographing trains in which he ended up with a several thousand dollar settlement from Amtrak.
Me: What happened in yesterday’s court hearing?
Cohen: “No comment”
So it’s obvious that Amtrak made Kerzic an offer he couldn’t refuse.
After all, silence is golden.
-30-
I am a multimedia journalist who has been fighting a lengthy legal battle after having photographed Miami police against their wishes in Feb. 2007. Please help the fight by donating to my Legal Defense Fund in the top left sidebar. And feel free to join my Facebook blog network to keep updated on the latest articles.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Fernandez, as I mentioned in a 
16 responses so far ↓
1 Andrew // Feb 13, 2009 at 12:39 AM
Oh well…
2 Everett // Feb 13, 2009 at 1:09 AM
Lame.
3 roger // Feb 13, 2009 at 6:22 AM
Proubly bought off.
4 Karl Mansoor // Feb 13, 2009 at 1:18 PM
Out of concern I also tried contacting Duane a few days ago via email after seeing the “No Comment” notice in place of his previous website.
I received no response. That was unusual after having previously engaged in reciprocal email and posting communications with Duane.
In my view Duane came across in his writings as someone with a heartfelt concern for various issues of injustice. I believe he still possess the same concerns.
Whatever Duane is facing in his issues with Amtrak officials may not yet be over. Duane may be in silent mode out of necessity on the advice of his attorney or the whole matter may have been settled under some sort of confidentiality agreement.
I certainly don’t know for sure either way.
I personally would like to see all incidents of injustice from government officials completely exposed and made known publicly. When it doesn’t happen I have to put the blame primarily on the government.
Constitutional infringements are, after all, a matter of public concern and should be open to free speech and investigation.
I want to be optimistic and believe Duane has been advised by his attorney to keep quiet until all is done. If someone retains an attorney they may as well take the attorneys advice.
If Duane’s issue has been resolved under confidentiality, oh well, that is his choice.
On a personal note, several years back, over the course of two law suits, I sued my Chief, two Captains, a Lieutenant, two Sergeants, the County Executive, the County Attorney, the Deputy County Attorney, the County itself, and a hired-gun shrink – all surrounding First Amendment issues no less. They did not want me to speak up about police misconduct – or else.
The legal proceedings lasted several years most all while I still worked in the police department. Largely keeping quiet during that time was the hardest thing in the world for me to do. I was under the “or else” pressure but I also had attorneys and it was best to let them handle the matter.
When all was said and done, during the summary judgment in my favor for the first law suit and the county’s settlement (to avoid getting burned in court again) also in my favor in the second, the defendants didn’t even bother asking for any confidentiality agreement. They knew I would not settle or ever agree to such a restriction; especially since it was a First Amendment violation issue to begin with. I was hopping mad at having to keep quiet when everything was ongoing; there was no way I would keep quiet afterwards.
I think it is rare that government entities will settle without some sort of confidentiality agreement. Many people will accept one. I have a hard head and would not.
I know how difficult it can be going up against a government entity. It is generally a David and Goliath issue and the typical citizen never really completely cuts the head off Goliath. He still walks around as big and belligerent as ever.
American citizens have a really big Goliath. We need more Davids…and Carloses…and…
5 rogerscott87176 // Feb 13, 2009 at 1:26 PM
O boy! I should not try to post at 3 AM. Amtack either paid off or got gage order.
6 enhager // Feb 13, 2009 at 5:52 PM
what is amtrak saying?
7 F-40PH // Feb 14, 2009 at 12:25 PM
honk honk we’re a train company that doesn’t maintain our rail system. but that’s ok because we are forced to share it with (and yield to) cargo transport trains.
… and “no comment”
8 PDBreske // Feb 17, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Money talks.
This is what happens to people’s righteous beliefs when the opposition dangles a nice, fat carrot in front of them. It’s nice to see that the American dream of getting rich by suing Big Business is alive and well.
9 Mike // Feb 18, 2009 at 1:34 PM
I have to say I am puzzled by the silence… I agree with Karl that this issue is bigger than Duane or even Amtrak. It is a constitutional issue that should be contested in full public view. Confidentiality Agreements are antithical to governmental honesty (is that an oxymoron?). If that is what is at play here I am disappointed. If, however, Duane is being silent due to ongoing legal maneuvering I wish him luck and ask him to speak up as soon as he is able.
10 Mike // Feb 19, 2009 at 11:11 AM
Does anyone know if there is a way to find out if there was an actual hearing and verdict either way? Shouldn’t there be a public record of whether the case was prosecuted, lost, won, dismissed, etc at the very least?
11 Carlos Miller // Feb 19, 2009 at 1:01 PM
Mike,
I checked out the New York court system online and his case had disappeared where I had seen it there in prior days.
I think it’s obvious what happened and I look at it as a victory for Kerzic. I don’t hold anything against him for accepting a settlement.
12 Spokker // Mar 12, 2009 at 1:32 AM
Amtrak has updated their photography policy to the delight of the NPPA.
http://nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2009/03/amtrak01.html
Whether Kerzic had anything to do with this, it’s a welcome change.
13 Mark Murphy // Apr 15, 2009 at 5:58 PM
Sounds like a confidentiality agreement fell into place. Settle the pending litigation and agree not to discuss the case. In this instance…they even got rid of the public record surrounding it.
It seems to be getting very bad for photographers. I have some experienced about being harrassed by the officials of the MBTA, where photography is prohibitied. Once upon a time, they had a rule where the photographer had to get a photo permit. Inside of one year, I had been yelled at 4 times for shooting pictures in the subway; twice by either the inspector or the starters in the stations, and twice by the T police themselves. The last incident, which occurred at the JFK/UMass station proved to be too much…were my wife not present, I think I would have been hauled in.
Now…I have a bigger camera that can’t be hidden. I hope that’s why there has been no harrassment in recent months; before, I used to walk around with a point-and-shoot Canon.
14 Bill // May 14, 2009 at 6:32 PM
I think it is a sellout on his part anything he agreed to should have involved a public apology from Amtrak.
After reading all his posts on here I didn’t think he would put a price tag on his silence.
It’s sad only way things will change is to keep things out in the open and talked about not hidden in a back room like dirty laundry.
Hope he has fun traveling the world taking pics.
15 Andrew Schwartzmeyer // Jul 16, 2010 at 3:27 AM
Has there been any update on or from Duane Kerzic yet?
Andrew Schwartzmeyer recently posted..MetaFilter Quote
16 figMiNT // Jul 16, 2010 at 4:50 PM
So it appears that in this case money talks. I have a question for those who were/are in the middle of a fight for their First Amendment right: If you’re truly fighting for such a just cause, as I hope you are, would you also accept a large settlement in return to keep quiet? If so, then your cause isn’t just at all. Greed would have won. Hear me out.
If you are proclaiming that what you are doing isn’t just for yourself–that it is for other citizens, who are either afraid or ignorant, to stand up for their First Amendment rights– then why would you be willing to zip up your lips for a lot of money?
Now if this was something more personal than a War on Photography and you just want to move on with your life, then I would completely understand your decision.
I dare those of you who are truly a part of the War on Photographers to say no to any settlements and make sure that actual violations of your rights get to anyone who will listen by any legal channels you have access to.
That’s all for now.
Leave a Comment