COURTESY OF HERSCHEL FINK Detroit Police Department, led by then- Chief Police Commander (and later City Council President) Gary Brown, who told Dre’ s concert promoters backstage that power to the show would be cut if the explicit video was shown. The tour, not wanting to disappoint the thousands in the audience, agreed to pull the video. The exchanges were openly recorded by a tour film crew. “The video didn’ t show anything you wouldn’ t see on a Sunday night on the Sopranos, ” said Fink, who was called in to defend Dr. Dre. The next day, the tour was scheduled to go to the Palace of Auburn Hills. Fink went to federal court that day and obtained an injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds to prevent any interference with the show by police. The show at the Palace featured the explicit video introduction. When the tour left Michigan, the pro- moters sued Detroit and settled for their attorney fees. Former Mayor Dennis Archer issued a public statement that conceded the possibility of an unconsti- tutional “prior restraint” on behalf of the Detroit Police officers. Six months later, Dre and his produc- ers released a DVD of the tour with some bonus tracks that included a 10-minute segment titled “Detroit Controversy, ” depicting the heated exchanges between the police and promoters at the Joe Louis show. The officers in the video sued on eavesdropping and other tort theories. At first their case was tossed out, but on appeal the court said dismissal of the claim was premature. “The wheels of justice turn slowly, ” Fink said. The case bounced between courts for nearly a decade before finally reaching the Michigan Supreme Court, which ruled in Dre’ s favor. RESPECT OF JOURNALISTS At the Hensel Award event, former reporter David Ashenfelter said in a video tribute, “I’ m one of many reporters Herschel has bailed out of trouble over the years. ” During the 1990s, Ashenfelter wrote a series of stories about a Wayne County judge accused of using racial and ethnic slurs in phone conversations with her ex-husband. She was trying to use her position to convince police he was at fault in their child custody dispute. Ashenfelter got the tapes from the estranged husband. “We ran a story in the Free Press that was hugely controver- sial. She sued us both for $100 million in federal court. Here’ s what happened: She got booted off the bench. With Herschel’ s help, I got removed from the lawsuit. ” Fox 2 News reporter Ron Wolcheck, well-known for his “Hall of Shame” seg- ments, called Fink a “real bulldog” in a video tribute. “Herschel Fink really likes me because, quite frankly, I get sued a lot and he gets to defend me and make a lot of money. But because of my great reporting and Herschel’ s great lawyering, we always win. ” In his trademark gravelly voice, he added, “Herschel Fink, you’ re in the Hall of Fame!” According to Detroit Free Press Editor Peter Bhatia, “(Fink) has a way of telling lawyers and city officials that the law is on our side, and he does it with humor and incredible effectiveness. I think every news organization needs someone like Herschel … If we don’ t have people like Herschel fighting for us, ultimately our freedoms are at risk. ” FINK ON HATE SPEECH “My problem with shutting down hate speech is how do you define it? Do you define it as anything? Any speech that disturbs your sensibilities?” he asked. “If so, then you are throwing out the First Amendment.” According to the Supreme Court, he said, unless speech is going to inspire imminent violence, it has to be allowed. “A recent Pew Research Center survey found 49 percent of college students do not support free speech if it’ s designated as ‘ hate speech.’ That basically translates to a desire to censor speech they don’ t agree with or that disturbs their sensibilities or their wrongheaded idea that universities must be ‘ safe places’ free from disturbing ideas. “Of course, the opposite should be the rule at colleges and universities,” he continued. “In other words, they have no understanding of nor tolerance for the very concept of free- dom of speech, the concept that underlies the First Amendment. “Once you start censoring speech, where do you stop? That’ s a difficult national debate, but I think it comes back to the core, a free marketplace of ideas and that dissent- ing voices should be allowed to be heard. “These are issues that are going to have to be hashed out over a period of time and we’ ll see how that turns out. But I’ m very bothered by the lack of tolerance for dissent- ing opinion, principally conservative opinion, which is being taken as hate speech.” 32 | JANUARY 9 • 2020 “Once you start censoring speech, where do you stop? That’s a diffi cult national debate, but I think it comes back to the core, a free marketplace of ideas and that dissenting voices should be allowed to be heard.” — HERSCHEL FINK TOP: Herschel Fink and his family pose with one of his early press passes at the Hensel Award event. Jews in the D continued from page 31