August 31, 2005

Free Judy Miller

EDITORIAL

The New York Times reporter Judith Miller has now been in jail longer for refusing to testify than any reporter working for a newspaper in America. It is a very long time for her, for her newspaper and for the media. And with each dismal milestone, it becomes more apparent that having her in jail is an embarrassment to a country that is supposed to be revered around the world for its freedoms, especially its First Amendment that provides freedom of the press. Ms. Miller, who went to jail rather than testify in an investigation into the disclosure of an undercover agent's identity, has been in a Virginia jail 55 days as of today.

July 8, 2005

Our Opinion: Jailing harms the public's right to know
Tucson Citizen
Yes, we realize that polls show Americans respect journalists about as much as they respect used car salesmen. Which is to say, not very much. . . . So it may not be a matter of great concern that a reporter for The New York Times has been sent to jail for refusing to divulge the name of a confidential source. . . . That reporter, Judith Miller, is not in jail because she has placed her herself above the law, as a federal judge claimed. She is in jail so all of us can continue knowing about the workings of our government. . . . It is a principle more important than any one person, any one newspaper or any one judge. It is one of those principles at the very core of this nation's founding.

Reporter Jailed After Refusing to Name Source

By Adam Liptak

Judith Miller, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, was sent to jail on Wednesday after a federal judge declared that she was "defying the law" by refusing to divulge the name of a confidential source. . . . Another reporter who faced jail in the case, Matthew Cooper of Time magazine, was spared after announcing a last-minute deal with a confidential source that he said would allow him to testify before a grand jury. . . . Before being taken into custody by three court officers, Ms. Miller said she could not in good conscience violate promises to her sources. "If journalists cannot be trusted to guarantee confidentiality," she told Judge Thomas F. Hogan, "then journalists cannot function and there cannot be a free press." . . . Judge Hogan held the two reporters in civil contempt in October for refusing to cooperate with a federal prosecutor's investigation into the disclosure of the identity of a covert operative of the Central Intelligence Agency. The prosecutor's efforts produced the most serious confrontation between the government and the press since the Pentagon Papers case in 1971. The Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from the reporters last week.

April 14, 2005

Two Women Who Fought To Survive: Sindelar & Shiavo

Part 1

By Jill Cohen Walker, J.D., NewsWithViews.com

They were two women from different parts of the United States who became incapacitated at almost the same time under very difference circumstances. Their stories are both similar and different, but the outcome was the same. Both women are gone, one the victim of government bureaucracy, the courts, and the IRS; the other the victim of a controlling husband, the euthanasia crowd, and their minions in the courts.

You’ve heard all about Terri Schindler-Schiavo (or did you really hear it all?), but you know nothing about Carla Sindelar. You will know her soon because I will tell you her story.

What happened to these two women was deplorable, but let’s put emotion and outrage aside and try to be a little objective, if that’s possible. It’s okay to lament about what’s happened, but for the skeptics out there, objectivity sometimes makes it easier to put the pieces of the puzzle together, unless you refuse to accept some information as fact. (Hard to do when you don’t want to see the big picture. Harder to do when your heart tells you that evil is on a campaign that won’t end unless we make it end.)

Carla Rae Sindelar graduated from Thomas Edison High School in Elmira, NY. She didn’t loiter around after graduation; she was a responsible young woman who wanted to make something of her life. She attended The Boyd Agency Travel School in Pittsburgh, PA, and was barely 18 when she was hired by Continental Airlines to work in their Ithaca, NY office. After additional training through Continental, she returned to Elmira, but unforeseen events altered the course of Carla’s life and destroyed a promising future.

Click for Full Story

Carla's father's complaint to Senator Charles Schumer

April 2, 2005

MAINE

Judge Arthur Brennan Consistently Dismissed LaFortune’s Witnesses

By: Dottie Lafortune

My criminal trespass upon my own property finally went to trial. Atty. Barbara Johnson was the lead counsel in this case. She defended me pro bono. She put in endless hours of work.  This case is a perfect example of how corrupt our court system is. Atty. Johnson was denied, by Judge Arthur Brennan, the right to enter evidence and any witnesses in this case.

All of my witnesses who were subpoenaed were questioned on the witness stand before the trial and all dismissed by Judge Brennan. As Judge Brennan excused witness after witness, Atty. Johnson protested repeatedly. At one point, the judge asked Atty. Johnson which witness she wanted to call next and she replied "which one do you want to quash next?" 

There were many heated debates between the judge and Atty. Johnson over the objections by D.A. Mark Lawrence to allow my evidence and witnesses to be presented. Atty. Johnson continually raised the issue of who is the rightful owner of my property, which remains the key to this case. Judge Arthur Brennan ruled out any evidence or testimony related to the ownership of the home or the legality of the order for me to leave the home. (My complaint against the city involving title to real estate was filed in superior court prior to the forcible entry and detainer action against me and was before Judge Arthur Brennan. Judge Brennan dismissed that case without a trial.

Now Judge Brennan presided over this trespass case. He didn't allow the title issue to be brought up because it would be brought out that he dismissed my case involving title to property.) The D.A. did not prove that I knowingly defied a court order and Atty. Johnson was not allowed to argue the unlawful order. The judge tied Atty. Johnson's hands behind her back, but she still came back with valid arguments, but was not allowed to enter the evidence to prove these defenses. What was done in this case is highly unconstitutional. The D.A.'s only objective was to get a guilty verdict - and then I wouldn't sue the city - and he had the help of Judge Brennan with his unconstitutional rulings from the bench. I was found guilty and in fact, set my own sentence. I suggested community service and Judge Brennan said "it makes sense to me. I will accept your offer." I was denied due process and equal protection of all the laws, denied a fair trial, and denied the right to enter evidence and witnesses.  

I have 20 days in which to appeal. Atty. Johnson would appeal this verdict, but she cannot continue to represent me pro bono, and I totally understand. I need Atty. Johnson's expertise. She has the knowledge and the courage to go up against the judicial system. This is where I need your help. I am asking you to contribute to my defense fund so that Atty. Johnson will continue on this case. You may send contributions to:

Atty. Barbara Johnson

6 Appletree Lane, Andover, MA 01810-4102

I want to thank all of you who supported me throughout this terrible nightmare. I pray that you will help me keep Atty. Johnson on this case. She has opened the eyes of people, and reporters, here in Maine. This is a window of opportunity that can open doors for everyone in this country.

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LAFORTUNE NEWS RELEASES

Lafortune convicted of criminal trespass
By Jen Fish, Portland Press Herald Writer

After deliberating for less than an hour on Wednesday, a jury convicted Dorothy Lafortune of criminal trespassing, all but ending her long fight to keep the Biddeford home where she lived. Lafortune will not serve any jail time or pay any fines, but will have to complete 100 hours of community service. . . . Lafortune and her attorney, Barbara Johnson, said they were surprised by the verdict and would discuss whether to appeal. "It's unfortunate that people do not understand their constitutional rights," Lafortune said. . . . Biddeford officials have said that Lafortune failed to pay her property taxes. Her home on Graham Street was auctioned off in 2002 to Tim Q. Ly of Portland.

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Lawyer twice asks for mistrial
By Jen Fish, Portland Press Herald Writer

In court on Tuesday, her attorney, Barbara Johnson, continually raised the issue of who is the rightful owner of the house on Graham Street, saying it remains the key to the case. . . . Lafortune's home was sold to Tim Q. Ly of Portland at a city auction in 2002. Johnson said, however, that Lafortune remains the owner of the home. . . . Throughout the day's proceedings, Johnson sparred with Justice Arthur Brennan over the relevance of witnesses and the admission of certain evidence that she said would prove Lafortune's claim that the eviction order was illegal. . . . Brennan, who admonished Johnson several times, said repeatedly that any evidence or testimony related to the ownership of the home or the legality of the foreclosure would not be allowed. . . . "Title is not an issue in this case," Brennan said. . . . But Johnson said that by denying the issue, Brennan has effectively handcuffed the defense. She asked twice for a mistrial. She said she will ask for one again today if the judge cuts off Lafortune's testimony.

Three Civil Contempt Divorce Cases

CALIFORNIA
It's 27 months, no release in sight (click heading for full story)

By Keith Rosenblum
He's spent 27 months and counting behind bars at the Santa Cruz County Jail. No end of captivity in sight. This may well be the old man's last address. . . . Prisoner 44845, Manuel "Manolo" Osete, is a fit, if pale, 72-year-old man who doesn't blend in. He is surrounded by "kids," the drug offenders, the drunken-driving and domestic-violence suspects. Ironically, the kids generally get out after a couple of weeks, either on their own recognizance or on bond. . . . No one--except Osete--is sentenced here for more than a year. Osete calls the jail home. To date, it has cost the county $55,000 to keep Osete behind bars--and the setting suggests he's a danger to someone. . . . Conversations with visitors are conducted on the telephone through thick safety glass. Contacts are limited to 15-minute chats on Sunday afternoons. Newspapers and magazines aren't allowed. For his rare appearances in court, he is taken to Tucson in shackles. Time outdoors is limited to about 30 minutes a week, less than what death row inmates generally receive. . . .

"I get up every day and ask myself,
"Just what am I doing here?'" he said.
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So what crime is Osete charged with?

He isn't charged with a crime.

"The other inmates ask me what I'm here for," Osete said. "I tell them, 'Divorce,' and they get a good laugh." . . . Antonio Estrada, the Santa Cruz County sheriff, has watched over Osete since Dec. 19, 2002, and, well before that met the prisoner's estranged wife as she distributed homemade "Wanted" fliers and went from one law enforcement agency to another to push for his arrest.

Two other Cases

Stephan Jay Lawrence, was jailed on civil contempt in1999. Lawrence incurred personal debts of $20 million while working for Bear Stearns, a New York brokerage firm. Before a judgment was entered against him, Lawrence transferred $7 million to a trust in Mauritius Island and filed for bankruptcy. . . . A judge ordered Lawrence to turn over the trust's assets, but the defendant claimed he lost controlling interest in the trust when he was removed as a beneficiary--and was unable to give the court money or information. . . . According to Gideon Rothschild, a New York lawyer who follows the case, Lawrence believed that by relinquishing control of the money, he would force the bankruptcy court to eliminate the contempt charge. The judge, however, ruled Lawrence had "self-created" that scenario and believed Lawrence controlled--or would eventually control--the money.

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H. Beatty Chadwick, a Pennsylvania lawyer who--as a result of refusing to turn over $2.5 million to an ex-wife--has been in jail for nine years.. . . Chadwick has insisted the money was lost in a failed investment, but a string of judges have ignored that claim and ordered him jailed until he returns the cash. Like Osete, Chadwick has seen his liability increase, to $4.2 million.

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In each of these cases, judges are required to act using the following guidelines: An individual may be jailed in order to coerce him to comply with the court's order. This incarceration should not amount to punishment, for that requires a crime. Coercion becomes punishment when a defendant can't comply.

READ ADDITIONAL STORIES OF PEOPLE INCARCERATED WITHOUT EVER HAVING A TRIAL -- VictimsReview

Religious Persecution in America

A New Group of Victims-of-Law

Journalists

Victims-of-Law agrees with the Views expressed by the following article. While the major media is often under attack for being unfair, unbalanced and refusing to report on the Victims of the Courts, without their freedoms being protected by the courts, they too become Victims-of-Law.

The Terri Schindler-Schiavo Story

READ ABOUT THE ON-GOING JUDICIAL ARROGANCE OF
JUDGE GREER