Lawyer Letter copy to Judicial Committee

by Gayle 43 Replies latest jw friends

  • Gayle
    Gayle

    charles, smith & bellah

    A PROFESSIONALl CO«F*QP*.T!ON

    ATTORNEYS AT LAW

    •I W. CWARS.ES S7O«» WEST PAUMAIRC AVENUE

    URNELL SMITH f> O BOX IT37 TELEPHONE

    kRO»eu.AH OLENOALE , ARIZONA 8S31i ,'SOZ! OJ»- BS *

    >t j. rommel

    B OOf.ECHER

    July 15, 1985

    James L. Simpson

    Body Of Elders

    Sun City Kingdom Hall

    Surprise

    13016 Elm Street

    Surprise, Arizona

    Dear Mr. Simpson:

    I am in receipt of your letter dated July 9, 1985 to Mr. William Minette. He has asked that I represent him in this matter. Further, he has requested that I write you to request any further communications be directed to him at this office through me.

    Any efforts to make a pronouncement or take action regarding Mr. Minette's status as a Christian, his moral character or any other statements which may possibly affect his relationship with others will be viewed as a violation of Mr. Minette's constitutional rights, in fact, violation of his First Amendment rights. In addition, we will seek assistance from the Superior Court of Maricopa County or from the United States District Court in Phoenix, Arizona to protect those rights if necessary. In doing so, my client has requested that I seek attorney fees.

    In order to avoid this expense and unnecessary action, we ask that any previous statements or comments, that may have been made in regard to Mr. Minette be withdrawn or disclaim as the case may be.

    If you have any questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact me.

    Sincerely,

    David Burnell Smith DBS/kpm

    ************************************************

    (To our knowledge, nothing was announced on the platform. A few friends/friends and relatives have done this and some of their JW relatives/friends still are willing to talk with them some (just because it was not 'announced'). We know their "announcing" your name on the platform is an official "smear" tactic. That should not be allowed by us.)

  • sir82
    sir82

    Well, now we know why the elders' manual says never to send anything in writing. And why the statement "has been disfellowshipped for conduct unbecoming a Christian" was dropped.

  • wha happened?
    wha happened?

    I'm marking this thread. Ya just never know

  • SirNose586
    SirNose586

    That's the way to play hardball. I don't think I'd ever go this far, but I'm glad to see that you're not going to be bullied by this local BoE, unless they want to kick a hornet's nest...

  • OnTheWayOut
    OnTheWayOut

    I love the letter.

  • parakeet
    parakeet

    Any efforts to make a pronouncement or take action regarding Mr. Minette's status as a Christian, his moral character or any other statements which may possibly affect his relationship with others will be viewed as a violation of Mr. Minette's constitutional rights ....

    This sentence would make even an announcement that so-and-so is "no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses" a violation, since such an announcement would affect his status as a Christian and his relationship with others.

    If the elders ever come a'callin', this is what they'll get from my lawyer.

    Sir Nose: That's the way to play hardball. I don't think I'd ever go this far ...

    Why not, if you wanted to maintain a relationship with dub relatives? The dubs themselves don't hesitate to play hardball when it suits them.

    That letter goes into my archives.

  • choosing life
    choosing life

    Sounds like a good idea. After all, they only react to legal sanctions.

  • ziddina
    ziddina

    Man, I wish my DA letter had sounded like this!! Zid

  • TweetieBird
    TweetieBird

    There was a brother in my old hall that did something similar, told elders that he would file a lawsuit if any announcement was made, so they left him alone. However, it didn't take long for it to get spread through the grapevine so basically he was treated as dfd without any announcement made.

  • The Oracle
    The Oracle

    A letter like that might just do the trick.

    If it ever comes to it I might just do something like that.

    Or I might look each elder in the eye and tell each of them that if they mention my name (actually I wouldn't really care) or the name of my wife from the platform for any reason I will personally pound the living sh*t out of them. I am not a violent man, but trust me...they wouldn't be making any announcement. Their cowardice would trump Jehovah's holy spirit - guaranteed.

    Cheers,

    The Oracle

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