The latest canoe article is entitled "Closing arguments in Jehovah's Witness suit." You can view it at
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWSLaw/home.html
Scroll down to Canada. It is the 11th heading underneath.
NEWS - VICKI BOER CASE - Canadian Press - Sep 22
by hawkaw 20 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse
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Kenneson
Well, it's now the third article under the Latest News. Don't know where it will be moved to next.
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Pathofthorns
I think Vicki will be awarded a judgement in her favor but not to the extent she could have with better legal representation. It would appear the judge is inclined to accept her complaint that being forced to attend the confrontations with her abuser was damaging but seems likely to reject her claim that she was prevented from getting professional help.
I think this is a shame because I believe both allegations could have been proven with a more competent lawyer.
But the verdict isn't in and no matter what happens, the case has been very damaging to the WT. Much probably has been learned for future cases and I'm sure the WT is very concerned for what lies on the horizon.
Vicki deserves alot of credit for seeing this through.
I'll let the others fill in the details.. There were some interesting moments.
Path
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hawkaw
Ken,
I will make a separate post using Yahoo News. That one doesn't disappear often.
Hold on
hawk
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hawkaw
I posted this on another thread but here is the article from yahoo ...
I am trying to get this in the Toronto Star for tomorrows paper. If any of you feel the need contact the Toronto Star's National desk at [email protected] and ask them to publish this story in their paper tomorrow. I have contacted them twice.
hawk
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/020923/6/p4ni.html
Monday September 23 5:43 PM EST
Closing arguments begin in Jehovah's Witness lawsuit; sexual coverup alleged
By JAMES MCCARTENTORONTO (CP) - In 1988, a terrified victim of childhood sex abuse - raised from birth as a Jehovah's Witness - did as allegedly instructed by church elders and confronted the abuser: her father.
In so instructing Vicki Boer, those elders shattered the life, faith and family of a formerly devoted Witness and ought to be held to account, Boer's lawyer argued Monday. "She was almost like a turtle without a shell," Charles Mark told Ontario Court Justice Anne Molloy during day-long closing arguments in the civil case, which has been sitting for more than two weeks.
"Her life had been built around the church, and because of the way this has been handled, her life is a mess."
Church elders Brian Cairns, Steve Brown and John Didur, along with the Watchtower and Bible Tract Society of Canada, should never have forced Boer to confront her father about the abuse, Mark said.
Instead, they should have reported the abuse to the Children's Aid Society and encouraged Boer to get counselling as soon as possible.
"If that had been done, none of the confrontations would have had to take place."
It was in keeping with the tenets of their faith that the elders in Shelburne, Ont., decided to compel Boer to confront her father, Gower Palmer, even though it was plain the idea of such a meeting was abhorrent to her, Mark said.
"The descriptions . . .are those of a person who is on the edge of suicide. That's the degree to which it frightens her."
For two weeks, Molloy has been getting a crash course in the ways of the Witnesses as Boer squares off against the church that shaped her life for more than 20 years.
Boer, now 31, alleges the defendants failed to get her adequate treatment for the abuse she suffered between the ages of 11 and 14 in the family home in Shelburne, about 100 kilometres northwest of Toronto.
Rather than immediately notify the Children's Aid Society and allow Boer to seek counselling outside the church, she was required, according to Biblical principles, to confront her father in 1988 and allow him to repent his alleged sins, the suit alleges.
"She was brought up (believing) that the church was what mattered; the rest of the world was a hostile (place) with which she should have no contact," Mark said Monday.
"She accepted this, as it had been instilled in her from youth."
But it was apparent throughout the day that Molloy was struggling with Mark's interpretation of the law.
"It's not like this was a professional disciplinary body," she said at one point about the three-member "judicial committee" that determined Palmer's punishment in 1989.
"This is to do with issues of spirituality; how does that differ from someone going to a confessional in a church and receiving absolution?"
Then later in the day, in response to Mark's suggestion that despite having free will, Boer had to follow the counsel of the elders: "You can always choose to say, 'I don't want this religion anymore,'" Molloy said.
"That is also an expression of free will, and one that, evidently, some people do choose."
Eventually, some six weeks after the allegations first surfaced, the case was reported to Children's Aid and the police, although no charges ever ensued.
Palmer, 58, continues to live in Shelburne.
The defendants, meanwhile, have argued strenuously that they never prevented Boer from seeking help or forced her to confront her father.
Their lawyers, expected to begin their final arguments Tuesday, have suggested that it was the abuse, not the ways of her church, that sent Boer down a rocky path in her adult life, one rife with job insecurity, sexual dalliances and emotional turmoil.
While victims of sexual abuse normally aren't identified in public, Boer has agreed to allow her name to be publicized as part of her effort to promote what she alleges in abuse within the confines of the church's congregations.
As part of their beliefs in a strict interpretation of Bible teachings, Jehovah's Witnesses reject anything political or "worldly" that distracts from their focus on Christ and the second coming, which they consider imminent.
Anyone who runs afoul of the religion's strictest tenets will find themselves excommunicated, often to such an extent that they're shunned by their own family.
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Quotes
If it is any consolation, the defence got in about 30 minutes of closing today, and the judge was as hard on them as she was on the Counsel for the Plaintiff.
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hawkaw
That's the idea Quotes.
The judge needs to undertsand what is going on and to really "test" counsels agruments.
I usually see this in Appeal cases but not in summary in trials. Maybe Commie Chris may wish to talk more to this.
One thing is for sure. This judge seems on the ball. I hope she will get a few court clerks to review the case law and grasp what she can and cannot do so that her decision is air tight. That will ensure Vicki gets a "fair" hearing.
I also think this Judge is really pissed at both counsel. Mr. Mark for his lack of giving her any case law to work with among other things. And of course pissed at Stevenson for all the ad hominem attacks against witnesses that has absolutely nothing to do with the case.
hawk
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Commie Chris
I have not appeared before Justice Malloy before, but I think she's a good judge. It is a shame if she does not get the relevance of disfellowshipping (this is one of the keys to winning this trial, IMO), but it is the job of counsel to ensure that the judge understands the key points by presenting plenty of evidence and case law.
Even if Vicki's lawyer fails to make a strong closing argument, and cannot refer the judge to relevant case law on the main points, some judges will (reluctantly) do their own research (or have a clerk do it) if they feel strongly that a party has been poorly represented. This may happen in this case. As I said, I think (I hope) that Justice Malloy realizes the importance of this case and genuinely wants to make the right decision, with or without the assistance of counsel.
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Flip
Regardless of how this trial concludes and after the object of Vicki's demise returns to its free pursuit of business as usual, if necessary has there been any thought given for Vickis recovery from this brutal foray?
Edited by - Flip on 24 September 2002 10:42:34