Here's my reply to Joel Engardio's e-mail to me:
July 8, 2005
Dear Joel,
Thank you for your reply of July 1st acknowledging the important issues I raised, although you did not address any of the issues I raised. Unfortunately, it appears to me that KNOCKING will not “tackle” even one of the issues that I brought up which Jehovah’s Witnesses “grapple with,” although you said "...we are sensitive to the valid criticisms of Jehovah's Witnesses.” These valid criticisms, which you are sensitive about, must be the unreported and covered-up child molestation, the unfair disfellowshipping practices resulting in shunning, and the misrepresentations about the blood doctrine and the Holocaust. Apparently, you believe that these valid criticisms are too much “inside baseball” for the average viewer, so you will not touch them. Are you saying if the program was made for Witnesses or former Witnesses, you would discuss these valid criticisms? What is a documentary for but to inform the uninformed about critical issues. For the most part, Jehovah’s Witnesses and former Jehovah’s Witnesses know about the criticisms, but the general public does not. Accordingly, I believe you as a producer, who should be free from bias, must inform the public of the valid criticisms as well as “humanizing” those who are criticized.
If you are not a follower of Jehovah’s Witnesses you sure seem like a supporter when you encouraged Witnesses to buy, at a special introductory rate, KNOCKING DVDs to show others, and said that you imagined Witnesses "...will enjoy the film and will want their extended family, neighbors, co-workers and classmates to take a look as well." This does not sound to me like the film will take on the critical issues that we have pointed out to you, the ones that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not want non-Witnesses to know about. From other things you said as well, I believe that you will present a “feel good piece” about Jehovah’s Witnesses because the film will mainly show the “ups and downs” of Witness families, such as “what it is like to have unbelieving or opposing family members,” or how divided families can find “find common ground.” I think that these are interesting aspects to consider, but they are not the critical issues we believe it is imperative to address in the film which might keep people from converting to such deceit.
It was never my intention to ask you to re-do the Dateline program. And I’m happy that KNOCKING will not “denigrate” Jehovah’s Witnesses. All I ask is that KNOCKING does not “promote” Jehovah’s Witnesses. That would be unfair journalism especially since you are using “public funds” to independently produce this film for PBS.
I will watch KNOCKING with an open mind and hope that my expressed opinions above are unjustified. It is my sincere wish that along with a compassionate film, you will also make a provocative one showing the non-Witness world the truth about the Witnesses’ world as it really is, one based on frequently changed fantasy beliefs, unfair treatment of critics, a child abuse mess, and misrepresentation in the matter of Jehovah’s Witnesses’ blood doctrine and organizational history, just to name a few.
Thank you for listening.
Barbara Anderson
AndersonsInfo
JoinedPosts by AndersonsInfo
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Producer of KNOCKING posts at my guest list, Barbara Anderson replies
by Dogpatch inthe following was posted at my guest list the other day, by a producer of a new documentary that is pro-witness and may go out on pbs.
i'm joel engardio, director of the project.
joel .
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AndersonsInfo
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Producer of KNOCKING posts at my guest list, Barbara Anderson replies
by Dogpatch inthe following was posted at my guest list the other day, by a producer of a new documentary that is pro-witness and may go out on pbs.
i'm joel engardio, director of the project.
joel .
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AndersonsInfo
I received this interesting e-mail from the producer of KNOCKING this afternoon. Should I reply?
Barbara -- Thank you for your letters. You raise some important issues, and I believe you do so with great agency since you spent so many years in service of Jehovah's Witnesses. The film KNOCKING will have criticism, organic to the unbelieving and opposing family members of the Jehovah's Witnesses our cameras follow. We interview both sides of the family in conjunction with the issues at hand. The intent of the film is to show a side of JWs that is not a cartoonish image. That means a full human treatment, including the ups and downs of day to day life of ordinary JWs put into extraordinary situations. This is the role of documentary film. Unfortunately, KNOCKING cannot tackle every issue that society in general, and the JWs in particular, grapple with. I understand your voice was heard on NBC Dateline in 2002, and that is a very far-reaching program to millions of viewers. Indeed, more than PBS. We cannot re-do the Dateline program. But we are sensitive to the valid criticisms of Jehovah's Witnesses. I encourage you to watch KNOCKING with an open mind. The program is not made for JWs or former JWs, that would be too much "inside baseball" for the average viewer. The program is for the public who only sees JWs on their doorstep from time to time, and might be curious about what is good and what is controversial about this group. KNOCKING takes a balanced approach. It does not promote nor does it denegrate.
Sincerely,
Joel Engardio -
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Read Barbara Anderson v. Watchtower Court Documents
by AndersonsInfo inif you are interested in reading barbara and joe anderson's court documents just as they were filed, you can now access them on www.silentlambs.org soon bill bowen will be scanning in the defendants' motions and briefs for your 'reading pleasure.'.
to access the documents look towards the top of the silentlambs home page and a few lines down on the left you will see today's date.
after the date, reading from left to right across the page is a line of subjects.
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AndersonsInfo
If you are interested in reading Barbara and Joe Anderson's Court Documents just as they were filed, you can now access them on www.silentlambs.org Soon Bill Bowen will be scanning in the Defendants' motions and briefs for your 'reading pleasure.'
To access the documents look towards the top of the silentlambs home page and a few lines down on the left you will see today's date. After the date, reading from left to right across the page is a line of subjects. The fourth subject you will see is "LEGAL" and that's where you click. When the "LEGAL" page opens, look to your left and see the words "Legal Assistance." Beneath these words on the left you will see a column of subjects. Click on the third subject down--"Barbara Anderson court documents" and you will see the following:
Anderson's Amended complaint filed 6-2-03
Anderson's opposition to Motion to Dismiss 6-2-03
Watchtower Reply Pdf format 8- 03
Anderson's oppostion to Motion to Dismiss 9-8-03
Court Decision In favor of Plaintiffs in WTs motion to dismiss 11- 3- 03
Anderson's Opposition to Motion for Interlocutory Appeal 1-6-04
Anderson's Appellate Court Brief Cover 8-11-04
Anderson's Appellate Court Brief 8-11-04
It's a lot of reading but very informative.
Barb and Joe -
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Who Was Shocked By the Watchtower UN NGO Scandal?
by AlanF in.
i'd like to get comments from people about whether and how much they were shocked, surprised, or otherwise bothered by the watchtower society's becoming an associated non-governmental organization (ngo).. note that i'd like to see these comments because they might lead to some interesting publicity, so please comment accordingly.. alanf
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AndersonsInfo
Yes sKally, "recruiting ploy" was what it was, although, at the time, such a thought never entered into my mind. I assumed the objective was to attract people to our organization through interesting and thought- provoking articles in the WT or the Awake!. As a thoroughly convinced JW, I didn't think it was devious to hide the "difficult things to understand," but offering positive thoughts was a good way to appeal to "spiritually hungry ones." It was how in my Bethel assignment I was "preaching the good news of the Kingdom." Now because of what I know about the history of Jehovah's Witnesses, I can say I was engaged in the preaching of "designed lies."
Barbara -
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Who Was Shocked By the Watchtower UN NGO Scandal?
by AlanF in.
i'd like to get comments from people about whether and how much they were shocked, surprised, or otherwise bothered by the watchtower society's becoming an associated non-governmental organization (ngo).. note that i'd like to see these comments because they might lead to some interesting publicity, so please comment accordingly.. alanf
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AndersonsInfo
When the story broke on the Internet that the Watchtower was an NGO affiliated with the UN's Dept. of Public Information (DPI), I was not shocked. And I had no doubts whatsoever that the information was true because in 1991, when I was part of Brooklyn Bethel's Writing Dept., Ciro Aulicino began to visit the United Nations every Wednesday afternoon. However, back then I didn't have a clue as to what was required to get Ciro his "visitor's pass."
Ciro's primary job in Writing was to locate misc. books and journals for the staff from outside of Bethel. He had not been a department staff writer for many years. I went to Ciro's office almost daily, except on Wednesday afternoon when he would take the subway to 42nd Street where the NYC central library was located. He went to that library to do research and pick up books. Ciro would post a note on his door every Wednesday afternoon informing the staff of his whereabouts, which said, "Gone to the City."
Sometime late in 1991 or early 1992, I clearly remember when Ciro told me he had added the United Nations to his schedule of places to go on Wednesday to pick up material for the Writing Department. When I asked him how he was able to get into the UN, he said he had received a special pass so he could use the UN facilities, including the library because the Watchtower was an international publishing concern. Having the pass meant that Ciro could go into certain areas that were off limits to the public and listen to UN meetings, that is, if he wanted to. At the time, I thought it was a great opportunity for the Writing Dept. to have access to the latest information about world affairs directly from the UN. However, I never connected the Sept. 8, 1991 Awake! magazine cover series of articles about the UN with Ciro's trips to the UN. That particular magazine was put in our Bethel rooms early in August and I just didn't think about it later when Ciro told me about his visits to the UN.
Soon after I read that Awake!, Ciro told me he wrote the UN articles and that Lloyd Barry directly assigned him to do so. He also asked me what I thought about them. I told him how impressed I was with his work. The approach was different and I especially liked the last paragraph on page 10 which omitted the negative view JWs had of the UN and endeavored to stir up the reader's interest by stating that the UN will do some very astonishing things that will amaze people. I mentioned that I hoped this statement might cause someone to study the Bible with JWs out of curiosity.
It used to take about seven months, counting from the time a WT staff writer received a magazine article assignment until the printing of the actual WT or Awake!. Accordingly, we can assume that this UN/NGO matter was in the works from the beginning of 1991 or before. Whose idea it was, I have no way of knowing, but I will say that there had to be many people at the very top of the organization who were deeply involved. Although only the Governing Body Writing Committee (at that time made up of GB members, Barry, Barr and Klein), was required to authorize the writing of the articles on the UN, Ted Jaracz also had to know about this UN/NGO business, because one of the signatures on the UN/NGO agreement was Robert Johnson, who was in the Service Department, which department Ted Jaracz directs. Bob was and still is a very important man in the Service Department, and Bob Johnson takes his marching orders from Ted Jaracz.
Although I once counted all of these people as my friends, after being quickly ousted by them from the organization when I went public about their flawed sexual child abuse policies, I was not shocked by their duplicitous decision to hookup with the UN. However, I was amazed that their preposterous conduct came to light, thanks to the Internet.
Barbara -
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Barb Anderson's Court Hearing Update
by AndersonsInfo ingreetings from tennessee.
thank you for your inquiries regarding the barbara anderson vs. watchtower tennessee appellate court hearing, which took place on thursday, april 14, 2005. accompanied by steve and joy imhof, from panama city beach, florida, and our attorney, jerre hood, from winchester, tennessee, we drove to nashville to attend the 1:00 p.m. scheduled appellate hearing.
this hearing was requested last year by defendants in the case, and they are: the numerous corporations of watchtower bible and tract society; watchtower spokespersons, j. r. brown, and david semonian, and certain elders of the manchester, tn congregation of jws.
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AndersonsInfo
Joker10,
I contacted Bill Bowen and read him your e-mail where you accuse him of being involved in anti-cult meetings, etc., in order to "crush" WatchTower. He said to tell you that his only interest is the exposure of organizations that do not protect children from pedophiles. When Bill speaks to the public or press, his topic is always the same--CHILD ABUSE. Since WatchTower has been found guilty by the preponderance of evidence of not protecting its members children from pedophiles, but, in effect, by their very policies they protect pedophiles, he does not shield them from the glare of public scrutiny.
Barbara -
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Barb Anderson's Court Hearing Update
by AndersonsInfo ingreetings from tennessee.
thank you for your inquiries regarding the barbara anderson vs. watchtower tennessee appellate court hearing, which took place on thursday, april 14, 2005. accompanied by steve and joy imhof, from panama city beach, florida, and our attorney, jerre hood, from winchester, tennessee, we drove to nashville to attend the 1:00 p.m. scheduled appellate hearing.
this hearing was requested last year by defendants in the case, and they are: the numerous corporations of watchtower bible and tract society; watchtower spokespersons, j. r. brown, and david semonian, and certain elders of the manchester, tn congregation of jws.
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AndersonsInfo
Really, Joker 10, we never once gave thought to any such idea that Bill Bowen was using his position as the spokesman of Silentlambs, an organization for child abuse victims, to CRUSH WatchTower by talking about other issues -- anti-cult seminars, Vh1 Special -- that have nothing to do with child abuse, until you brought it up here. You are making a very strong assertion. We saw Bill on the Vh1 special discussing Michael Jackson, but we are not at all familiar with his efforts with anti-cult seminars. However, what does it matter what we think about his activities anyway? Who are we to pass judgment on Bill because he elects to speak about issues which he believes are important and need addressing? And we are beyond trying to read into the minds of others from what we observe when our standards are just that -- ours.
We would never think of infringing on his right to speak about whatever issues are dear to him. From our dealings with Bill, we found him to be a very caring person, a good man, just as we are caring and good people. How else can we explain spending the majority of our lives trying to help others learn about God, such as you are no doubt doing. For good people it is very uncomfortable to be in the presence of or to know of someone in pain and not be able to do anything about it. It is the benevolence or concern for those we worked side by side preaching with and their children, which propels Bill and ourselves, not the crushing of an organization.
If you believe that Bill Bowen has as his motive to crush WatchTower, that is your opinion. If you really want to know what the aims of Bill Bowen are, ask him. We believe in freedom of expression. And we are people who speak from knowledge and also from the heart.
Thank you for your kind wishes that things go well for us and our family.
Barbara and Joe -
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Barb Anderson's Court Hearing Update
by AndersonsInfo ingreetings from tennessee.
thank you for your inquiries regarding the barbara anderson vs. watchtower tennessee appellate court hearing, which took place on thursday, april 14, 2005. accompanied by steve and joy imhof, from panama city beach, florida, and our attorney, jerre hood, from winchester, tennessee, we drove to nashville to attend the 1:00 p.m. scheduled appellate hearing.
this hearing was requested last year by defendants in the case, and they are: the numerous corporations of watchtower bible and tract society; watchtower spokespersons, j. r. brown, and david semonian, and certain elders of the manchester, tn congregation of jws.
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AndersonsInfo
Good questions, Gerard.
Regarding whether we had asked to be reinstated, if you will take a few minutes and go to Randy Watters Freeminds website and click on Barbara Anderson Anecdotes and read LEGALLY ESTABLISHING AND DEFENDING THE TRUTH, there you will find reinstatement briefly discussed. It was WT attorneys who brought this subject up in one of their briefs, contrary to what was stated in our Complaint. I never asked to be reinstated because I was not guilty of committing any of the sins outlined in 1 Cor 5:11-13. I did not fornicate, lie, steal, etc.; hence, I was wrongfully punished.
An apology from WT would be wonderful, but since this does not seem to be the way this organization handles its errors, we thought that perhaps a lawsuit might make an impression on them as to the harm they caused us, our family, my reputation here in the Bible Belt, and to my health, etc. Later, when there is opportunity, Bill Bowen of Silentlambs will put on his site our filed Complaint, along with filed WT motions and our filed responses. We are sure you will find them extremely interesting reading.
As to why I have not taken legal action against the WT in regards to the information I gathered on child abuse, I wish I could answer that question now, but I can not. We are in the middle of litigation and there are many things that can not be said. I hope that you respect my position in this matter at this time.
As we said in our appellate court hearing summation, we know that WT has changed its attitude in one area of the sexual child abuse issue, and also moved forward to implement some rules that would better protect children and help root out child abusers. I might add that these new rules also help protect the organization from liability. Whether all men in positions of authority in the congregations will do the right things in this matter, who can say with certainty. We are hopeful because there are many good JW men. Although the WT organization has, to our knowledge, not ceased to apply their TWO WITNESS rule, if sexual abuse victims or their caregivers are free to go to the police with their accusations without any penalty, then, as far as we are concerned, WT elders can continue to use their so-called Bible-based rule to sit in judgment of an accused person within a congregational setting to decide whether to disfellowship or not. What they can not do is ignore the authorities, and apply this rule to pronounce guilt or innocence as if they were appointed magistrates in a court of law.
You asked if it occurred to me that WT lawyers are just stating that men who are accused of molestation will be immediately removed from positions of authority just to get their client off the hook? I sincerely hope not. We have heard that it is now the policy of the WT to do just what I said they are doing and some elders have backed that statement up. We certainly do not believe what WT states that they are doing is a done deal, just like we don't believe the words the Catholic Church uses -- words that are really only good intentions, which have not yet solved their pedophile priest cover-up problem. It is deeds we look for.
It is up to good people to be vigilant and look out for the welfare of children. With revelations of so much sexual child abuse in our midst, all of us have been forced to take off our rose-colored glasses and realize that there are evil people who have used the WT religious organization for their own ends, and that there are WT leaders who have allowed these people to get away with it because they refused to accept reality or worse.
You ask, "What about the dozens of sexual abuse cases that were covered and silenced? Will justice be made? Will you help?" I know without a doubt that it is more than dozens of cases. But, the past is past. For most victims, statutes of limitations have run out, but lawyers are doing the best they can by representing a few dozen good cases which will, in a way, represent hundreds or probably thousands of victims. Now we have to let the courts settle this, and if found guilty, the WT and/or its representatives will have to pay damages because they were not vigilant and caring, nor did they clearly teach their elders to consistently obey the reporting laws set up by governments, or even encourage WT members to do so.
Is there justice? An attorney friend of ours said once that there is no such thing as justice, there are only statutes. If a person is found guilty of violating a statute, he has to bear the consequences. We are doing what we can to bring to the attention of the world those who have violated the statutes that involve the reporting or coverup of sexual abuse of children. When I went forward with this cause, it was, as I told the press, to complain about WT policies because they were inadequate and did not protect children. Rather, WT policies, I believe, did just the opposite--they helped protect the molesters. Now it is up to WT, and other organizations too, to make sure their policies protect children. So we watch as religious and other organizations move forward in this regard. Are they changing their attitudes and policies? Surely, it is in the best interests of everyone concerned to do so.
With much sincerity,
Barbara -
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Barb Anderson's Court Hearing Update
by AndersonsInfo ingreetings from tennessee.
thank you for your inquiries regarding the barbara anderson vs. watchtower tennessee appellate court hearing, which took place on thursday, april 14, 2005. accompanied by steve and joy imhof, from panama city beach, florida, and our attorney, jerre hood, from winchester, tennessee, we drove to nashville to attend the 1:00 p.m. scheduled appellate hearing.
this hearing was requested last year by defendants in the case, and they are: the numerous corporations of watchtower bible and tract society; watchtower spokespersons, j. r. brown, and david semonian, and certain elders of the manchester, tn congregation of jws.
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AndersonsInfo
Hey everybody,
We are pleased with all of your encouraging responses. Also, we perceive by the number of people, who are reading the summation of our latest court hearing that there is much interest in this lawsuit. Please continue to respond as we welcome your thoughts, pro and CON, for that matter. We learn from your input, suggestions, and direction. We welcome any private messages, too. Some of you have already e-mailed. We might not answer all messages, but if you have some constructive thoughts and ideas on this lawsuit that you want to share, please let us hear from you.
Although no one has been critical of our appraisal of the appearance of Phil Brumley at the court hearing, be assured that we did not mean to portray him in any negative way. We were just so surprised at such a huge change in his demeanor and countenance after all these years. Perhaps life at the Patterson WT headquarters might account for this. To be fair, Phil Brumley, as overseer of WT Legal Dept., has had a high-stress desk job for many years. In addition, because he works and lives within a very small community of buildings, there is little opportunity for lots of walking to get needed exercise, which certainly can work off stress and tension.
In Brooklyn Heights, where Phil used to live, the Bethel family does a lot of walking, and that helps to keep them slim and in better health. When we lived in Brooklyn, we used to comment about the numerous old, old, old Brooklyn and NYC residents that could be seen every day walking to the shops, etc. How did they get to be so old? Probably by walking, walking, walking! Interestingly, when our son was transferred from Brooklyn Bethel to Patterson Bethel, when he was in his 30s in the mid 90s, he also gained weight and, by the way, lost the rest of his hair! Maybe it is something in the Patterson water supply!
Oh, by the way, from time to time, we will be using AndersonsInfo to share information that we think might be interesting to all of you who have had their lives deeply touched by the Watchtower organization, so stay tuned.
Barbara and Joe -
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Barb Anderson's Court Hearing Update
by AndersonsInfo ingreetings from tennessee.
thank you for your inquiries regarding the barbara anderson vs. watchtower tennessee appellate court hearing, which took place on thursday, april 14, 2005. accompanied by steve and joy imhof, from panama city beach, florida, and our attorney, jerre hood, from winchester, tennessee, we drove to nashville to attend the 1:00 p.m. scheduled appellate hearing.
this hearing was requested last year by defendants in the case, and they are: the numerous corporations of watchtower bible and tract society; watchtower spokespersons, j. r. brown, and david semonian, and certain elders of the manchester, tn congregation of jws.
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AndersonsInfo
Greetings from Tennessee.
Thank you for your inquiries regarding the Barbara Anderson vs. Watchtower Tennessee Appellate Court hearing, which took place on Thursday, April 14, 2005. Accompanied by Steve and Joy Imhof, from Panama City Beach, Florida, and our attorney, Jerre Hood, from Winchester, Tennessee, we drove to Nashville to attend the 1:00 P.M. scheduled appellate hearing. This hearing was requested last year by Defendants in the case, and they are: the numerous corporations of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society; Watchtower spokespersons, J. R. Brown, and David Semonian, and certain elders of the Manchester, TN Congregation of JWs.
In Nashville, we met our lead attorney, J. Edward Bell III, from Georgetown, South Carolina, and went to lunch. Bill Bowen of silentlambs.com drove in from Paducah, Kentucky to join us. This was the first time Bill met our extraordinary attorneys, who have long wanted to meet the man who has and still is sacrificing so much to help victims of sexual child abuse at the hands of Jehovah Witness molesters.
We were a happy group. And how could we not be since we knew that due to the efforts of our little luncheon group, along with the efforts of many others, the Watchtower organization is a much safer place for the children of Jehovah's Witnesses. Now Watchtower representatives (elders, circuit and district overseers, and men in authority located in Bethels throughout the world), treat the accusation of molestation made by one of JWs or their children as the crime it is, and are not permitted to dissuade anyone from reporting the accusation to the police. We are pleased that the Watchtower has made it a priority to look out for the welfare of its members children by immediately removing men from positions of authority when an accusation of molestation has been made.
For those who are not familiar with the events that led up to this appellate court hearing on April 14th, I filed a civil lawsuit against the above Defendants on November 7, 2002, and which my husband, Joe, joined June 2, 2003. (If you want to read details of our lawsuit, go to Randy Watters, Freeminds.Inc web site and click on BARBARA ANDERSONS ANECDOTES FROM BETHEL and then click on LEGALLY ESTABLISHING AND DEFENDING THE TRUTH.) On August 8, 2003, Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss. On October 6, 2003, a hearing was held in Manchester, TN. To sum up the major argument of the Defendants: It is not permitted in this country for a court to inquire into church discipline for whatever reason.
On November 3, 2003, the judge ruled that the Plaintiffs could go forward with the lawsuit. This meant we could progress with discovery, depositions, etc. However, our attorneys were notified on November 26, 2003 that Watchtower attorneys filed a Motion for Interlocutory Appeal, which meant they were appealing the decision of the judge. The reason for appeal was on the grounds of lack of subject matter jurisdiction with regards to the 8th cause in our action -- Wrongful Disfellowshipping. The lawyers for both sides went back to the local court in Manchester, Tennessee on February 5, 2004 to argue for and against. On March 23, 2004, our lawyers were notified that the judge, who denied the Defendants Motion to Dismiss, stayed all proceedings pending the resolution of the appellate process, which finally was addressed April 14, 2005 in the Tennessee Appellate Court in Nashville.
When we first sat down inside the small courtroom, we saw about ten or more on the Defendants side, along with their attorneys. One of the attorneys was Paul Polidoro, the lead attorney of the Watchtower from headquarters in Patterson, NY, and the other attorney was Robert Harvey, who is their Nashville, Tennessee attorney, from the firm of WALLER LANSDEN DORTCH & DAVIS. From where we were sitting we did not recognize the third attorney. However, imagine our surprise when we heard the name of Phil Brumley, also from New York headquarters, being introduced to the three justices. We knew Phil when we were in Brooklyn Bethel, and because his appearance had changed so dramatically since 1993, we did not recognize him. He has lost most of his hair and gained considerable weight, plus, add to that the aging process, along with his facial features seemingly frozen into a mask of perpetual solemnity, to me he looked like a close relative of Ted Jaracz,. We were immediately flattered that Phil Brumley, the HEAD OF THE WATCHTOWER LEGAL DEPARTMENT, so honored us by coming to the hearing, but soon remembered someone telling us that Phil had relatives in the Nashville area.
Each lead attorney had fifteen minutes to argue in behalf of their clients, and Defendants attorney had an additional two minutes for rebuttal. Attorney for the Defendants, Paul Polidoro, went first because his side filed the motion. He appeared to be reading his entire argument from a manuscript, although he did well extemporaneously speaking when questioned by one of the justices. Paul is a polished and experienced speaker, and it is no wonder he was chosen in the past by Watchtower leaders to argue before the U. S. Supreme Court in behalf of JWs.
And what did Paul Polidoro say in appellate court that day? Much of the same argument he has been using in each court appearance since we filed our Complaint: Constitutional doctrine of Ecclesiastical Abstention prohibits a secular court from exercising jurisdiction into church decisions and requires dismissal of our lawsuit. If I remember correctly, he did not address any issues other than the complaint of slander that I charged Defendants with, which he said lacked merit. This was because my name was not mentioned in a particular newspaper, where Watchtower representative, J. R. Brown, said that the four of us, who were being summoned to judicial hearings and were being charged with SINS, did not mention any names.
Our lead attorney, Mr. Bell, emphasized, I might add, with some passion, that we were not asking the court to inquire into any church decision; that our complaint was in regard to secular issues. He reminded the justices that I was a whistleblower who appeared on Dateline to accuse the Defendants of covering up a large molestation problem and of protecting molesters within the church.
Mr. Bell called attention to the local media statements which had discussed the subject of JW disfellowshipping primarily due to my summons to a JW judicial committee hearing held before the Dateline program aired on May 28, 2002. He pointed out that Tennessee media directly quoted Watchtower representatives saying that the basis for disfellowshipping is found in 1 Corinthians 5:11-13 where it states that fornicators, drunkards, extortioners, etc., had to be put out of the church (disfellowshipped) and shunned. Mr. Bell said that when JWs disfellowshipped me and quoted publicly 1 Cor. 5:11-13 as the reason for disfellowshipping, they were, in effect, saying I was a WHORE or worse. He continued by arguing that the Defendants wanted me to be disfellowshipped and discredited by the time Dateline was shown so JWs would not believe my accusations about the church. He added that in JWs view, only unrepentant sinners are disfellowshipped and that would mean I was an unrepentant sinner, who should not be given credence.
Mr. Bell asked the justices to send this case back to the lower court where we can establish our claim (or establish a matter of record) through the discovery process, depositions, etc.; After that process, then it would be appropriate for the Defendants to file a motion for summary judgment where that court could consider the variety of issues presented, most of which could not be considered in a motion to dismiss.
The justices asked a few questions of both sides and it seemed to us that they did not completely understand the complex issues at stake. One justice asked Mr. Bell why did Plaintiffs list in their Complaint the 8th cause -- wrongful disfellowshipping -- if there is no Tennessee statute or jurisdiction to address this issue. Mr. Bell, in substance, said that if there does not exist a statute to address a wrong, than the court has to examine evidence to see if one is needed.
Immediately after the hearing was over, we filed out to the front lobby. However, Bill Bowen did not follow but went up to Phil Brumley, who was standing with the Watchtower Defendants, and offered him a little stuffed lamb. Phil refused the lamb and told Bill he would rather not talk to him. Bill then told Phil that the lamb represented all the people he hurt by what he did, and although he refused it, he will see a lot more lambs wherever he went. And to remember they represent the children he has hurt. Shame on you! Bill said. Quickly, Rob Harvey, the Defendants Nashville attorney came over to Bill and told him to step away from his client. Bill told Mr. Harvey that Phil was not his client, he was a lawyer! And just like Mr. Brumley, Mr. Harvey hurts children by what he does. And with that said, Bill turned and walked away.
Later, our attorneys advised us that it is very difficult to determine the way the justices will decide from what was said in court. So we are content not to speculate, but to patiently wait the four weeks to two years that it could take to receive a decision.
For your scrutiny, when the transcript of the hearing becomes available, I will make it available to Bill Bowen to post on silentlambs.com.
Barbara Anderson