For further clarification, CCJW is definitely used in other countries such as the UK. However in the UK it is not a charity. The lawsuits which are filed in the UK against the JW organization are filed against Watchtower of Britain, Watchtower of Pennsylvania, as well as the individual congregations involved.
I stay in close contact with the attorneys in the US, the UK and elsewhere, and even they have a tough time keeping up with all of the intricacies of the JW corporations. After the Fessler V Watchtower case in Philadelphia, I interviewed the jury as a group (10 jury members) - and asked them if they were confused by all of the various players involved (Watchtower, CCJW, the US Branch, etc) - and they unanimously exclaimed that they were very confused by all of these groups, which played a role in their opinion about Jehovah's Witnesses in general. 
John Redwood
JoinedPosts by John Redwood
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WTBTS and the CCJW ?
by Crazyguy inapparently they made this new corporation called the christian congregation of jehovah’s witnesses in the year 2001. this is the religious side of the cult and wtbts is the printing side and probably the money side.
since the gb think they are of the ccjw and have even stated their non affiliation with the wt is their a way that jws can use this to their advantage, maybe during a jc etc.?
i for example was baptized before 2000 so with the new corporation formed and the gb going to that side what could be argued during a jc?
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John Redwood
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Oddest front covers on Watchtower or Awake
by usualusername1 inin my comedy i want to show the audience a large version of some weird front covers from the watchtower or awake.. do you have any suggestions?.
cheers.
paul.
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John Redwood
@tahoe - Had to laugh at the Christmas cover, I recognized that scan right away - it was from my collection. Glad it's circulating around
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Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday two (wednesday 8 february 2017).
see also posts and threads regarding: pre-trial / day one / day one update / day five (last day, settlement).
jefferson: not totally.. zeff: okay.
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John Redwood
There are many issues at play here, but one of the core issues, which was also discussed in the Fessler trial, is the expectation of a member of clergy to report accusations of abuse to child protective services, and the police. This is a relatively simple issue.
However Watchtower intentionally complicates this issue, forcing elders to call the legal department instead of local authorities.
When a person becomes a member of the clergy (i.e. and elder) - there are very simple guidelines they can follow to make sure that the proper procedures are followed. There is a national website which allows anyone to click on the individual state and determine what the proper procedure is when there is a suspicion of child abuse. The side lists all mandatory reporters, and also gives a clear definition of exemptions from clergy privilege. The reality is that Watchtower legal department is not needed - what is needed is competent elders who follow the law whenever there is a report or confession of abuse. Elders are not allowed to think for themselves, which is a dangerous thing. Men who are window washers and carpet cleaners are dabbling in areas way beyond their experience. They are further prevented (or discouraged) by Watchtower from reporting certain matters because of Watchtower's policies.
An elder is supposed to be a shepherd, a judge, a leader - yet they are not allowed to think for themselves, and contact the police when necessary, and this is a recipe for absolute disaster.
During the Fessler trial, elder Hollingworth testified that he had no idea what clergy privilege was until he saw it mentioned on a TV show. He was utterly unprepared for how to handle such a serious matter. Watchtower argues that this is why they have a legal department. But this is not a valid argument when it comes to child abuse. The moment this information is shared with New York, and with other elders, clergy privilege is instantly violated - and for other reasons. There was no clergy privilege to begin with, since the elders went after Fessler and Monheim to conduct their own investigation. The private investigation which excluded civil authorities automatically killed their chance at claiming clergy privilege.
This is a no-win situation for Watchtower. Sadly, they could fix this problem very easily - but in so doing they would relinquish control over the actions of elders, and once they go down that road, the religion itself begins to fall apart. But - children must be protected, and if change comes at the expense of Watchtower, they only have themselves to blame. This has been going on for decades, but they insist on living by laws which are thousands of years old, antiquated and obsolete.
The next few years will see heavy activity in courtrooms across the US and elsewhere. Hopefully Watchtower will do the right thing and drastically revise their policies. The reality is, they have no choice.
JR
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Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday two (wednesday 8 february 2017).
see also posts and threads regarding: pre-trial / day one / day one update / day five (last day, settlement).
jefferson: not totally.. zeff: okay.
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John Redwood
For the record, I stated that a jury verdict could have resulted in a settlement of tens of millions, which would be followed by an appeal by Watchtower, which is well within their rights to do. Naturally we would expect that an appeal would take a significant amount of time, and possibly result in a reduction of the original amount awarded by the jury. We simply don't know, because this is hypothetical, and it never happened.
What did happen was that Watchtower settled for an undisclosed amount. That is the end of the story, and people are free to speculate all they want. I saw one blogger claim that she won 2 million dollars, but he admitted it was all speculation based on his personal experience with JW child abuse settlements. This means nothing. If the amount is not disclosed, then it is not disclosed. Period. All the guessing in the world will not give anyone the answer to this question.
Hence we need to concentrate on the facts. What happened both before and during the trial? Why did it happen? How does it relate to other cases? How will it affect Watchtower in future cases? How will it protect children in the future? Will awareness be heightened? Will Watchtower change its policies? These are all important questions which are open for discussion. Any settlement amount is not open for discussion.
In my case, I saw what happened, start to finish, and I will report the facts.
While I am certainly a supporter of Stephanie Fessler, I am also a supporter of truth an justice, which means I agree that Watchtower deserved a chance to defend itself in court. If they had provided evidence that they did indeed comply with state laws, I would have reported this, and you can be assured that the trial would have continued. However that is not what happened. We all know that Watchtower settled because they were unable, despite their best efforts, to defend themselves. They "cut their losses" and decided it was best to move on. This is their right, and they made an agreement which was accepted by the plaintiff.
At the beginning of this trial, judge Collins told the jury that she was the sole determiner of the law, but that the jury was the sole determiner of the facts of this case. The jury took this very seriously. Once the trial was complete, they voiced their opinions, and they made it clear that the elders and the organization had an obligation to report, but they failed to do so.
On multiple occasions, Watchtower attempted to object on 1st Amendment grounds, but was shut down every time. A strong message was sent that while religions have rights, they do not have the right to prevent a minor from receiving protection from civil authorities when there is a suspicion that they have been abused. The reality is that most religions agree with this, and they co-exist peacefully under the governments they are subject to.
Jehovah's Witnesses are a different animal. They are, according to their beliefs, not subject to any laws which oppose their interpretation of "Caesar's" laws, which is the source of their dilemmas. In the end, the powers which exist in this country and other civilized nations will, and are, prevailing against the dogmas which place our children, our minds, and our bodies at risk.
JR
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Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday two (wednesday 8 february 2017).
see also posts and threads regarding: pre-trial / day one / day one update / day five (last day, settlement).
jefferson: not totally.. zeff: okay.
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John Redwood
Fisherman - RE:
If Plaintiffs knew beforehand without a verdict from the Court that wt would be found legally liable by the Court, why did Plaintiffs agree to settle?
This is a complex issue since the settlement amount is not available to the public. What you have to understand is that in the end, the final decision is made by the victim, who is the Plaintiff, Stephanie Fessler. Whatever decision she makes to settle or not settle is her decision only. She feels that justice has been served, and so do I. The organization was held accountable for their mishandling of her case, and she wanted to send a message.
When all of us are held accountable for our actions, both personally and in religion or business, the world is a better place. In Stephanie's case, she would have, in my opinion, won a much larger amount, possibly in the tens of millions. However, Watchtower would have appealed, and this case would be tied up in the courts for a minimum of 2-3 years. There would have been hundreds and hundreds of files and documents generated over this period, and even with the judgment upheld, there Watchtower would find a way to delay the process as long as possible. I think she made the right decision. Not only was a final settlement reached, but we have four days of testimony from Watchtower, and thousands of pages of documents leading up to and including this trial, which we can review and discuss for years to come.
JR
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Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday two (wednesday 8 february 2017).
see also posts and threads regarding: pre-trial / day one / day one update / day five (last day, settlement).
jefferson: not totally.. zeff: okay.
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John Redwood
Thanks guys - I appreciate the comments. I have extensive information, which I will post on JW Survey, and I am sure that it will be transferred here as well as Reddit.
As for Stephanie, I have spoken to her quite a bit - she is a nice woman who truly was a victim here. No child should ever be denied the protection of the civil authorities who have decades of professional training, and who could have prevented the extreme trauma resulting from her abuse not being reported immediately.
Jehovah's Witnesses have a right to believe whatever they want as a religion, but when their members suffer due to the policies of this faith, we as a society have to draw the line and say no - we will not let this happen any longer.
JR
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Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday two (wednesday 8 february 2017).
see also posts and threads regarding: pre-trial / day one / day one update / day five (last day, settlement).
jefferson: not totally.. zeff: okay.
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John Redwood
Never a jw
Thanks for asking. There are several documentaries in progress right now. I can't give you details in this forum. When the time comes, we will publish information about the projects.
Regarding the case, I think your statement above is fairly accurate. Watchtower had already spent a significant amount of time and money on this case over the course of several years, and it was clear that they were unable to defend themselves against some of the strongest evidence I have seen in any case involving the non-reporting of child abuse.
Every organization has the right to defend themselves, and to be honest I was hoping for several more days of testimony. But the testimony we did witness was extremely insightful. The settlement reached will ultimately add to the growing archive of penalties against this organization and others who obstruct justice and fail to report such abuse of minors.
For the jury, what it came down to for them was one simple bottom line: The men who learned of the abuse of a minor were obligated to report the matter to authorities. It really is as simple as that. It's called doing the right thing, and those who obfuscate and defend inaction are more interested in attempting to defend their own personal viewpoint than in protecting victims. Some things are not that difficult to understand, and this case was a very good example of that.
JR
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Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday two (wednesday 8 february 2017).
see also posts and threads regarding: pre-trial / day one / day one update / day five (last day, settlement).
jefferson: not totally.. zeff: okay.
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John Redwood
The real issue in the Fessler case was failure to report suspicions or accusations of child abuse - that is what this entire trial came down to. Testimony (which I have yet to report on) from two elders, along with the detective who investigated and arrested Terry Monheim was undeniable, and could not be denied by the defense. Watchtower's own witness, Jefferson, made a fool of himself and the organization. The two elders who testified (there were others yet to testify) admitted knowledge of the relationship, at the very latest by 2005. They admitted to calling Watchtower's legal department, but not the police. Detective Layden testified that based on all information available to the elders at that time, there were no circumstances under which the elders or Watchtower should not have contacted the authorities. Layden testified on Friday the 10th and Monday the 14th. Following her testimony on the 14, Watchtower settled in an agreement with the plaintiff.
Watchtower had expended all of it's energy and strategies, and they all failed. There was really nothing left but for them to fold. To be honest, it was like watching a golf tournament during the peak of Tiger Woods's career. Everyone knew what the outcome was going to be, and it was not a fair fight.
I wished the trial had extended longer, if for no other reason than to see the additional elders testify, the parents of the victim, and Watchtower's expert witness who would provide evidence of Watchtower's net worth.
With an "apostate" on hand furiously taking notes, and a Hollywood producer entering the room on day 4, it became obvious to Watchtower that they needed to make a decision, and so they did.
What many do not know that after 2 continuous days of fighting the battle over whether elders were members of the clergy or not, Watchtower capitulated on the third day in a shocking admission to the judge and the entire court that elders were indeed clergy. I will be reporting further on this
JR
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Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday two (wednesday 8 february 2017).
see also posts and threads regarding: pre-trial / day one / day one update / day five (last day, settlement).
jefferson: not totally.. zeff: okay.
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John Redwood
Fisherman
Colorful commentary? Perhaps - we will let everyone be the judge of that.
There is no legal necessity here. This was a civil jury trial, and Watchtower and the other defendants were being judged by a jury of 10. We did not need an "injunction" - we needed a resolution for the victim, who was traumatized by the failure of elders to report abuse. The victim took the chance that she would receive zero money, after she turned down Watchtower's pre-trial offer of $100,000. She wanted justice, and to let the world know exactly what she went through.
If you want to read the facts leading up to this case, there are 3,000 pages available from the state of Pennsylvania. Study them. You can read them without passion, and without "colorful commentary."
When you read these documents, return with your opinion.
Regardless of the outcome, I can tell you that I personally interviewed the jury - and they were convinced of Watchtower's guilt. Their decision was unanimous, settlement or not
JR -
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Day 5 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Ends: Plaintiff settles in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial
by darkspilver inday 5 in court - and apparently the plaintiff stephanie fessler has decided to settle..... http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/02/jehovahs_witness_sexual_abuse.html.
jehovah's witness sexual-abuse-coverup lawsuit settled.
february 13, 2017 at 2:37 pm, updated february 13, 2017 at 2:44 pm.
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John Redwood
darkspilver,
Just for clarification, the trial was actually 4 days, and I was in court for every minute of this trial. The trial began on a Tuesday, then Wednesday, but we were snowed in on Thursday. Trial resumed on Friday, then Monday. By lunch on Monday Watchtower had folded its case and decided to settle. I will be providing further details, some of which you may have already read.
JR