Mr. Shilmer,
Obviously, your recommendations have nothing to do with fighting disfellowshipping, but with
establishing precedents or evidence for future court action
Since I do have considerable JC experience(1968-95), I considered your suggestions from the
standpoint of how they would be received by the committee and the effect on the hearings.
Questions 1-7 might test the patience of the chairman, but should be answered respectfully.
The request made in question 8 to have an advisor would of course be denied as per Society
policy. The request in question 9 for the elder to initial the written record of his responses
would be denied.
Your next series of suggestions would likely cause the hearing to be aborted. Once the defendant/
publisher/attendee refused to answer a direct question, the meeting would be over. The elders
would have to decide the case on the "evidence" they have or "wait on Jehovah" if they do not
have enough evidence.
The suggestions that I find most intriguing and workable in the jc setting are those with respect
to witnesses. Insisting on the testimony of eyewitnesses, not to the elders, but in front of the
defendant in the hearing is an obvious, but often ignored right. The normal ploy is for elders
to listen to charges against you by two or more witnesses, talk with the rest of the committee about what they've
been told and then collectively use that information to try to trap the defendant into a misstatement
or confession. The elders, of course, play the role of hostile witness, prosecutor and judge.
Your suggestion to be allowed to take copious notes should be allowed by reasonable elders, however
exasperating and tedious it would be. It will not only slow the proceedings down to a crawl, but it
should curtail needless pontificating and scripture-reading by the "shepherds".
The mention of notifying your attorney and the police may not strike fear in the elders, but it would
prompt a "How to proceed" call to Brooklyn.
I will take your word for it that this approach might give one legal recourse, but regardless, your
suggestions reinforce how unjust the whole setup is. It would take a very strong-minded, confident,
fearless JW to follow your program. Someone like that would probably already be gone.
tms