Legal Suggestion when facing Elders
There have been a number of posts stating that the Elders have called and requested a meeting. I guess that either there is a full moon out, or the Society has been putting the bug up the Elder's rectal orfice to chase down less than active JWs. So, rather than comment to each post, I thought I would make a general post.
I did successfully keep the Elders off my back for two years with a letter I wrote to the Society's Legal Dept. Were I to do it over again, I might have taken a slightly different approach if I wanted to maintain my ‘inactive’ status. The following is one way to deal with it, in the event that you want to avoid being Disfellowshipped or forcibly Disassociated:
1. DO NOT write anything yourself directly to the Elders.
2. When they call (or if they already have, then call them back) and AGREE to meet, but schedule it for 2 or 3 weeks out. This will buy you time. If they insist on meeting earlier, give them some reason why you cannot. But DO NOT meet before you have consulted with your lawyer.
3. Find a Lawyer right away. You can look in the Yellow pages under “A Guide to Attorneys” and select a Lawyer experienced in certain fields of law. If you cannot find one that deals with religious issues of this type, then contact your State Bar Association and request a referral.
4. If you cannot afford a Lawyer, ask your State Bar for a referral to an attorney who might consider taking your case Pro Bono (Means: For the Good – usually at no cost or on a sliding scale cost).
5. Have your Lawyer write ALL letters. Make sure that if She/He writes a Letter, that it be addressed to the Watchtower Legal Dept. in New York with a "copy" to the local Elders. Make sure you know which Elders want to meet with you and have the copy of your lawyer’s letter sent to these Elders at their home address via Certified and First Class mail.
6. Your Lawyer might then notify the Society (copy to the Elders) that they are to meet with you at your lawyer’s office. Get the Elders out of the Kingdom Hall.
7. At this point, the Society Lawyers will write back to your lawyer, and they will notify the local Elders to hold off while they work with your lawyer.
8. Be prepared to establish with your lawyer what it is you want to accomplish. If you want to leave the religion, but you want to stall or prevent any “official” action so you can still communicate with some relatives or friends still in the organization, then your lawyer will need to understand how the Elders will orally discourage association with you. He will need to structure his correspondence with the Society and Local Elders the language necessary to scare the Elders from talking about you. As long as you have not violated any Society rules that are DF offenses, then you stand a better chance of achieving your goals.
9. By writing to the Elders yourself, you are essentially submitting to their rules, and they can and will hold you accountable to their religious system. By having your lawyer do it for you, you are forcing them to deal with you on the terms that your lawyer sets.
10. Be aware that you may not accomplish what you want for a variety of reasons, such as timing ... the Elders might beat you to the punch and DF or DA your before you can act, or your lawyer might not be able to out maneuver the Society. Local JWs might get wind of what is happening (via Elder private gossip) and decide to shun you without any directive from the Elders.
11. Consider with your lawyer the benefits and drawbacks of a civil suit. If you have a case for libel or some other serious cause of action, then your Lawyer will be in the best position to move forward. At this point he/she might charge a contingency fee or require a retainer for his/her time and court filing fees, etc.
12. Discuss with your attorney the benefits and drawbacks of going to the media. For example: If you have solid evidence of a child molester being shielded by the JWs, or some other crime being hidden, this may help gain some additional leverage. The threat of going to the media can be a good way to alarm the Society and get them to force the Elders to back off. But it can back-fire because if the Society calls your lawyer's bluff, then you are forced to follow through. The local JWs will see this in the paper or on TV and may decide to shun you on their own choice. And, there is nothing you can do about that.
Edit: One more thing: Review the last several posts about going to the Elders. Some have provided excellent comments, and a sample form letter. Take these with you to your lawyer so he/she can see how others have approached the matter. Please work with your lawyer rather than directly with the Elders.
In a letter I received from the WTS Legal Dept, this was emphasized to me as a way to keep working with the Society. I will deal with this in my Exit Series, Part 15: The Watchtower Writes Back.
Hope the above helps.