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
Barb Anderson's Court Hearing Update
by AndersonsInfo 68 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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AndersonsInfo
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cruzanheart
Thanks for the update! Now we wait . . . .
Hugs,
Nina
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candidlynuts
thank you for the update.
i know God will bless all of your efforts. if the wtbs takes molestation more seriously then already a big battle has been won.
i applaud your courage and in my opinion,I am proud to call you my sisters and brothers.
hugs
candy
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lonelysheep
Thank you for updating us! I will await the decision.
I admire your strength for not backing down from them and doing what's right.
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ezekiel3
We all appreciate you efforts. Your links are very informative:
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mouthy
Barb I met you at the Waterloo Inn in Canada with BRCI. Thanks for filling us in. I know you must realize how greatful the support group I chair are. it was a very couragous thing you did. I take my hat of to you.....
Good Bless you all
Grace Gough
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sf
{{{ tight hugs and kisses }}}
I'm gonna read your thread now. Just wanted to give salutations first.
Love, sKally
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purplesofa
Thanks for taking the time to let us know what is going on.
I only a few weeks ago heard this story for the first time, but have read much on it.
What alot of work!
Thanks again,
purps
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Miss_MG
Thank you for the update all we can do now is wait and pray
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Double Edge
Thanks for the update, and for doing what a lot of people fail to do.... take a STAND for that which is right, expecially in this case where it involves innocent children. You are our heroes!
May the Good Lord watch over you always...... peace..
D.E.