Posts by Richard Oliver

102

Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial

by darkspilver in

day 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.

Richard Oliver

Yes ScenicViewer:

It does matter if more than one person knows about it and each are mandatory reporters. In California the statute prescribes the following when multiple mandatory reporters:

When two or more persons, who are required to report have joint knowledge of a known or suspected instance of child abuse or neglect, and when there is agreement among them, the telephone report may be made by a member of the team selected by mutual agreement and a single report may be made and signed by the selected member of the reporting team.

Also in some states it is required that the information be transmitted to the person in charge and that is the extent of the reporting requirement.

If a person is required to report child abuse because that person attends to a child as part of the person’s duties as an employee of or volunteer at a hospital, school, social agency, or similar facility, that person shall notify the person in charge of the facility, or the designated delegate thereof, and the person so notified shall report or cause a report to be made in accordance with this section. An employee or volunteer who makes a report to the person designated shall be deemed to have fully complied with this subsection

102

Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial

by darkspilver in

day 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.

Richard Oliver

I know that many of you want to hide your head in the sand and think that the moral thing and the legal thing is the same thing. But it is not. That is not how the law works. There are a number of technicalities that make the legal thing not the moral thing. Just like some have claimed that elders should never not give their names when reporting these instances, and again that is why they are instructed to call the legal department, is because each statute has a requirement. Some states require that a name be given and some statutes require no name, just an investigation would automatically start. Paul Polidoro said under oath in a deposition before Irwin Zalkin, that the reason that Elders are instructed to call Legal is not to hide the case but to ensure that the case is handled properly. Some statutes require if multiple people find out about an instance, that all of those individuals must report, or only one has to report or the first person has to report, or a supervisor has to report or the head of an organization has to report it. It is the technicalities of the law hat require a consultation with counsel before a report can be made.

102

Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial

by darkspilver in

day 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.

Richard Oliver

Also, I have seen statements that the disclosure of information to a third party by the clergy member destroys the privilege. In People v Bragg, the Michigan Appeals court ruled that even though the Baptist Minister divulged the information to the victim and their family, that did not destroy the privilege. Only the communicant can revoke the privilege and allow the minister to testify. The minister even indicated, in a sense, that it was his moral duty to report the confession to the victim and to the authorities. He testified:

He immediately qualified his statement, indicating that disclosing the “confidential” communication with the victim's familyand the police was not a violation of Baptist doctrine and was “the right thing to do.” Vaprezsan indicated that part of dealing with the “aftermath” was to notify the victim's family of defendant's admission so that they could pursue legal recourse.

The court rejected the privilege and allowed the minister to testify. When the defendant was found guilty of a horrific rape and child abuse case, he appealed the decision to allow the priest confession in.

Unlike other evidentiary rules that exclude evidence because it is potentially unreliable, privilege statutes shield potentially reliable evidence in an attempt to foster relationships.... While the assurance of confidentiality may encourage relationships of trust, privileges inhibit rather than facilitate the search for truth.... Privileges therefore are not easily found or endorsed by the courts. “The existence and scope of a statutory privilege ultimately turns on the language and meaning of the statute itself.”

The court also ruled that the minister could not waive the privilege even though he felt that it was the moral thing to do.

"It is well settled that privileges belong to the holder alone and may be waived only by the holder."

John Redwood:

You may want to be careful. You stated:

In Stephanie's case, she would have, in my opinion, won a much larger amount, possibly in the tens of millions.

I am sure you were not told. But it could be construed that there was the possibility that you were told the final settlement amount. That would be a violation of the non-disclosure clause that have been reported as part of the settlement, that would cause sanctions against the plaintiff and their counsel if that clause was violated.

26

Bethel Library moving to Warwick, are older items 'vanishing'

by Lostandfound in

in a post re dates etc from fatfreek reference was made to huge library at bethel with items dating back to pastor rs day.

like the year 1975 which has vanished from wt theology, are gb using move to let them put all old and inconvenient items into some sort of cold storage and off library shelves.

already the revelation book has gone from the orgs website, and that was quite recent relatively, we studied it 3 times at congregation book study, yet now, like type and antitype it mysteriously was never there.

Richard Oliver

All three US Branch facilities have a full library with either original or reproductions of every book and magazine produced by Watchtower. So there are always copies somewhere else if someone really wanted to find it.

102

Day 2 - Fessler vs. Watchtower – Thomas Jefferson Jr takes the stand in Jehovah’s Witness Child Abuse Trial

by darkspilver in

day 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.

Richard Oliver

John Redwood:

Is JWSurvey going to post the full unabridged transcripts from this case?