Sharon Rondeau @ The Post & Email: PETITIONING GOVERNMENT NOW A CRIME PUNISHABLE WITH PRISON TIME
Tuesday, 1 July 2014
Click on the illustration for Managing Editor Sharon Rondeau’s full Post & Email report
– The Post & Email – http://www.thepostemail.com –
Should Judge Blackwood Be Criminally Prosecuted?
Posted By Sharon Rondeau On Monday, June 30, 2014 @ 1:57 PM In National |
PETITIONING GOVERNMENT NOW A CRIME PUNISHABLE WITH PRISON TIME
by Sharon Rondeau
(Jun. 30, 2014) — 12:40 p.m. EDT – The petition launched at change.org on Sunday calling upon the Tennessee judiciary to cease and desist its illegal arrest, charging and conviction of innocent citizens for attempting to expose government corruption has garnered 55 signatures as of this writing.
The petition specifically demands that Senior Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood vacate the verdict of a jury from last Tuesday which convicted CDR Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III (Ret.) of “aggravated perjury” and “extortion” after attempting to petition the McMinn County grand jury with evidence of crimes committed by the judges, prosecutors and grand jury foremen of Tennessee’s Tenth Judicial District.
One of the signers, Col. Harry Riley (Ret.), is founder of Operation American Spring (OAS) and has called upon numerous federal officials to resign their posts for violations of their oaths to the U.S. Constitution. In a comment left under his signature on Monday, Riley stated:
Judicial illegal activity has become tyranny in the U.S. What is the matter with “we the people” in Tennessee?? These judges, prosecutors, jury foreman are criminals that should be prosecuted.
Since late 2009, Fitzpatrick has exposed systemic corruption in the Tennessee courts which has been borne out by many other victims and members of the Tennessee House of Representatives and Senate. In Tennessee, no private citizen can bring evidence or a criminal complaint to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) or the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee, as The Post & Email has recently re-confirmed.
For decades, criminal court judges have been appointing grand jury foremen, who often exert undue influence on the grand jury, which affects whether or not they issue an indictment against an accused. Last Tuesday, Fitzpatrick’s conviction was issued as a result of of a tainted grand jury which, in January, had been prejudiced by then-McMinn grand jury foreman Jeffrey Cunningham and then voted to indict Fitzpatrick in March.
Blackwood refused to consider that the grand jury’s indictment of Fitzpatrick was affected by Cunningham’s informing of them of Fitzpatrick’s “history” in January and the escorting of the grand jury members out of the courthouse after Fitzpatrick was asked to leave, giving them the impression that he was a dangerous person.
One grand jury said in sworn testimony in a pre-trial hearing in the Fitzpatrick case that she voted to indict because she herself felt “threatened” by Fitzpatrick based on what she had been told.
Blackwood upheld the indictments and the convictions.
Prosecutor A. Wayne Carter claimed that Fitzpatrick lied in petitions he attempted to submit to the grand jury over a period of months and which were blocked by Cunningham, but in sworn testimony last Monday, Cunningham stated that Fitzpatrick made no misstatements.
Fitzpatrick’s attorney, Van Irion, claimed that Fitzpatrick had exercised his constitutional right to petition his government for the redress of grievances under the First Amendment, “to do what the law plainly allows.”
During his closing argument at the trial, Carter objected to Fitzpatrick’s having worn his Navy uniform to the trial, although a congressional statute allows retirees to do so.
The Post & Email launched a second petition at whitehouse.gov here:
http://wh.gov/l6S38
urging that the FBI be tasked with launching a criminal investigation into public corruption in Tennessee, which has been ranked third in corruption in a recent research study.
Since at least 1980, Blackwood has participated in choosing grand jury foremen who have worked for years and sometimes decades in violation of Tennessee code.
The conviction of a citizen without a proper trial is called “attainder.”
Assaults on the First Amendment have increased under the Obama regime to include as targets veterans, homeschoolers, religious freedom groups, Second Amendment advocates, Tea Parties, traditional marriage and pro-life groups.
As a result of Tuesday’s verdict, in Tennessee and the nation as a whole, petitioning the government for redress is now a crime punishable by prison time. How many are willing to live with that?
© 2014, The Post & Email. All rights reserved.
Article printed from The Post & Email: http://www.thepostemail.com
URL to article: http://www.thepostemail.com/2014/06/30/should-judge-blackwood-be-criminally-prosecuted/
Van Irion seeks 10th Criminal Court Judge position! VOTE FOR VAN!
Saturday, 28 December 2013
Van Irion seeks 10th Criminal Court Judge position
10TH DISTRICT, BRADLEY COUNTY NEWS, CRIMINAL COURT JUDGE SEEKS TENNESSE 10th JUDICIAL DISTRICT CRIMINAL COURT JUDGE POSITION!
(JAG HUNTER note: Counselor Irion is running for the position presently held by Judge Amy F. Armstrong Reedy!)
Quoted from The Bradley County News ~ December 27, 2013 at 8:37 AM (LINK)
Van Irion seeks 10th Criminal Court Judge position
Van Irion has announced his intent to run for the 10th Criminal Court Judge position.
This is most welcome news to the many hopeful in the area that have waited for this announcement with much anticipation and have a great fondness for Van Irion, pronounced “ear ee on.”
I am most pleased to announce that Van Irion is running for Criminal Court Judge in the 10th which spans four counties, Bradley, Polk, McMinn and Monroe.
I have spent many hours with Van and his family and can safely say he is the real deal.
I have seen him in lows as well as highs and he has always remained focused, diligent and head strong to complete the task at hand.
I have shared the National stage with him marching from DC, to Atlanta and to Lubbock Texas as a Lead Plaintiff in a class action lawsuit aimed to stop the dreaded rollout of nationalized healthcare.
We have shed tears of joy and and have also traveled the eastern US hemisphere, much of the 10th District and the 3rd Congressional District in pursuit of our goals. Gone door to door with him to countless homes spreading the message. I call Van Irion a close friend and can tell you there are few finer than him.
I have vetted him and he is a man of great integrity, honor and trustworthiness. He will make a fine Judge representing the 10th Criminal Court Judge division, he will do so impartially and with integrity.
Tell your friends, light up the social airways with this news, VAN IRION for 10th Criminal Court Judge.
Share and then share some more and on election day, get out and pull the lever for Van Irion.
A word from Van Irion:
Do not be unjust in judging — show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.
Leviticus 19:15
Thank you for taking the time to consider my candidacy for the position of Criminal Court Judge for Tennessee’s 10th District.
I am deeply committed to the rule of law. As an experienced attorney I have always maintained a commitment to fairness for all participants. As Criminal Court Judge I will uphold the Tennessee and United States Constitutions fairly and impartially, treating all participants in the court process with dignity and respect.
With your support, I hope to serve all of you as Criminal Court Judge for the Tenth Judicial District of Tennessee.
I respectfully ask for your support and for your vote. In the meantime, if you have any questions or want to get more involved please contact me.
Sincerely,
Van Irion
Van Irions experience:
Van Irion is an experienced attorney, admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, the District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, and all State Courts in Tennessee. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee School of Law, Transactions Attorney for the University of Tennessee Research Foundation, and Lead Counsel and Founder of Liberty Legal Foundation.
Prior to becoming an attorney Mr. Irion was a Medical Researcher at the University of California School of Medicine and then founded a biotech company.
Mr. Irion served in the US Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller at USAF Little Rock Air Force Base then continued to serve his community as a volunteer Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician.
EXPERIENCE
• Federal and State Courts
As lead attorney Van has litigated jury trials and bench trials in both state and federal courts. Mr. Irion has litigated several cases to the United States Supreme Court. He has handled criminal and civil cases in Tennessee’s Family courts, Juvenile courts, Sessions courts, Circuit courts, Chancery courts, Criminal Court of Appeals and Civil Court of Appeals. He has also practiced before the Tennessee and Georgia State Supreme Courts, the 6th and 9th U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals, and U.S. District Courts in Tennessee, Virginia, Texas, Arizona, and California. He has also handled arbitrations, mediations, bankruptcy challenges, and administrative court matters.
• Attorney for UT
For several years Van served as a transactions attorney for the University of Tennessee Research Foundation where he managed the University’s patent portfolio. Van drafted and executed intellectual property licensing agreements and negotiated multi-million dollar contracts for the University.
• Law Professor
Van taught the next generation of lawyers while serving as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Tennessee School of Law.
• Former Medical Researcher
Prior to becoming an attorney, Mr. Irion worked in the genetics and medical research fields both in the public and private sectors, including the University of California School of Medicine and University of Tennessee Research Foundation. He has co-authored several peer reviewed scientific research articles. (listed below).
• U.S. Military Veteran
Mr. Irion is proud to have served in the US Air Force as an Air Traffic Controller at the USAF, Little Rock Air Force Base.
• Volunteer Firefighter and EMT
For several years Mr. Irion served as a volunteer Firefighter and licensed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).
• Former Congressional Candidate
In 2010 Van ran for Congress in the Republican primary for Tennessee’s 3rd Congressional District. During his campaign, Van was endorsed by Congressman Ron Paul. He was also endorsed by speech writers and other staff of the Reagan White House.
• Lead Counsel and Founder
For three years Van served as the Lead Counsel and Founder of Liberty Legal Foundation. The mission of Liberty Legal Foundation was to strengthen Constitutional protections against governmental abuses by challenging federal court precedents that had diminished the original intent of our Founding Fathers.
Education
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, Sacramento, CA
Juris Doctor, With Distinction, May 2005
Law Journal: The Transnational Lawyer
Dean’s Scholarship Recipient, 2002-2005
Dean’s Honor Roll, 2003, 2004 & 2005
Academic Achievement Award, 2004
Witkin Award – Top Class Ranking, Contracts, 2003
Witkin Award – Top Class Ranking, Biology, Law & Human Behavior, 2005
Witkin Award – Top Class Ranking, Community Property, 2005
Mock Trial Competition Finalist, 2003
University of California, Davis, California
Bachelor of Science, Biochemistry, 1995
Bar Admissions
State Bar of Tennessee
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office
Professional Associations
State Bar of Tennessee
Knoxville Bar Association
Selected Scientific Research Publications Authored or Co-
Authored by Mr. Irion
• Non-viral gene delivery to the ventricles in rat brain: Initial evidence for distribution and expression in the CNS; Hecker JG, Hall LL, Irion VR.; Mol Ther. 2001 Mar;3(3):375-84.
• Advances in self-limited gene expression of protective intracellular proteins in-vivo in rat brain; Irion VR, Hecker JG; Anesthesia & Analgesia, 1998:86.
• Self-limited gene expression in vitro in neuronal cell cultures and in vivo in rat brain using mRNA/cationic lipid complexes; Irion VR, Hecker JG; Anesthesia & Analgesia, 1997:84.
• The fidelity of human telomerase; Kreiter M, Irion V, Ward J, Morin G.; Nucleic Acids Symp Ser. 1995;(33):137-9.
• The effect of carrier RNA on transfection efficiency; Third Annual Artificial Self-Assembling Systems For Gene Delivery Conference, November 1996.
• Hsp70 and Reporter Enzyme Expression in Rat Brain after Non-viral Delivery of mRNA and DNA to Lateral Ventricles; Hecker JG, Hall LL, Irion VR.; Society for Neuroscience Meeting, New Orleans, November, 2000.
• mRNA cationic lipid transfected expression of firefly luciferase in mammalian cells is enhanced by addition of tRNA; Giles J, Irion VR, Hecker JG; Western Anesthesia Residents Conference, Seattle, WA, April 17, 1999.
• Effect of cationic lipid ratio and carrier RNA on transfection efficiency; 3rd Annual Artificial Self-Assembling Systems for Gene Delivery Conference; Irion VR, Hecker JG; Cambridge Healthtech Institute, Newton Upper Falls, MA. November 17-18, 1996.
• Effects of electromagnetic fields on gene expression; Irion VR, Irion DN; Golden State Venture Capital Conference & Entrepreneur Expo, San Rafael, April 23-24, 2001.
Get out the vote!
Vote for Van Irion!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
READ ABOUT COUNSELOR IRION’S OPPONENT!
CLICK ON REEDY’S PICTURE ABOVE!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More about Van (CLICK HERE! SCROLL DOWN!)
Tennessee Tenth Judicial District Public Defender Speaks with The Post & Email
Thursday, 26 December 2013
– The Post & Email – http://www.thepostemail.com –
Exclusive: Tennessee Tenth Judicial District Public Defender Speaks with The Post & Email
Posted By Sharon Rondeau On Tuesday, December 24, 2013 @ 10:08 AM In States |
“A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO MAKE BOND”
(Dec. 24, 2013) — On Monday, Tenth Judicial District Senior Public Defender Richard Hughes contacted The Post & Email regarding George Raudenbush, whose convictions and subsequent incarceration have been reported in detail previously.
Raudenbush was denied his constitutional right to defense counsel by Judge Carroll Lee Ross, who announced this past August that he would retire in August 2014 just before Raudenbush advised The Post & Email in a letter that the convictions were in the process of being reversed.
An opinion by an appeals court judge, Thomas M. Tipton, affirms Raudenbush’s statements.
Hughes explained that Tipton set the bond for Raudenbush at $25,000 but that Hughes was able to argue successfully that it be reduced to $10,000, 10% of which would be required to effect Raudenbush’s release pending the new trial. Hughes added that at times, a bondsman will accept something less than 10%.
On Friday evening, Hughes asked that “family and friends” of Raudenbush consider raising the bond amount if they are able so that Raudenbush could be released from prison before Christmas. During our interview, The Post & Email told Hughes that a reader had offered to donate $100 toward the $1,000 needed, after which Hughes explained that on Monday, he spoke with the Tennessee Department of Corrections, which informed him that a “mandate” authorizing Raudenbush’s release had not yet been received.
“He has the constitutional right to make bond,” Hughes said.
When The Post & Email asked Atty. Hughes to explain how the convictions were reversed, he told us:
The trial court had appointed the public defender to represent George. He had filed for post-conviction relief from his conviction and sentence, and Judge Ross had appointed my office to represent him on appeal, which is called a late appeal because George didn’t know to file a timely appeal because he’s not an attorney. I got personally involved and did the appellate brief myself. The basis for the appeal was the violation of George’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. He did have a right to appointed counsel, and Judge Ross violated that by not appointing an attorney at trial or even during the sentencing phase of his case.
There is case law where a person can forfeit his right to counsel, and it requires pretty extreme conduct on the part of the defendant. There are a whole lot of cases where the court has ruled that a person has forfeited his right to a lawyer by his actions, but the conduct has to be pretty egregious. There are cases where the defendant will not work with his attorney, sometimes even make threats to the attorney, won’t listen to their advice, refuse to meet with them, and then there are cases where that attorney will be relieved and another lawyer appointed, and then the same thing happens and the court ruled that the defendant is trying to delay justice in his case to avoid being tried by not cooperating with counsel. In those cases, the court can rule that you’ve forfeited your right to a lawyer by your words and actions.
Tipton, in the majority opinion, said that nothing that George did rose to the level where he had forfeited his right to an attorney, so Judge Ross violated his right to counsel. Basically, the judge should have made a decision as to whether or not George was indigent. There was never a hearing- I’ve been a public defender a long time, and my understanding is that when a person requests it, the judge has to have a hearing to determine indigence. Because of George’s religious views, he refused to swear an oath as to the information contained in the affidavit of indigence when he applied for the public defender. Judge Ross said that because he wouldn’t swear to it, he wouldn’t consider it.
The Post & Email said, “But you can affirm, can’t you?” to which Hughes answered, “You can affirm.”
The court of appeals said that that was not sufficient – that because he didn’t want to swear to the information enclosed in no way forfeited his right to counsel. The way I understand the posture of George’s case, he has to come back to Monroe County once the mandate is in; he’ll return to the county jail; he’ll appear back before the trial court, and my office would have to be appointed. There would still have to be again the determination that George is indigent for an appointment of counsel. So right now, this minute, I don’t represent George Raudenbush for the new trial on those charges. I represented him on the appeal; we won; so right now, he’s back where he was before he was ever tried. He doesn’t have a public defender; he obviously can apply for a public defender, and I would imagine that things will be a little different. If he qualifies, my office will be appointed and George can have a trial.
I know he doesn’t want to be tried again; he doesn’t think he should be tried again. But the state can try him. They did not vacate, although there are situations where they vacate and the judge may order that the case is over. Here, the judge reversed the convictions and remanded the case back to the trial court.
I would think George would be back before Judge Ross, and I would think that with what he has gone through, either the public defender or the counsel of his choice will be making a motion to remove Judge Ross from hearing the case a second time. I haven’t really thought through all of that, but I’m sure, based on the letters I have received from George, that would be one of his first requests.
“Would Judge Ross have any reason to refuse to recuse himself?”
Judge Ross can say, “I’m not going to recuse myself. The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction; I respect the Court of Appeals; whether I agree or do not agree with them, they’ve acted, and I have to honor the decision they’ve made, but there’s no basis for me to step aside.” Or Judge Ross may decide, in the interest of justice based on what happened, from the perspective of George Raudenbush, that he should recuse himself. There are situations where the judge is supposed to look at the case from the perspective of the defendant and whether or not the defendant thinks he can get a fair trial. The judge in his own mind might say, “Well, of course I can be fair; there’s not the appearance of impropriety and I’ve done nothing inappropriate.” but he will recuse himself just as a precaution and say, “From the standpoint of the defendant, I understand that he may feel that the court can’t be fair, and I’m going to step aside.”
“It would certainly remove any doubts about Judge Ross’s intentions or feelings about the case. He recused himself from one of CDR Fitzpatrick’s cases.”
The Post & Email then asked, “Are you able to speak at all to any corruption going on in the Monroe County criminal court or any of the Tenth Judicial District courts?
I know what you know, which is there has been a TBI investigation of the district attorney’s office, and the TBI released a report which I have not seen. I’m not authorized to review that, but my understanding is that they’ve reached a determination that there was no crime committed. There was a five-part series in The Chattanooga Times Free Press in which Judy Walton on the district attorney’s office and Drug Task Force. TBI decided that there was no crime committed, but there’s still the open question as to whether or not there was any unethical conduct.
“Members of the both the Tennessee General Assembly’s House and Senate Judicial Committees are trying to remove Bebb from office.”
Yes, the first of the year, there’s a committee formed to determine whether or not to proceed with an ouster of the district attorney general. When the General Assembly of Tennessee goes back into session in January, that committee is formed to make a determination. Obviously, I don’t know when that decision will be made or what the outcome will be, but I would imagine it will be made pretty quickly as to whether or not they are going to proceed. My understanding is that that committee has had the chance to review the entire TBI investigative file. All I know is what I’ve read, although I’m aware of certain things that have occurred. Most of what I know is based on what was reported in The Chattanooga Times.
I know Mr. Fitzpatrick feels passionately that the grand jury system in east Tennessee is unethical. I don’t know. Some states don’t have a grand jury system to charge people.
“There are no grand juries here in Connecticut, where they were legislated away in 1983.”
I don’t know…they say that the grand jury is a buffer between the powers of the state, the district attorney and law enforcement; and other people say, “It’s just a rubber stamp for the district attorney’s office.” I know there are differences of opinion on the necessity of a grand jury system. I know Walt feels as if there’s wrongdoing in the grand jury, unethical conduct…To be honest with you, I haven’t really followed that issue. I know what happened to Walter; I remember the charges, and I know he went through a trial. I know it’s on appeal. I talked to him and had a good conversation last week. I know he feels strongly that the system that’s in effect in east Tennessee and in Monroe County is illegal, a violation of the law. I know he feels strongly about that. Obviously, there’s no case law at the present time to support that. I don’t know how often that issue has been litigated.
The Post & Email then shared some of the experiences and research carried out by both Fitzpatrick and The Post & Email on Tennessee codes governing jury selection, including the District Attorneys General Conference website which says that a grand jury consists of 13 members of the community chosen randomly, from which the foreman is then chosen. In Tennessee, judges have been choosing their own foreman and hiring him or her as a court employee by an unknown vetting process.
The Post & Email then extended an offer to set up a complimentary account for Atty. Hughes and invited him to read and refute any of our contentions either on or off the record, which Hughes accepted.
Regarding the bond for Raudenbush, Hughes said that he could not handle the money himself. “A concerned friend or family member would have to be the one to collect and handle that,” he said. He affirmed that until the written mandate is received by the Department of Corrections, Raudenbush could not be released even to a county jail. “That mandate must be received before he can post bond,” Hughes said.
The Post & Email asked Hughes what his motivation was to put out the word about Raudenbush’s bond beginning on Friday evening given that he is technically not yet retained to handle the case, to which he responded:
I’ve been a public defender ever since I’ve been an attorney. Since 1989, I’ve been in this office. I feel strongly in the right to counsel. I feel that I have a good office. I certainly support my office and public defenders throughout the country. It’s a tough job, it’s an important job, and it’s important to the administration of justice. The Court of Appeals said that George’s right to counsel was violated, that he should have had an attorney through all proceedings that occurred in his case. I don’t know George. We’ve corresponded by letter; I know he’d like to see me in person. But I feel that based on what’s heard and the fact that the determination has been reversed, I would like to see him make bond. He’s been in custody for two years; the Court of Appeals says it was an erroneous conviction, and I would hate to see him in jail for many more months when his case has been set aside.
It’s not every day you get a conviction reversed. It’s very difficult, in my estimation. I’ve appealed quite a few cases, and the large majority of convictions are affirmed on appeal, so when you have a reversal, it catches your attention, and certainly, anybody in George’s situation in which his convictions are reversed, I’d like for him to have the opportunity to be able to make bond. He has a constitutional right to make bond, and that’s why I filed the motion.
Article printed from The Post & Email: http://www.thepostemail.com
URL to article: http://www.thepostemail.com/2013/12/24/exclusive-tennessee-tenth-judicial-district-public-defender-speaks-with-the-post-email/
Tennessee Grand Juries Co-Opted by Government, Operating Illegally
Saturday, 21 December 2013
– The Post & Email – http://www.thepostemail.com –
Tennessee Grand Juries Co-Opted by Government, Operating Illegally
Posted By Sharon Rondeau On Wednesday, December 18, 2013 @ 8:39 AM In National |
“THIS GOVERNMENT IS COMPLETELY OUT OF CONTROL”
by Sharon Rondeau
(Dec. 18, 2013) — On Tuesday, CDR Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III (Ret.) went to the McMinn County, TN courthouse to submit a criminal complaint naming the grand jury foreman, court clerk, three Tenth Judicial District prosecutors and two criminal court judges as “illegally, individually and judicially selecting installing [sic] people into the grand juries,” thereby wielding undue influence in order to obtain specific outcomes.
Rhonda Cooley is the elected Circuit Court Clerk for McMinn County, and Atty. Jeffrey Cunningham, who is also a local bank official, is the appointed grand jury foreman.
Fitzpatrick had wished to explain to the grand jury that while the state attorney general’s office claims that the foreman is not a juror, but rather, a county employee, state law requires that the foreman must be a juror. Criminal court rules posted on the website of the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts state that “the foreperson shall possess all the qualifications of a juror.”
TCA 40-12-206 mandates that juries comprise 13 jurors and as many as five alternates. There is no mention in state code of a “foreman” who is injected into the grand jury or trial jury by the action of a judge, although the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts maintains that that process is legal. Local media have reported that “the foreperson is appointed by the judge and doesn’t necessarily have to come from the jury pool.”
the foreperson is appointed by the judge and doesn’t necessarily have to come from the jury pool. – See more at: http://advocateanddemocrat.com/story/21576#sthash.XqNwo0ZV.dpuf
Although the criminal courts in Tennessee have contorted the laws and court rules to allow the judges to choose the grand jury foreman, who often serves for years or decades at the judge’s behest, the District Attorneys General Conference has officially stated that the foreman is to be chosen from among 13 eligible citizens of the county who are selected by automated means.
Earlier this year, the Tennessee Attorney General declined to criminally prosecute District Attorney General R. Steven Bebb, who is named in Fitzpatrick’s current and previous complaints, after allegedly performing an investigation following extensive reportage at The Post & Email and The Chattanooga Times Free Press of Bebb’s alleged misconduct and criminal activity. The legislature, however, has taken action in an apparent attempt to remove Bebb from his post.
The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an opinion contending that a district attorney general “is answerable to no superior and has virtually unbridled discretion in determining whether to prosecute and for what offense.” Historically, the Tennessee General Assembly and the judiciary have acted at odds with and in contradiction to one another. The original 1796 Tennessee constitution contained no judicial branch, although the legislature later created one. Current General Assembly members are aware of the corruption within the grand juries and criminal courts.
Fitzpatrick’s four-page criminal complaint, dated December 16, 2013, can be read in its entirety here: 17DEC2013 GJCRIMCOM
Monroe County, TN has misrepresented the grand jury foreman as a juror and based criminal charges against Fitzpatrick and Darren Wesley Huff upon that false statement. On June 3, 2010, then-grand jury foreman Gary Pettway was described as “a juror” in indictments issued against both men signed by Angela Davis, who acted as foreperson for that day. Davis was herself serving illegally in a second consecutive term as a juror in violation of TCA 22-2-314.
On Tuesday and three previous occasions on which Fitzpatrick attempted to present criminal evidence to the McMinn County grand jury, the foreman, Jeffrey Cunningham, refused to recuse himself despite his having been named in the respective complaints. Instead, Cunningham brought the complaint in to the members of the grand jury and presided over them, then conveyed their “conclusion” to Fitzpatrick, as he did on Tuesday.
“This government is completely out of control,” Fitzpatrick said. “The grand jury is being controlled by the judges who appoint the foreman. Cunningham should not have been in the room today. He should have said, ‘I’m named in this complaint; I’m going to step outside and give it to Jack or Sally or whoever…You guys decide for yourselves…’ It’s astounding how serious this is; it’s breathtaking.
“Today was a special day because the report that I was bringing to them wasn’t my report; it was the report of the Attorney General‘s office for the State of Tennessee. They had a decision to make. I have very clearly demonstrated to them that Mr. Cunningham is not a juror, and they refused to look into this. The government is controlling the grand juries, and you cannot bring a complaint against the government because of people like Jeff Cunningham. It’s not just the foreman; it’s all of them. This grand jury is not protecting the people of the county,” Fitzpatrick said.
After Cunningham re-emerged from the grand jury room, which is also the office of U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, he informed Fitzpatrick that the grand jurors would not take action on his complaint and had asked that a deputy escort Fitzpatrick out of the building.
On December 7, 2011, Fitzpatrick observed Judge Amy Armstrong Reedy, who is named in the complaint submitted on Tuesday, peruse slips of paper containing the names of prospective jurors and choosing those she wanted, a fact which was presented to the appeals court on November 20 by Fitzpatrick’s attorney, Van Irion, who is defending him against the charge of “tampering with government records.”
One of the three appeals court judges appeared incredulous when Irion stated that Fitzpatrick had witnessed Reedy hand-picking jurors in open court. Fitzpatrick describes what Reedy did as “one example of how the system is vulnerable to human agency; picking your grand jury by pre-selecting them and knowing exactly what you’re going to get.”
The Tennessee constitution requires that evidence of a criminal nature be presented to a grand jury before a presentment against the person initiating a charge can be issued.
“This was historic. This grand jury in east Tennessee was shown unarguable, unassailable, unquestionable evidence that their foreman is not a juror, and they walked away from it, refusing to give their names. This is the kind of thing that would go into the history books when they used to be reliable.”
Tennessee state law requires that 13 people comprise a grand jury, but only 12 members routinely serve on a grand jury. Since the foreman is not a juror, but rather, represents the interests of the state, no grand jury in Tennessee can be operating impartially as is required by the Fifth Amendment to the Bill of Rights.
“This is the control that the government exercises over our jury system now. The jury system is completely unreliable and taken over. We don’t have any better example of that than what happened today. This is extraordinary. The person who was criminally accused, their buddy, the guy they’ve worked with all year, was standing in the room with them. The conflict here is just overwhelming,” Fitzpatrick told us.
Fitzpatrick has presented evidence to the local FBI in Knoxville as well as the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), both of which have chosen not to act.
When The Post & Email asked Fitzpatrick if he believed that the grand jurors did not want to know the facts about their proper function and that of the foreman, he responded, “It’s not that they don’t want to know; it’s that they have been told not to act. ‘Do not do anything at all. You’ve been picked for a special purpose; you are not to act against the government. Cunningham is your foreman; that’s that; live with it. If you don’t like it, leave, and we’ll get somebody else.’”
At 6:35 in the following recording, Cunningham states that he was serving as the foreman on Tuesday, despite having been named in the criminal complaint: 17 DEC 2013 FIRST CONTACT WITH CUNNINGHAM
Fitzpatrick said that the inaction of the grand jury on Tuesday “washes over every grand jury that’s had a court-appointed foreman for the last unknown number of decades. There was no more clear a case than the one that walked in the door today, and they said, ‘We’re not interested.’”
Cunningham did not make copies of the complaint for the grand jurors, but rather, “read it to them” while he stood in the room, where Fitzpatrick was not allowed to enter. Cunningham also told Fitzpatrick that he “did not appreciate” that Fitzpatrick had accused him of “blocking” criminal complaints from reaching the grand jury. “His physical presence is an influence; it cannot be argued,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s the one who broke the seal on the package, even though it said, ‘Do not open unless you are a grand juror.’ He knew that he was named in the complaint, and he should have said at that point in time, ‘I’m sorry, but I know I can’t be in the room.’”
“This is exactly the function that these foremen have been serving for decades throughout the entire state of Tennessee. This is the reason that the judicial system is so highly successful in bringing in the amounts of money that they have been generating and sending people to jails and prisons for untold years.”
Cunningham did not return Fitzpatrick’s complaint or provide him with a signed statement from the grand jurors. 17 Dec 2013 PET 0838
Cunningham told Fitzpatrick that he “had made that mistake once and wasn’t going to make it again” when he provided Fitzpatrick a copy of the grand jury’s decision not to review his complaint containing their signatures. Tuesday’s “decision” was said to be “unanimous.”
At slightly past halfway in the following recording, Cunningham refused to return Fitzpatrick’s paperwork and contended that Fitzpatrick’s claims against him were “absolutely false.” Cunningham then said that “the grand jury would like for him to leave” and asked a deputy sheriff and chaplain to escort Fitzpatrick out of the building.
Cunningham encounter 17 December 2013
© 2013, The Post & Email. All rights reserved.
Article printed from The Post & Email: http://www.thepostemail.com
URL to article: http://www.thepostemail.com/2013/12/18/tennessee-grand-juries-co-opted-by-government-operating-illegally/
TENNESSEE TREASON: The Monroe County Grand Jury is a Masquerade by Post & Email Managing Editor Sharon Rondeau
Friday, 23 September 2011
“THEY ARE NOT OPERATING UNDER THE LAW”
by Sharon Rondeau
A Robert Hefner click on illustration. Post & Email Managing Editor Sharon Rondeau may be contacted at: 203.987. 7948 or Email: editor@thepostemail.com for interviews
It has recently been discovered that there is no appointing order for a man who allegedly served as foreman of the Monroe County grand jury for at least 20 years, nor any evidence that he was ever sworn in as required by the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. No identification for Gary Pettway can be produced by the Monroe County clerk’s office. The alleged current grand jury foreman’s first name is misspelled, perhaps purposely. Court personnel are aware of it, and similar “errors” have occurred multiple times in the Tenth Judicial District of Tennessee.
LINK
REEDY JUDICIAL ORDERS APPOINTING “JOE” THE FOREMAN:
08 December 2006 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (1) (CLICK HERE)
18 December 2008 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (2) (CLICK HERE)
14 December 2010 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (3) (CLICK HERE)
REEDY JUDICIAL ORDERS APPOINTING “FAY” THE FOREMAN:
03 January 2011 Amy Armstrong Reedy Appointing Order “Fay” the Foreman (CLICK HERE)
IN CLOSING: REEDY’S JUDICIAL ORDER APPOINTING RECYCLING 2009 TENNESSEE JUROR ANGELA DAVIS A 2010 GRAND JURY FOREMAN:
Amy Reedy’s 3 June 2010 Appointing Order for ANGELA DAVIS (CLICK HERE)
SHARON RONDEAU – The POST & EMAIL: Tennessee Grand Jurors Take a Deficient Oath…If They are Sworn in at All
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Amy F. Armstrong Reedy is rigging juries in Tennessee State! (click on pix for more)
We don’t need a judge to say he or she is stacking a jury. We have proof that they are!
LINK
REEDY JUDICIAL ORDERS APPOINTING “JOE” THE FOREMAN:
08 December 2006 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (1) (CLICK HERE)
18 December 2008 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (2) (CLICK HERE)
14 December 2010 Amy Reedy Appointing Order “Joe” the Foreman (3) (CLICK HERE)
REEDY JUDICIAL ORDERS APPOINTING “FAY” THE FOREMAN:
03 January 2011 Amy Armstrong Reedy Appointing Order “Fay” the Foreman (CLICK HERE)
IN CLOSING: REEDY’S JUDICIAL ORDER APPOINTING RECYCLING 2009 TENNESSEE JUROR ANGELA DAVIS A 2010 GRAND JURY FOREMAN:
Amy Reedy’s 3 June 2010 Appointing Order for ANGELA DAVIS (CLICK HERE)
THE SMOKING GUN! Monroe County Chief Court Clerk Admits Grand Jury Foreman Gary Pettway of 27 Years Illegitimate
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
A Robert Hefner illustration. Post & Email Managing Editor Sharon Rondeau may be contacted at: 203.987. 7948 or editor@thepostemail.com for interviews.
SEND CONTRIBUTIONS TO: The Post & Email, P.O. Box 302, Stafford Springs, CT 06076
Click on pix: Gary Pettway (left) under Citizen’s Arrest – The first Thursday of April 2010!
A chief clerk in Monroe County, TN has admitted, and The Post & Email can now confirm, that there has been no duly-appointed grand jury foreman in Monroe County, TN for at least the last 27 years.
LINK
16 September 2011 Martha Cook Response to Public Records Request (LINK)
Citizen’s arrest of Gary Pettway one-year anniversary
Friday, 1 April 2011
Grand Jury Man is a Robert Hefner illustration
Grand Jury Man is a Robert Hefner illustration
The emboldened bullet points represent hotlinks to companion video clips.
All times are local (EDT).
-
From the audio (not attached yet) the following approximate times are established: 0947 hours: Arrive at the Courthouse. 0951 hours: Presentation of documents to Court Clerk Rene Ezell. 0954 hours: Clerk Darleen Moser instructs us to “have a seat in the hall until we figure out…and we’ll help you with it”. 0955 hours: The Citizen’s arrest of Gary Pettway. 0956 to 0957 hours: Darron Bivens and Bill Illingworth with a platoon of other law enforcement officers push me back out into the hallway. 0958 hours: Sweetwater Police Detective Sergeant Bill Illingworth moves the group to the mid-level landing. 1000 hours: Deputy Sheriff Bennie Byrum arrives in civilian clothes (Green Mountain Dew tee-shirt). Then the Citizen’s arrest of Deputy Sheriff Bennie Byrum. 1007 hours: Deputy Sheriff Byrum delivers Judge Carroll Ross’ order to the Monroe County Grand Jury. Byrum then forces the group out of the Courthouse onto the front Courthouse portico. 1018-1020 hours: We reenter the building looking for a Madisonville police officer. Deputy Sheriff Byrum intercepts us, admits to his communication with Judge Ross. Forces us back outside to the Courthouse Portico.
-
From the not yet attached audio file: At approximately 1017 hours we’re told in a call to 911 dispatch that a Madisonville Police Officer is waiting for us inside the Courthouse. We go back in to find the officer. Bennie Byrum intercepts us immediately upon our return into the building. At about 1018 hours Byrum pushes us back out a second time. By this time a group of law enforcement officers has gathered on the portico. One of those in assembly is Monroe County Sheriff Bill Bivens.
J.B. Williams on the murder of Jim Miller
Sunday, 1 August 2010
- A Robert Hefner illustration: Click on image for J.B.’s article at NewsWithViews
Monroe County TN Corruption Turns Violent
By JB Williams
What started out over a year ago as what seemed to be a simple citizen effort to report government wrong-doing in a Treason case against Barack Obama, filed by Retired Navy Lt. Commander Walter Fitzpatrick III, turned into something unexpected when the Monroe County justice system obstructed justice and turned its evil sights on the Commander.
Since then, Fitzpatrick has been arrested and jailed twice, humiliated by local character assassination, threatened, roughed up and accused of inciting riot, which in Tennessee code can apparently be used against anyone when three or more citizens attempt to address their local public servants in a public place.
Fitzpatrick now stands trial on a host of rigged charges, all at the hands of local corrupt public servants who seem to have a history of such activity, and a growing tendency to become violent when citizens try to make public the level of crime and corruption in that quaint little Tennessee community.
Corruption becomes Deadly
On Saturday July 17, 2010 – Republican Election Commissioner Jim Miller was brutally murdered in a Chicago mob style slaying and set ablaze in the trunk of his car.
Monroe County Sheriff’s Deputy Capt. Kenny Hope was immediately a “person of interest” in the case, but has since been “cleared” by TBI officials.
What does this have to do with the Treason charges filed against Obama in Monroe County? That depends on whether or not Commissioner Miller had seen similar evidence filed with his office concerning election fraud in the 2008 election, and whether or not Miller was about to shine a local light on that or other reports of systemic corruption in Monroe County…
The Violence Continues
As news of local corruption concerning Fitzpatrick spread throughout the community, other local citizens began to come forward with other similar and much more bizarre horror stories with crime family type charges against the local Sheriff Bivins and what is locally referred to as his “henchmen.”
An online Christian News Wire published at story accusing Sheriff Bivins of involvement in the murder “cover-up.”
The following day, locals involved in that report were visited by Bivins “henchmen” as they were leaving an East Tennessee Health Care facility. Chilling events of that day are described in a follow-up Christian News Wire release dated July 30, 2010.
From that report – “Two Christian Citizens against Corruption workers reported attempting to leave a parking lot of an East Tennessee Health Care Facility around 3:00 pm yesterday when a black Ford F-150 pulled up behind them blocking the workers’ vehicle from moving. The car’s driver, Daniel Morgan, identified the driver of the black truck as Travis Jones, a detective of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department. Wearing no uniform and showing no badge or identification, he angrily ordered the driver and passengers out of the vehicle. Mr. Jones made a holstered gun visible during the ordeal.
Fearing for the safety of his passengers, Mr. Morgan cautioned the passengers in the vehicle from leaving the vehicle as detective Jones was not displaying typical police behavior. According to passengers, Travis Jones was forced to move his truck as an ambulance became impatient with him blocking the road. Mr. Jones left the scene after he observed Mr. Morgan making a cell phone call to state officials, during which he made a police report of the incident to Sergeant Kevin Smith of the Tennessee Highway Patrol.”
Reported by: Contact: George Raudenbush (423) 761-9518, Daniel Morgan (423) 519-6540 tennccc@gmail.com
The JAG HUNTER ©2023 