[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
The Judge
[ON THE ISSUES Online] Who Got Off
Joy Ward
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It is time the Supreme Court sent a message that sexual
abuse is a deprivation of federal civil rights.
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[Image] This man
is a proven
Judge David Lanier, sexual predator.
Why is the
called by some "The Constitution
Grabber." on his side?
One might reasonably assume that our federal civil
rights include freedom from sexual harassment and
molestation, but they don't. According to a recent
court ruling, the Constitution offers no such
protection.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decided, in a 9-to-5
opinion, that freedom from sexual assault is not
covered by present federal civil-rights laws or the
14th Amendment to the Constitution. Instead, crimes
such as rape, harassment, and molestation -- even if
committed by sitting judges and uniformed law officials
-- are to be referred for prosecution back to state
courts.
But what happens when judges at the state level -- who
should be prosecuting the guilty in their own ranks --
simply refuse to recognize the problems or carry out
their duties? That's the crux of the case against
former state judge David W. Lanier, of Dyersburg,
Tennessee.
Lanier sexually assaulted eight women while serving as
Chancery and Juvenile Court judge in Dyer and Lake
counties. A federal grand jury convicted him in May
1992 of 11 counts of violating United States Code 242
-- the same law under which two Los Angeles police
officers were convicted for beating Rodney King. It
defines as criminal the "deprivation of any rights...
protected by the Constitution" by any person acting
under "color of law."
Judge Lanier's sexual assaults were clearly "under
color of law." They varied from placing his hands on
one woman's crotch while she sat next to him in court
-- both blocked from view by his bench -- to repeated,
forced oral sex with a young, divorced, unemployed
mother, whom he blackmailed into silence by threatening
to remove her child from her custody. The young mother
had approached Lanier in her search to find a job.
After Lanier assaulted her, she was passed off to and
hired by a local medical doctor, with Lanier's strong
suggestion to the doctor that she was sexually
available. In fear of losing her child, the young woman
endured repeated sexual harassment and involvement with
the doctor.
None of the women abused by Lanier had any hope of
legal recourse or equal protection under the law. They
were afraid to come forward. They thought they would
not be believed or supported. They feared losing their
jobs or causing their families to lose theirs. Judge
David Lanier was too powerful to cross. With but a few
words, he could easily wreck their lives. The few women
who did complain (to bosses or friends) were encouraged
to keep silent. Most said nothing to anyone.
As detailed in Darcy O'Brien's 1996 Power to Hurt, the
Lanier family ruled this northwestern corner of
Tennessee with iron fists. Few people were willing to
stand up to "Mr. Jimmy" Lanier, a local power broker
and boss. When he passed on, his sons James and David
took over control of Dyersburg. David served seven
consecutive terms as mayor and in 1982 was elected
Chancery Court judge, later gaining control of the
Juvenile Court as well. In 1990 his brother James
became the district attorney general. That's when the
Lanier legacy first came under FBI scrutiny. The FBI
was investigating James of suspected corruption when
James died, and David came into view instead.
Lead FBI investigator Bill Castleberry happened upon
complaints of sexual assault from numerous women who
worked with, for, or around Judge Lanier (called by
some "The Grabber"). Technically, it would have been
appropriate for these cases to be tried at the state
level, but because Lanier's brother James had been the
district attorney, chances of indictment or conviction
on the sexual-assault accusations were slim. Nothing
happened in Dyer County that the Laniers could not
control.
When the FBI investigation of James ended with his
death, the FBI decided to go after David Lanier.
Federal civil-rights statutes had never before been
used to prosecute sexual harassment; but, eliciting
testimony from Lanier's hitherto silenced victims, the
U.S. Attorney's Office in Memphis carefully built a
federal case they felt would put Lanier away for years.
Lanier's blatant sexual harassment of women under his
control, at times in his judge's robes or in official
meetings, and Lanier's power to control the livelihood
of those around him was a clear picture of a judge
grossly abusing his power to deprive his victims of
their civil rights.
At trial in a federal court, the prosecution argued
that Lanier's abuse of the victims' constitutional
right to bodily integrity "shocks the conscience." The
local jury agreed and found Lanier guilty on seven
counts. Lanier was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years
with no possibility of parole. The case was appealed to
the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the conviction
was upheld.
The women went back to their lives, still facing daily
resentment and disbelief from other residents of this
small Tennessee county. (As both Power to Hurt and
several victims point out, there remains an attitude in
Dyersburg that being "paid attention" by Lanier only
meant he was "a hugger" or the victim herself had
"wanted it.") Chillingly, from inside jail in
Talladega, Alabama, Lanier continued to harass some of
his victims. He telephoned them at home, via friends in
Dyersburg.
Then the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals did the
unthinkable: In June 1995 they released Lanier and
asked to hear his appeal again. The victims and the
prosecutors were shocked by what happened next: The
Court of Appeals overturned Lanier's conviction.
None of the judges questioned the facts -- that Lanier
had sexually abused and terrorized his victims. At
issue was whether these crimes are addressed under
federal civil-rights statutes. They are not, according
to Chief Judge C.J. Merritt of Nashville, who delivered
the majority opinion. Even though the Lanier family had
been Democratic party power brokers in a state that
until recently had been overwhelmingly Democratic, the
court majority felt that Lanier should have been
charged in a state court. And the majority opinion went
even further. Merritt expressed concern that "many
public officials and employees have recently been
accused of similar deviant conduct" and they might be
prosecuted, for political reasons and possibly
unfairly, under United States Code 242.
Handwringing on his accused brethren's behalf, Merritt
wrote:
Permitting federal prosecutions for
"conscience shocking" simple and sexual
assaults committed by federal, state and
local employees or officials places
unparalleled, unprecedented discretion in the
hands of federal law enforcement officers,
prosecutors and judges.... Permitting such
discretion is a particular risk for due
process.
In overturning Lanier's conviction, the Sixth Circuit
Court declared to the legal community under its
jurisdiction that sexual crimes are not prosecutable
under federal statutes codifying the 14th Amendment.
And if state officials have no interest in prosecuting
one of their own "good old boys"? Well, that's just too
bad.
For now, David Lanier walks free in Dyersburg, aware
that if his appeal stands, it is unlikely federal
agencies will ever again attempt to bring similar cases
to trial. And two victims who testified against him,
Patty Wallace and Sandy Sanders, are fighting for his
reincarceration. They are carrying the facts of the
case, and the appeal, to the public. "We stood up. We
did it. He got convicted. He got sentenced to 25
years," says Wallace. "Then he gets two chances before
the board of appeals. It gets overturned. Now where are
we? I mean, you want to encourage women and say you can
stand up for it, you can do something right, but it's
all crashed in on us. As far as the court system and
all that, we don't have any faith in that at all. To me
it is a joke."
Meanwhile the federal district attorney's office in
Memphis has appealed the Sixth Circuit Court's decision
to the Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear the case
and consider reinstating Lanier's sentence. A decision
is expected during the court's next term.
The Supreme Court has never before addressed whether
the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection
under the law means that anyone has a federal right to
be free of sexual harassment and abuse. It is time the
court sent a clear message to the states and the lower
courts that sexual abuse is an infringement of "bodily
integrity" -- and it will no longer be relegated to the
backrooms and good old boys at the state levels nor
allowed to be swept under the statehouse rugs simply to
protect a few men who do not understand or have
forgotten that wearing a black robe or a uniform is not
a license for abuse.
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Joy Ward, M.A., M.S., is a writer and
consumer-psychology consultant. Her columns are carried
regularly by magazines in Memphis, Tennessee, and Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
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� 1996 On The Issues. Fall, Vol. 5, No. 4 / Web page-Nov. 9, 1996. /
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Best, Terry
"Lawyer - one trained to circumvent the law" - The Devil's Dictionary
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