"Linda D. Misek-Falkoff, Ph.D., J.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Hi Sue - thank you for posting this executive summary. Do you happen to
know if the full text is available online? 39 pages would be very long,
but I would like to read it anyway. Perhaps it was posted here and I
missed it. Thanks again, :) LDMF.
--------------------------------Sue Hartigan wrote:--------------------
>
> Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
> April 1 — This is the full text of the executive
> summary of U.S. District Judge Susan Webber
> Wright's 39-page memorandum opinion and order
> to dismiss Paula Jones’ sexual harassment suit
> against President Clinton and Danny Ferguson.
> There are six pages in the summary below;
> footnotes are indicated by number in the text and
> are reproduced at the end of the document.
>
> The plaintiff in this lawsuit, Paula
> Corbin Jones, seeks civil damages from
> William Jefferson Clinton, President of
> the United States, and Danny Ferguson, a
> former Arkansas State Police Officer, for
> alleged actions beginning with an
> incident in a hotel suite in Little Rock,
> Arkansas. This case was previously before
> the Supreme Court of the United States to
> resolve the issue of Presidential
> immunity but was remanded to this Court
> following the Supreme Court&30146;s
> determination that there is no
> constitutional impediment to allowing
> plaintiff’s case to proceed while the
> president is in office. See Clinton v.
> Jones, 117 S. Ct. 1636 (1997). Following
> remand, the President filed a motion for
> judgment on the pleadings and dismissal
> of the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(c)
> of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,
> Ferguson joined in the president's
> motion. By Memorandum Opinion and Order
> dated August 22, 1997, this Court granted
> in part and denied in part the
> President's motion. See Jones v.
> Clinton, 974 F. Supp. 712 (E.D. Ark.
> 1997). The Court dismissed plaintiff's
> defamation claim against the President,
> dismissed her due process claim for
> deprivation of a property interest in her
> State employment, and dismissed her due
> process claims for deprivation of a
> liberty interest based on false
> imprisonment and injury to reputation,
> but concluded that the remaining claims
> in plaintiff's complaint stated viable
> causes of action. See id. Plaintiff
> subsequently obtained new counsel and
> filed a motion for leave to file a first
> amended complaint, which the court
> granted, albeit with several
> qualifications. See Order of November
> 24, 1997. 1 The matter is now before the
> Court on motion of both the President and
> Ferguson for summary judgment pursuant to
> Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil
> Procedure. Plaintiff has responded in
> opposition to these motions, and the
> President and Ferguson have each filed a
> reply to plaintiff's response to their
> motions. For the reasons that follow, the
> Court finds that the President's and
> Ferguson's motions for summary judgment
> should both be and hereby are granted. 2
>
> I.
> This lawsuit is based on an incident
> that is said to have taken place on the
> afternoon of May 8, 1991, in a suite at
> the Excelsior Hotel in Little Rock,
> Arkansas. President Clinton was Governor
> of the State of Arkansas at the time, and
> plaintiff was a State employee with the
> Arkansas Industrial Development
> Commission ("AIDC"), having begun her
> State employment on March 11, 1991.
> Ferguson was an Arkansas State Police
> Officer assigned to the Governor's
> security detail.
> According to the record,
> then-Governor Clinton was at the
> Excelsior Hotel on the day in question
> delivering a speech at an official
> conference being sponsored by the AIDC.
> Am. Compl. 7 3 Plaintiff states that she
> and another AIDC employee, Pamela
> Blackard, were working at a registration
> desk for the AIDC when a man approached
> the desk and informed her and Blackard
> that he was trooper Danny Ferguson, the
> Governor's bodyguard. Pl.'s Statement of
> Mat. Facts, paragraphs 1-2. She states
> that Ferguson made small talk with her
> and Blackard and that they asked him if
> he had a gun as he was in street clothes
> and they "wanted to know." Pl.'s Depo. at
> 101. Ferguson acknowledged that he did
> and, after being asked to show the gun to
> them, left the registration desk to
> return to the Governor. Id.; Pl.'s
> Statement of Mat. Facts, paragraph 2. The
> conversation between plaintiff, Blackard,
> and Ferguson lasted approximately five
> minutes and consisted of light, friendly
> banter; there was nothing intimidating,
> threatening, or coercive about it. Pl.'s
> Depo. at 226-27.
> Upon leaving the registration desk,
> Ferguson apparently had a conversation
> with the Governor about the possibility
> of meeting with plaintiff, during which
> Ferguson states the Governor remarked
> that plaintiff had "that come-hither
> look," i.e. "a sort of [sexually]
> suggestive appearance from the look or
> dress." Ferguson Depo. at 50; Pl.'s
> Statement of Mat. Facts, paragraph 3;
> President's Depo. at 109. 4 He states
> that "some time later" the Governor asked
> him to "get him a room, that he was
> expecting a call from the White House and
> ... had several phone calls that he
> needed to make," and asked him to go to
> the car and get his brief case containing
> the phone messages. Ferguson Dep. at 50,
> 67. Ferguson states that upon obtaining
> the room, the Governor told him that if
> plaintiff wanted to meet him, she could
> "come up." Id. at 50.
> Plaintiff states that Ferguson later
> reappeared at the registration desk,
> delivered a piece of paper to her with a
> four-digit number written on it, and said
> that the Governor would like to meet with
> her in this suite number. Pl.'s Statement
> of Mat. Facts, paragraph 6. She states
> that she, Blackard, and Ferguson talked
> about what the Governor could want and
> that Ferguson stated, among other things,
> "We do this all the time." Id. Thinking
> that it was an honor to be asked to meet
> the Governor and that it might lead to an
> enhanced employment opportunity,
> plaintiff states that she agreed to the
> meeting and that Ferguson escorted her to
> the floor of the hotel upon which the
> Governor's suite was located. Am. Compl.
> paragraphs 11-13.
> Plaintiff states that upon arriving
> at the suite and announcing herself, the
> Governor shook her hand, invited her in,
> and closed the door. Pl.'s Statement of
> Mat. Facts, paragraphs 7-8. She states
> that a few minutes of small talk ensued,
> which included the Governor asking her
> about her job and him mentioning that
> Dave Harrington, plaintiff's ultimate
> superior within the AIDC and a Clinton
> appointee, was his "good friend." Id.
> paragraph 8; Am. Compl. paragraph 17.
> Plaintiff states that the Governor then
> "unexpectedly reached over to [her], took
> her hand, and pulled her toward him, so
> that their bodies were close to each
> other." Pl.'s Statement of Mat. Facts,
> paragraph 9. She states she removed her
> hand from his and retreated several feet,
> but that the Governor approached her
> again and, while saying, "I love the way
> your hair flows down your back," and "I
> love your curves," put his hand on her
> leg, started sliding it toward her pelvic
> area, and bent down to attempt to kiss
> her on the neck, all without her consent.
> Id. paragraphs 9-10; Pl.'s Depo. at
> 237-38. 5 Plaintiff states that she
> exclaimed, "What are you doing?," told
> the Governor that she was "not that kind
> of girl," and "escaped" from the
> Governor's reach "by walking away from
> him." Pl.'s Statement of Mat. Facts,
> paragraph 11; Pl.'s Depo. at 237. She
> states she was extremely upset and
> confused and, not knowing what to do,
> attempted to distract the Governor by
> chatting about his wife. Pl.'s Statement
> of Mat. Facts, paragraph 11. Plaintiff
> states that she sat down at the end of
> the sofa nearest the door, but that the
> Governor approached the sofa where she
> had taken a seat and, as he sat down,
> "lowered his trousers and underwear,
> exposed his penis (which was erect) and
> told [her] to 'kiss it.' " Id. She
> states that she was "horrified" by this
> and that she "jumped up from the couch"
> and told the Governor that she had to go,
> saying something to the effect that she
> had to get back to the registration desk.
> Id. paragraph 12. Plaintiff states that
> the Governor, "while fondling his penis,"
> said, "Well, I don't want to make you do
> anything you don't want to do," and then
> pulled up his pants and said, "If you get
> in trouble for leaving work, have Dave
> call me immediately and I'll take care of
> it." Id. She states that as she left the
> room (the door of which was not locked),
> the Governor "detained" her momentarily,
> "looked sternly" at her, and said, "You
> are smart. Let's keep this between
> ourselves." Id.; Pl.'s Depo. at 94,
> 96-97. 7
> Plaintiff states that the Governor's
> advances to her were unwelcome, that she
> never said or did anything to suggest to
> the Governor that she was willing to have
> sex with him, and that during the time
> they were together in the hotel suite,
> she resisted his advances although she
> was "stunned by them and intimidated by
> who he was." Pl.'s Statement of Mat.
> Facts, paragraph 14. She states that when
> the Governor referred to Dave Harrington,
> she "understood that he was telling her
> that he had control over Mr. Harrington
> and over her job, and that he was willing
> to use that power." Id. paragraph 13.
> She states that form that point on, she
> was "very fearful" that her refusal to
> submit to the Governor's advances could
> damage her career and even jeopardize her
> employment. Id.
> Plaintiff states that when she left
> the hotel suite, she was in shock and
> upset but tried to maintain her
> composure. Id. paragraph 15. She states
> she saw Ferguson waiting outside the
> suite but that he did not escort her back
> to the registration desk and nothing was
> said between them. Id. Ferguson states
> that five or ten minutes after plaintiff
> exited the suite he joined the Governor
> for their return to the Governor's
> Mansion and that the Governor, who was
> working on some papers that he had spread
> out on the desk, said, "She came up here,
> and nothing happened."
>
> 1. Among other things, the Court allowed
> plaintiff to drop her remaining
> defamation claim against Ferguson and
> allowed her to drop her remaining claims.
> The Court also allowed plaintiff to
> clarify her constitutional and civil
> rights claims and conform them more fully
> to the facts previously pled, but only to
> the extent that plaintiff was not thereby
> asserting new causes of action or
> attempting to add Ferguson as a defendant
> on any cause of action where he was not
> previously considered a defendant.
>
> 2. All other pending motions in this
> case, including the motion filed on
> Saturday, March 28, 1998, in Pine Bluff,
> Arkansas, have no bearing on the issues
> raised by the President's and Ferguson's
> motions for summary judgment and are
> therefore not addressed.
>
> 3. In addressing the issues in this case,
> the Court has viewed the record in the
> light most favorable to the plaintiff and
> given her the benefit of all reasonable
> factual inferences, which is required at
> this stage of the proceedings. See
> Christopher v. Adams Mark Hotel,
> --F3d--, 1998 WL 92202, #1 (8th Cir.
> March 5, 1998). The Court has, however,
> deemed admitted those facts set forth by
> the President in his statement of
> material facts that plaintiff has not
> specifically controverted in her
> statement of material facts. See Rule
> 56.1 (c) of the Rules of the United
> States District Court for the Eastern
> and Western Districts of Arkansas, which
> provides that "all material facts set
> forth in the statement filed by the
> moving party...shall be deemed admitted
> unless controverted by the statement
> filed by the non-moving party..."
>
> 4. Ferguson states that plaintiff
> informed him that she would like to meet
> the Governor, remarking that she thought
> the Governor "was good-looking [and] had
> sexy hair," Ferguson Depo. at 50, while
> plaintiff states that Ferguson asked her
> if she would like to meet the Governor
> and that she was "excited" by the
> possibility, Pl.'s Depo. at 101.
>
> 5. In her amended complaint, plaintiff
> states that the Governor "put his hand
> on [her] leg and started sliding it
> toward the hem of [her] culottes,
> apparently attempting to reach [her]
> pelvic area." Am. Compl. paragraph 20.
> In her original complaint, plaintiff
> states that the Governor "put his hand
> on [her] leg and started sliding it
> toward the hem of [her] culottes," with
> no reference to her "pelvic area."
> Compl., paragraph 20.
>
> 6. Plaintiff states in her amended
> complaint that the Governor "asked" her
> to "kiss it" rather than telling her to
> do so. Am. Compl. paragraph 21. She
> states in her deposition that the
> Governor's specific words to her were,
> "Would you kiss it for me?" Pl.'s Depo.
> at 108.
> --
> Two rules in life:
>
> 1. Don't tell people everything you know.
> 2.
>
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Re: L&I Text of Jones Decision/Sue
Linda D. Misek-Falkoff, Ph.D., J.D. Thu, 2 Apr 1998 13:09:14 -0500
- L&I Text of Jones Decision Sue Hartigan
- Linda D. Misek-Falkoff, Ph.D., J.D.
