DON ADAMS UPDATE: Third Circuit Asked to Recuse Itself in Suit Against Rendell

Philadelphia – Appellants in the federal civil suit, Adams et al., v. Teamsters Local 115, Rendell, et al., have announced today the filing of a highly unusual motion requesting that the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recuse itself from presiding over the case due to potential conflicts arising from the spousal relationship of one of its members, the Honorable Marjorie Rendell, to one of the defendants, Governor Ed Rendell.

While it is more common to ask an individual judge to remove himself from a case due to a possible conflict of interest, such requests of a court’s entire membership are extremely rare.

The suit stems from an October 2, 1998 Presidential visit to Philadelphia, during which Clinton protestors Don Adams and Teri Adams were viciously attacked by members of Teamsters Local 115, outside City Hall, at the direction of union leader John Morris. The assault, recorded by news cameras, eventually led to the convictions of five Teamsters. Morris was never charged.

The Teamsters, through Morris, had been invited to town that day by then-Mayor Ed Rendell, who was organizing a rally to bolster Clinton’s scandal-ridden presidency. Mr. Rendell has admitted to instructing Morris to "drown-out" Clinton protestors.

The Adamses (appellants) are asserting their civil rights were violated by the Teamsters and Morris at the behest of Mr. Rendell, whose wife, Judge Midge Rendell, sits on the Third Circuit.

The appellants’ motion maintains that, “this instant appeal presents the highly unusual circumstance of the spouse of a member of this Court being personally accused of egregious wrongdoing. The primary issue is whether that spouse, Mr. Rendell, who now happens to be Governor of Pennsylvania, can be held liable for his conduct under federal civil rights laws.”

The Adamses contend Mr. Rendell intentionally engaged in outrageous violations of their civil rights, including the suppression of their First Amendment rights at the rally and interfering in the subsequent police investigation of the attack, which resulted in Don Adams falsely being charged by District Attorney Lynne Abraham.

In a strange twist, Mr. Adams, a victim in the assault, has been the only individual to stand trial in the entire matter. He was subsequently found not guilty.

“This is not a run-of-the-mill case in which a high political official is being sued merely for actions in his professional capacity, but rather, one in which the official is being sued for actions taken in furtherance of his own personal political well-being,” states the Motion.

While the Court’s integrity is not in question, “[i]n this case, a reasonable individual is unlikely to believe that members of this Court can impartially weigh the fate of a colleague’s spouse. The average person would be given pause by the prospect of one sitting in judgment over another with whom he enjoys a social relationship.”

If the appellants' motion is granted, the Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court would appoint a panel of judges from outside the Third Circuit to hear the case.

This is a press release that was distributed yesterday by Gura and Day, who are representing Don and Teri Adams. Such legal representation does not come cheap, and since Don and Teri are too modest to ask for your assistance, I do it on their behalf. When this case came to a critical pass this past February, Freeper donations made the difference between perseverence and surrender. Any small donation would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be sent to:

The Adams Legal Defense Fund
P.O. Box 306,
Cheltenham, PA 19012

I decided to leave out the phone numbers for Gura & Day, LLC, so as not to encourage idle harrassment, but if you'd like to contact them regarding this case, kindly drop me a Freepmail and I will supply them.

I will post the text of yesterday's motion as soon as I can get my hands on it.

REMEDIAL SECTION:

Who-what-where:

There was I time on FreeRepublic when I didn't have to introduce the topic of Don Adams. Other than Whitewater, it was FreeRepublic's first cause celebre.

In as few words as I can bear to muster, this is what happened. On October 2, 1998, Don and his sister Teri were beaten by members of the Teamsters Union for the crime of protesting against Clinton in Philadelphia.

(I myself had been attacked by the same mob earlier in the day, and I witnessed the Adams incident. I reported the events on FreeRepublic. One famous result was that it prompted Jim Robinson to call for a march on Washington, DC, which drew around 4000 people on October 31, 1998, to demand Clinton's impeachment.)

The DA filed no charges, so Don and Teri Adams pursued private criminal complaints against two of the Teamsters (Kevin McNulty and Marc Nardone), along with Teamster Local 115 boss Johnny Morris. In response, the Teamsters filed charges against Don Adams. McNulty and Nardone copped a plea and got probation. Morris walked. Don Adams was subjected to the indignity of a trial, and was acquitted in July, 1999. Meanwhile, three other Teamsters were identified from video: Charlie Davis, Mark Hopkins, and Norma Bottomer. Don and Teri Adams filed another private criminal complaint, to which the defendants copped pleas and received probation.

In November of 1999, IBT President James Hoffa ordered that Teamsters Local 115 be placed into trusteeship, and that Johnny Morris be stripped of his powers, partly as a result of the Adams beating incident. Morris contested this bitterly until the end of his life.

The civil phase has been lurching along slowly since the end of the criminal phase.

Why you should care:

It is the business of Freepers to exercise our rights under the First Amendment. When we talk back to power, we have an expectation of being secure in our persons, in our property, and in our liberty. If Don and Teri Adams lose, none of these expectations are valid. It will mean that the men in power can silence us at will, without serious consequences. Five foot-soldiers of the totalitarians have received probation. That's something. But unfortunately Don and Teri have been made to pay a long series of terrible prices over the last five years, and much more lies ahead. I expect it to get worse for them before it gets better.

Would YOU be up to it?

LINKS:

The Don Adams Page is now defunct, but a version of it remains cached on archive.org (Warning: slow to load).

Civil Case:

My Affadavit For The Don Adams Civil Case; My Subpoena From Teamsters Local 115 (Don Adams Case); Rendell Threatens to Walk During Deposition

Johnny Morris criminal case:

Court KOs Activist in Fight with Morris [DON ADAMS UPDATE]; DON ADAMS PRESS RELEASE: Criminal Complaint Against Teamster Leader John Morris Dropped

Davis, Hopkins, Bottomer criminal case:

Teamster Trio To Be Sentenced Today For Beating Clinton Protesters; Teamsters Sentenced to Probation in Adams Beating Case; 3 Teamsters are Sentenced for Roughing Up Protester

McNulty and Nardone criminal case:

Pretrial hearing of Kevin McNulty and Marc Nardone, on February 10, 1999. Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

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