Charges Dropped in Tyson Foods Immigrants Case

Associated Press | March 14, 2003 | BILL POOVEY

[HAL9000]

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP)--A judge dismissed immigrant smuggling charges against Tyson Foods on Friday but allowed the trial of the poultry giant to continue on key conspiracy counts.

U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar dismissed 15 charges, agreeing with Tyson's attorneys that prosecutors had failed to prove that the company or any managers requested two deliveries of illegal workers from undercover agents posing as smugglers.

Tyson and some former managers are accused of hiring illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America as part of a conspiracy to boost production and profits at the nation's largest poultry processor.

Tyson lawyers Friday began presenting what they say will be two weeks of evidence to counter the 12 remaining charges related to conspiracy, transporting illegal immigrants and fraudulent documents.

The company, based in Springdale, Ark., contends the government's investigation involved only a few plant managers who independently violated Tyson's ``zero tolerance'' policy on illegal hiring.

Robert Hash, 50, a regional vice president and the highest-ranking current Tyson official on trial, testified first, saying he knew nothing about Tyson hiring illegal workers.

``I was shocked these things were going on,'' said Hash, who is on administrative leave from the company.

The government rested its case in the five-week-old trial Thursday.

Tapes of secretly recorded conversations between Tyson managers and undercover agents posing as immigrant smugglers were a big part of the government's case. Some of those conversations indicated that hiring illegal immigrants, particularly through temporary agencies, was routine.

The government's final two witnesses, former Tyson managers at Shelbyville who struck plea deals with prosecutors, testified they knowingly hired illegal workers.

Hash and two managers--one retired and one on leave--are on trial with the company, which could face millions in fines if found guilty.

Copyright 2003, The Associated Press.

[ijcr]

The long arm of the Clintons .

[ijcr]

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — A federal judge late last week ordered the removal of Ten Commandments plaques from two courthouses, ruling that their display violates the constitutional separation of church and state.

U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar on May 3 said the engraved plaques shaped like stone tablets must come down from the walls of the Hamilton County Courthouse and Hamilton County-City Courts Building.

[KickRightRudder]

Right on target. They are connected up the wa-zoo. They play rough also. Like Wal-mart, you are in danger if you f*** with these people from arkansas.

[ijcr]

The Rhea County Board of Education today was forcefully ordered by U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar of Chattanooga, TN, to stop conducting an illegal Bible Education Ministry program, the subject of a federal lawsuit taken by the national Freedom From Religion Foundation on behalf of parents with children in Rhea County public schools.

"Rhea County, Tennessee, is no stranger to religious controversy," writes Judge Edgar, in the opening of his 19-page decision. "In 1925, the Rhea County Courthouse was the site of the well known 'Scopes' or 'Monkey' trial, wherein high school teacher John Scopes was tried for violating a Tennessee statute making it a misdemeanor to teach 'evolution theory' in the State's public schools. The trial pitted William Jennings Bryan, the 'Great Commoner,' representing the State, against Clarence Darrow for the defense. The legacy of that trial in some respects gives rise to this lawsuit."

[dalebert]

This is still going on. They never stopped. Arkansas and Oklahoma are over run with illegals working for them. They call DeQueen AR little Mexico.

[petuniasevan]

U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar

This is the same slime that forced the removal of the Ten Commandments from Hamilton county TN courthouses.

AP story on the Tyson trial from 3/8/03:

The federal judge in the Tyson Foods immigrant smuggling trial dealt prosecutors a setback yesterday when he limited testimony by the company's former ethics officer.

U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar barred John Copeland from testifying about discussions he had with top company executives after they discovered the government was conducting an undercover investigation into hiring illegal workers.

Copeland, who was appointed ethics officer after the meat and poultry company's involvement in a previous criminal case, said in response to questions from Tyson lawyers that he was not aware of anyone at the "executive vice president level and above" knowing about any illegal hiring.

A day earlier, Copeland told jurors that his efforts to gather information after the company discovered the three-year investigation in July 2000 earned him the scorn of Chairman and CEO John Tyson.

Copeland, still a consultant with Tyson, said yesterday he was unsure if the scolding meant John Tyson was trying to cover up anything. "At that time he told me I was getting in other people's business," Copeland said.

Prosecutors have charged that undercover agents delivered illegal immigrants from Mexico and Central America to Tyson plants as part of a nationwide conspiracy to boost production and profits. The indictment also accuses Tyson managers of using illegal workers provided through temporary employment businesses.

Tyson attorneys contend the government's investigation involved only a few plant managers who violated the company's "zero tolerance" policy on illegal hiring on their own.

The Springdale, Ark.-based company is on trial along with retired manager Gerald Lankford, 64, of North Wilkesboro, N.C.; Robert Hash, 50, of Greenwood, Ark., a regional retail fresh division vice president; and Keith Snyder, 44, of Bella Vista, Ark., who has worked as a manager in Shelbyville and Noel, Mo. Hash and Snyder are on administrative leave.

If convicted, Tyson could be fined, forced to forfeit any financial gain from using illegal workers as determined by the jury and lose government contracts. Won't happen ~~~petunia

Meanwhile, Michelle Eisner testified yesterday that , while she was Tyson's executive vice president for human resources from February 2000 to August 2001, the company reduced the number of workers provided by temporary agencies. Eisner said she never suspected those were illegal workers.

"I was more concerned with putting out a more productive action plan, what we could do to recruit people," she said.

She testified that a May 24, 2000 , memo from a human resources meeting included Lankford's comments that the company's involvement in a program that screened worker identification documents made it difficult to staff production lines. Lankford said the pay was "not competitive."

Eisner testified that in a visit to the plant in Wilkesboro, N.C. , to find out why there were so many employees provided by a temporary agency, Lankford did not mention illegal workers and never tried to discourage her from examining their records. That audit did not turn up illegal workers, she said.

Yes, Edgar is an FOB. No doubt.

[ijcr]

Last week the Region 4 high school wrestling tournament was postponed indefinitely while a lawsuit filed by three wrestlers and two basketball players at Chattanooga's McCallie High School was allowed to reach its fruition.
The crux of the case is a Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, the governing body of Tennessee high school athletics, quota limiting the number of athletic participants who can receive financial aid.

Fortunately, after the weekend deliberation of a U.S. District Court judge, the injunction was lifted and a ruling came down against the athletes.

It is a case that has received a great deal of publicity and may grab more of the headlines before it has reached its final destination.

Parents, students and lawyers at McCallie and other private institutions say the quota discriminates against poor students, while the TSSAA says the rule is designed to keep private schools from being able to attract the best athletes, in effect recruiting.

After barring McCallie wrestlers from post-season action for violating the financial aid quota, several students received an injunction from the U.S. District Court Judge to stay further regional wrestling action while their case is being considered by Judge R. Allan Edgar -- who heard arguments this past Friday.

The decision of Edgar came down Monday night.

It was a rather well-timed lawsuit, freezing both Chattanooga wrestling, but also the District 6-AAA basketball tournament -- grabbing many headlines and achieving the full effect, and Edgar alluded to this in his opinion.

These were very complex legal issues, with many moral and economic implications.

Should this case be heard in a federal court? Is there a constitutional right to participate in high school athletics? Is the TSSAA depriving the right of poor students to receive a private education in order to maintain parody in high school athletics, and if so, can there be a proper balance? Is the TSSAA an agent of the state? These questions were Judge Edgar's to grapple with.

Edgar appropriately ruled against the students, saying that there was no "right" to participate in athletics, therefore, there is no due process violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Edgar said any further prevention of the high school tournaments would be seriously disruptive. And there being no constitutional violation, it was not the court's place to rule on the TSSAA's regulation.

Edgar also said that McCallie chose to break the rule when they knew the consequences of such an action and that the students choose to attend a private institution.

It is interesting to consider whether a public school and its parents would have the resources to challenge a TSSAA regulation, especially in such an expeditious manner.

Due to the case's federal disposition, it would be prudent to consider Supreme Court jurisprudence in this case. There is one case that comes to mind in relation to this issue: NCAA v. Jerry Tarkanian.

In that case the high court ruled that the NCAA was not a government organization and its suspension of Jerry Tarkanian did not constitute state action, therefore, there was no due process violation. With that ruling, it is a reasonable extension that there is no Constitutional right to participate in college athletics -- it is indeed a privilege.

This case parallels the McCallie case somewhat and Edgar's ruling fell right in line with its logic. The TSSAA does not appear to be a state government organization, therefore having no obligation to provide athletics for anyone.

But as long as it does, does it have a moral obligation to provide its service judiciously?

The TSSAA's rule may not fall under judicial review, but is this rule an equitable one? The answer to that question is difficult, but one that must be answered in the affirmative.

If you weigh the interests of providing a private education for disadvantaged students against the TSSAA's goal of maintaining equity in high school athletics, the quota is very reasonable. The TSSAA is allowing private institutions to provide financial aid to some of their athletes, which already disadvantages many public schools with regard to athletics. I would question just how many "poor students" this quota is really hurting. I'm sure that there are some legitimate causalities of this rule, but to hinge their entire legal argument on that issue is specious.

The private schools do have a legitimate claim in that some of the regulations in the quota rule are indeed tenuous, such as: counting an athlete who plays two sports as two students receiving financial aid; or the fact that church-supported funding to parochial schools is not considered financial aid.

This is indeed a difficult question to adjudicate, but the Supreme Court's jurisprudence is clear -- it is the duty of the TSSAA or the state legislature to clear up this area if they desire to do so. Until then, the real victims of this lawsuit are the athletes deprived of their opportunity to compete in the state playoffs this past week

[ijcr]

The federal judge in the Tyson Foods immigrant smuggling trial dealt prosecutors a setback yesterday when he limited testimony by the company's former ethics officer.

U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar barred John Copeland from testifying about discussions he had with top company executives after they discovered the government was conducting an undercover investigation into hiring illegal workers.

[ijcr]

New York, New York, Jul 18, 2002 (Market News Publishing via COMTEX) -- A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Tyson Foods that alleged the company reduced wages by hiring undocumented workers, the company reported.

Judge R. Allan Edgar, of U.S. District Court in Tennessee's Eastern District, dismissed claims made by the plaintiffs in the case, stating, "the conclusion that Tyson's hiring of alleged illegal aliens depressed the plaintiff's wages would require sheer speculation."

"We are extremely gratified by the court's decision in this matter," according to Ken Kimbro, senior vice president of human resources for Tyson Foods. "Our company works hard to hire responsibly, to ensure our team members are legally documented and are fairly compensated."

Tyson Foods, Inc., founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world's largest processor and marketer of beef, chicken and pork. Tyson Foods produces a wide variety of brand name, processed food products and is the recognized market leader in almost every retail and foodservice market it serves. The Company has 120,000 team members and more than 300 facilities and offices in 30 states and 22 countries.

[ijcr]

David March is an inmate at the Marquette Branch Prison operated by the Michigan Department of Corrections. While in prison, he converted to Wicca. March initiated a suit under 42 U.S.C. g 1983 in a U.S. district court against the prison warden, his administrative assistant and the religious coordinator. They had prevented him from using incense in his rituals. His lawsuit claimed "that the defendants have deprived him of his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion and his Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection of the laws."

The memorandum recognizes:

Wicca as a legitimate religion,
that some Wiccans are solitary practitioners and others are part of covens,
that there are differences in beliefs among Wiccans and Wiccan traditions as there are in Christianity,
that the inmate's 1st and 14th Amendment rights were violated.



Memorandum opinion:
...Marsh is a practitioner of Wicca, which has been recognized by the Michigan Department of Corrections as a legitimate religious affiliation. He is a solitary practitioner of Wicca, not a member of an organized group.Marsh ordered incense by mail to use in his religious observances. The defendants have denied Marsh the use of incense. In this suit, Marsh claims that the defendants have deprived him of his First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion and his Fourteenth Amendment
right to equal protection of the laws. For the reasons that follow, the Court will GRANT Marsh injunctive relief and damages.

Marsh seeks to burn incense on eight Holy days per year under supervision of the prison staff in the prison chapel. Defendant
Matchett has permitted Marsh to use the chapel on several occasions, and allowed him to burn a candle in the chapel. Defendant Matchett also has offered to allow Marsh to use Roman Catholic incense in Marsh's Wicca religious ceremonies. Native Americans are permitted to burn sweet grass and sage in connection with their religious observances. By court order in another matter, 2 Buddhists residing with the Michigan Department of Corrections are permitted to burn incense in designated areas.

Marsh filed a grievance with prison officials, seeking delivery of his incense, which he had ordered through a vendor approved by the Michigan Department of Corrections. At first the grievance was denied on the grounds that the incense was a threat to institutional security because it posed a fire hazard and could mask the odors of marijuana and spud juice. Later the defendants took the position that burning incense is "not essential to the practice of Wicca." Defendant Matchett made this determination after consulting written material published by the "Church of Wicca" in New Berne, North Carolina. Defendants maintained this position, at least until the trial of this case, despite Marsh having advised Pennell on August 21, 1997, that Marsh did not subscribe to the doctrines of that particular church.

Prisoners retain their First Amendment right to freely practice their religion. Cruz v. Beto, 405 U.S. 319, 322 (1972). However, prisoners' constitutional rights may be subjected to reasonable restrictions and limitations. Bell v. Wolfish, 341 U.S. 520, 549-51 (1979). A prison regulation which infringes on a prisoner's constitutional rights is valid if it is reasonably related to legitimate penalogical interests. Turner v. Safley, 482 U.S. 78, 89 (1987). In Turner, the Supreme Court enumerated four factors to be evaluated in determining the reasonableness of such a prison regulation. Id at 89-90. Applying the Turner factors to this case, the United States Magistrate Judge concluded, in a report and recommendation dated December 1, 1997, that the defendants had indeed acted unreasonably in denying Marsh the incense in his religious ceremonies. The United States Magistrate Judge determined that the institutional security concerns were not legitimate; any concerns about personnel shortage were unfounded; and Marsh's desire to burn incense could be easily accommodated. The parties in the pretrial order have indeed stipulated that it is unreasonable for the plaintiff to be banned from using incense.

However, there remains the question whether the Free Exercise Clause is applicable to Marsh's case, because the defendants have heretofore said that Marsh does not need the incense to practice Wicca. The Free Exercise Clause only protects beliefs that are "rooted" in Marsh's religious beliefs. Thomas v. Review Ed. of the Indiana Employment Security Div., 450 U.S. 707, 713 (1981); Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205, 215 (1972). The task of determining what is a religious belief or practice has been described as "difficult" and "delicate." Thomas, 450 U.S. at 714. Courts are not "to question the centrality of particular beliefs or practices to a faith, or the validity of particular litigants' interpretations of those creeds." Hernandez v. Comm 'r Internal Revenue, 490 U.S. 680, 699 (1989); Thomas, 450 U.S. at 716. This Court may only perform the "narrow function" of determining whether Marsh's desired practice of burning incense arises out of his honest conviction that it is required by Wicca. Thomas, 450 U.S. at 716. Whether or not other practitioners of Wicca hold different beliefs is not determinative. Id at 715-716.

According to expert testimony, Wicca is a neopagan religion having its roots in pre-Christian Europe. Wicca accepts a number of Deities representing things found in nature. Because they have no permanent, dedicated places of worship, Wiccans create sacred worship space by "casting a circle." In doing this, Wiccans use elements representing air, earth, water, and fire. Incense represents air. Wicca is not a doctrinaire set of beliefs, but is more akin to a set of practices which vary between groups and between individual practitioners. There are more solitary practitioners than group practitioners of Wicca. Marsh is a solitary practitioner.

It is possible to cast a Wiccan circle without the use of incense. However, many Wiccans believe that incense is necessary to cast a circle. Marsh believes so. As is the case with some other religions, Wicca utilizes incense for other purposes, such as cleansing and promotion of a religious feeling that could include love, protection, and healing. The Court finds that the use of incense does have a role in Wicca, though it is not the sine qua non of the religion for some of its practitioners. The Court further finds that Marsh genuinely believes that the use of incense is essential to his practice of Wicca. That other Wiccans, such as the Church of Wicca, believe otherwise, does not mean that Marsh's beliefs are not protected by the Free Exercise Clause. Thomas, 450 U. S. at 715-716. Therefore, it is clear that the defendants, by denying plaintiff Marsh incense to practice Wicca, have violated his First Amendment free exercise right.

Additionally, defendants have denied Marsh equal protection of the laws under the Fourteenth Amendment. Because Marsh does not allege that he is a member of a suspect class, to prevail in his equal protection claim he must prove that (1) persons who are similarly situated are treated differently by the state, and that (2) the government has failed to provide a rational basis for the dissimilar treatment. Hosna v. Groose, 80 F.3d 298, 304 (8th Cir. 1996); see Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc., 473 U.S. 432, 439-442 (1985).

Native American inmates are permitted to "smudge" sweet grass, sage, and other medical plants in their cells in furtherance of their religious practices. Buddhists are now allowed to burn incense in prison chapels or other designated prison locations. Defendants have not been able to provide any explanation why Marsh as a Wiccan is not similarly situated with those religious adherents. In fact, there is testimony that Wiccan incense could be comprised of the same plant material used by the Native Americans. Finally, the defendants offer no rational basis whatsoever for treating Marsh differently from Native Americans and Buddhists. The defendants have conceded that the ban on Marsh's receiving incense is not reasonably related to any penalogical interest. Hosna, 80 F.3d at 304-05.

The defendants are under no obligation to provide every religious sect or group in the prison with identical facilities, Cruz, 405 U.S. at 322 n.2; Thompson v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, 712 F.2d 1078, 1082 (6th Cir. 1983). Prison officials must be "accorded latitude in the administration of prison affairs." Cruz, 450 U.S. at 321. Nonetheless, in this particular case, it is clear that Marsh was treated differently from similarly situated inmates for no reason at all. Marsh is clearly entitled to an order enjoining the defendants from prohibiting his religious use of incense in the Marquette Branch prison chapel or similar facility, should the plaintiff be transferred to another prison.

Marsh is also entitled to recover compensatory damages for emotional distress. While the compensatory damages resulting from Marsh's having missed celebrating Holy days since mid-1995 are difficult to ascertain, those damages will be assessed at a total of $300.00. Marsh shall also recover his attorney fees in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1988. An appropriate judgment will enter.

R. ALLAN EDGAR, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

[ijcr]

Mandatory drug testing for fire and police employees was implemented in 1985. The testing was conducted during in-service training as a part of a physical examination. The police union filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the program and U.S. District Court Judge R. Allan Edgar agreed. The drug testing was halted after the judge ruled that the policy violated Fourth Amendment protections.

[ijcr]

JUNE 17, 2000
CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE

A request to halt the proposed expansion of the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport was denied as "premature" Friday by a federal judge. "I am not dismissing the case," said U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar. "I'm refusing to grant the requested injunction."

[TheBattman]

I believe we now see which judge is on Tyson's payroll.....

[ysoitanly]

"ethics officer"?

[B4Ranch]

Who was bought, the prosecutors or the judge?

[sweetliberty]

Zero tolerance on hiring illegals??? ROTFLMBO!! I was just working in Springdale last week and the only way you could tell the difference between there and Nogales is that English is more widely spoken in Nogales! You would have to be deaf, blind and incredibly stupid to believe that Tyson doesn't flood their plants with illegals.

[Risa]

What a scumbag company. How could their executives claim they did not know?


The sad part is that by paying dirt cheap wages and providing no benefits to these criminals--the criminals wind up in need of American taxpayer support. Sometimes they are dropped off at the local homeless shelter when they first arrive.

So Tyson Foods gets richer at the expense of the American taxpayer, who must pay for welfare and medicaid, ESL and multilingual cultural affairs programs and so on --

This is why I never eat meat from mass-production type places or fast food chains. (the beef packaing industry is known to travel to mexico to import illegals, too)

Buying meat from small local farmers, if possible, supports local economy and ensures your not consuming excessive hormones and antibiotics as well as supporting illegals.

I wonder who this Federal Judge is--does it seem he is thwarting the effort to prosecute these CEO thugs?

risa