The Southern Legal Resource Center

U P D A T E

Volume IX, Number 3 - May, 2006

P ublished by the Southern Legal Resource Center

P.O. Box 1235, Black Mountain, NC 28711/(828) 669-5189/slrc@slrc-csa.org

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SLRC presents Duty Case check to SCV

 

FORT WORTH , TX – At its meeting here on May 13, the Sons of Confederate Veterans General Executive Council accepted a check from the SLRC for the SCV's share of damanges awarded in an out-of-court settlement in the Jacqueline Duty case.

 

To a standing ovation from those present, SLRC Chief Trial Counsel Kirk D. Lyons handed SCV Commander-in-Chief Denne A. Sweeney a check for $11,383.05. the percentage of the damages earmarked for the SCV in return for its having funded nearly all costs of bringing the suit. The SCV's return on the Duty case was more than half again as much as it realized from its parent case, Castorina v. Madison County School Board , which took up five years and an appeals process before ending in a precedent setting heritage victory.

 

Ms. Duty, now a college student, was barred from attending her senior prom on May 1, 2004 , because she was wearing an evening dress patterned after the Confederate battle flag. She and her mother had worked for two years to complete the sequined, floor-length gown which has since become a Southern heritage icon. Suit was filed in December of 2004, with Kentucky attorney Earl-Ray Neal acting as local counsel. Neal and the SLRC had previously partnered in the Castorina case. The defendants' attorneys moved to settle out of court following depositions by the SLRC's expert witnesses early this year. The settlement agreement was finalized in March.

 

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Judge postpones ruling in Blount County case

 

KNOXVILLE, TN – Federal District Judge Thomas A. Varlan has delayed ruling on a motion for injunctive relief and a temporary restraining order sought by the SLRC in the Blount County Confederate t-shirt case.

 

Judge Varlan heard plaintiffs' and defendants' arguments last week but stated he would take them “under advisement” and render his decision at a later time. When pressed by SLRC local counsel Van Irion to set a possible time frame for handing down his decision, Varlan declined.

 

The SLRC is seeking an injunction that would have the effect of immediately lifting the Blount County school system's ban on Confederate symbols in its schools. If the motion is denied, the case will move to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati , home of the landmark Castorina decision which struck down a school's ban on Confederate symbols in a major Southern heritage judicial victory.

 

The first Blount County lawsuit actually resulted in a second one. The girlfriend of one of the plaintiffs in the original suit reported that one of her teachers sent her to the principal's office for wearing jeans that the teacher claimed violated the school's dress code. At the office, the girl said, Principal Steve LaFon, who is a defendant in the first lawsuit, forcibly took photographs of her, including close-ups of her thighs, and threatened her with immediate suspension if she did not cooperate in letting him do so. The incident occurred only hours after Lafon had been served with the first suit. Attorney Irion promptly filed a second suit which maintains that LaFon acted improperly in retaliation. The second suit, which seeks $10 million in damages, is pending in the same court.

 

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WANTED: Smart, dedicated, angry attorneys: Apply Within

 

By definition the Southern Legal Resource Center is the hub of a network of attorneys committed to assisting citizens whose constitutional rights have been violated in matters involving Southern heritage or culture. These attorneys usually assist us by serving as local counsel in their respective areas. Thing is, we need more. If you are a licensed attorney who is seriously interested in helping preserve and protect the rights of those who take pride in Southern heritage, and in helping to advocate for those who have been victimized for expressing that pride, we'd like to hear from you. Please call us at (828) 669-5189, write us at P.O. Box 1235 , Black Mountain NC 28711 , or e-mail us via the contact form on our website , www.slrc-csa.org

 

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The Official SLRC Wish List

•  Office furniture (desks, chairs, cabinets, credenzas)

•  Computer supplies

•  Conference Table & Chairs

•  Bookshelves

• One clean, good-running late model used car (ask for details)

 

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The Great SLRC Rent Party, or, helping us move up in the world … literally.

 

For the past eight years, the SLRC has inhabited one fourth of a fourplex apartment on Montreat Road about a mile north of downtown Black Mountain , North Carolina . Within its 800 square feet four people have been working – or trying to – amid the clutter that increases daily in proportion to the SLRC's ever-increasing case load. Recently we found a bargain on some midtown office space. It isn't grand – it's a second-floor walkup – but it's nearly double our present square footage and it's in a fine old building on the corner of State and Church Streets. (We'll be at the intersection of Church and State. As a civil rights law firm, we take that as a sign.) Rather than lose the opportunity, we've paid a deposit and signed a year's lease.

 

But even at a bargain price, the rent is $475 a month more than we've been paying all these years. That doesn't sound like much, but those familiar with our finances will understand that to us it's a chunk. So if you want to help us move up in the world in a literal sense, please consider a contribution specifically earmarked for this purpose. Just write “SLRC Rent Party” on your “for” line or note on your credit card or PayPal form. Our mailing address ( P.O. Box 1235 , Black Mountain , NC 28711 ) stays the same.)

 

If you'd care to make a gift in kind, we could sure use office furniture, filing cabinets, bookshelves and chairs. And if you want to show up next week and help paint, we'll spring for pizza.

 

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SLRC INTRODUCES TIERED GIVING OPTIONS

 

Yes! I want to assist the Southern Legal Resource Center in its ongoing fight to preserve and protect the rights of Confederate Southern Americans. I wish to be a:

 

_____BENEFACTOR ($5,000 OR MORE): Listed on website, appreciation certificate, permanent newsletter subscription.

_____SPONSOR ($1,000 - $5,000): Appreciation certificate, permanent newsletter subscription.

_____ CONTRIBUTOR (up to $1,000 annually): Yearly newsletter subscription. Contributor support is renewable annually and can be renewed automatically, on the anniversary of initial contribution, by credit card, advance payment by check, or online via PayPal (see below).

_____ MONTHLY PLEDGE: Free month-to-month newsletter subscription. (For pledge information, see the enclosed insert.)

_____ I am not able to commit to any of the contribution plans listed above wish to make a contribution anyway. (See insert.)

 

-- See insert for credit card payment information

 

 

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If you have a stake in Southern heritage and culture, and are looking for a meaningful way to honor and protect them, please give generously to the Southern Legal Resource Center. With your help we can continue our aggressive efforts to secure the rights of all Southerners to express pride in their regional identity without fear of ridicule or reprisal, as should be the case for all Americans.

 

 

The Southern Legal Resource Center, Inc.   Roger W. McCredie …………………………………….............. Executive Director Kirk D. Lyons………………………………Staff Attorney and Chief Trial Counsel Allison J. Schaum….…………………………………………………….Case Manager Betty D. Tate.…………………………………………………………..Office Manager   BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dewey Barber.………………………………………………………….Odum, Georgia Bragdon R. Bowling.…………………………………………….. Richmond , Virginia Gene Hough, Attorney.………………………………… Oklahoma City , Oklahoma Judge Robert N. Jones, Jr….…………………………………………… Austin , Texas R. Burl McCoy, Attorney……...……………………………… Lexington , Kentucky Neill H. Payne, DC……………………………… .Black Mountain , North Carolina Lourie A. Salley, III, Attorney (Chairman) ………….. Lexington , South Carolina Rick D. Wilkerson …..…….………………………Black Mountain, North Carolina Ann Rives Zappa ………………………………………. Chapel Hill , North Carolina

 

 

The Southern Legal Resource Center is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization, and contributions to it are fully tax deductible. Credit card and PayPal donations may be made at our website by clicking on “How You Can Help.” Checks payable to the Southern Legal Resource Center should be mailed to P.O. Box 1235 , Black Mountain , NC 28711 . “Thumbs Up for Dixie ” stickers are available for SLRC and local heritage fundraising projects. Contact Allison Schaum for details at slrc@crystalink.com or (864) 476-0656. If you wish to receive our weekly e-mail update, contact us at slrc@slrc-csa.org.