Subject: Minton's Motion for Order to Show Cause
Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 10:46:24 -0400
Organization: Lisa McPherson Trust, 33 N. Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater, FL 33755 Tel: (727) 467-9335
Message-ID: <utpimt8sg31ren6haqunserttkcckor2kc@4ax.com>
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY FLAG
SERVICE ORGANIZATION, INC.,
a Florida corporation,
Petitioner, Case No. 99?7430?CI?O8
vs.
ROBERT S. MINTON, JR., et al.,
Respondents. ______________________________
RESPONDENT ROBERT S. MINTON'S MOTION FOR ORDER TO SHOW
CAUSE AND MOTION FOR MODIFICATION AND IN CAMERA
REVIEW OR EARLY TERMINATION OF PROBATION
The Respondent, ROBERT S. MINTON, JR., by and through his undersigned counsel, pursuant to Rule 1.570(c), Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, and Rule 3.840, Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure, hereby requests this Honorable Court to issue its Order to the Petitioner, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY FLAG SERVICE ORGANIZATION, INC., to show cause why the Petitioner should not be held in contempt of Court for violating Temporary Injunction Number Two issued in this cause on November 30, 2000, as amended December 1, 2000, and the Respondent, ROBERT S. MINTON, JR., further requests this Honorable Court to modify or clarify condition 5 of the probation imposed upon the Respondent in this cause and determine through in camera review of documents the Respondent's compliance with condition 5, or alternatively to terminate the probation imposed upon the Respondent in this cause, and as grounds therefor would state:
1. Paragraph 4 of Temporary Injunction Number Two in this cause enjoins the Petitioner, including the Petitioner's "members, officers, agents, servants, employees and those persons and entities in actual concert or participation" with the Petitioner "from committing any acts of harassment" against the Respondent.
2. Temporary Injunction Number Two has been in effect since November 30, 2000, and continues to be in effect until July 30, 2001.
3. On February 21, 2001, upon a finding that the Respondent was in contempt of Court, the Court withheld adjudication of guilt and placed the Respondent on six months of probation under the supervision of the Salvation Army, said probation being scheduled to terminate on August 20, 2001.
4. It is the knowledge and belief of the Respondent and his undersigned counsel that the Respondent has complied with all terms and conditions of his probation and has continued to report as required to the Salvation Army Correctional Services at 300 North Fort Harrison Avenue, Clearwater, Florida.
5. Throughout the proceedings in this cause, it has become the knowledge and belief of the Respondent and his undersigned counsel that one Ben Shaw has been and continues to be in fact a member, officer, agent, servant, or employee of the Petitioner who has acted in actual concert or participation with the Petitioner, the basis of this knowledge and belief being that Ben Shaw has testified under oath before this Court that he holds such a position with the Petitioner and regularly acts in that capacity.
6. On or about May 17, 2001, Ben Shaw, acting in his capacity as a member, officer, agent, servant, or employee of the Petitioner, caused to be written on the stationery of the Petitioner a letter with attachments which he then caused to be sent to the Salvation Army Correctional Services in Clearwater, Florida, as well as to the Court and counsel for the parties in this cause, a copy of said letter being attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit A, with its attachments.
7. This same letter suggested to the Salvation Army Correctional Services as well as to the Court that the Respondent was in violation of his probation by committing a criminal act and further suggested that the Salvation Army should allege a violation of probation by the Respondent for purposes of ultimately imposing criminal sanctions against the Respondent.
8. Specifically, this same letter alleged that the Respondent committed a crime under the California Penal Code by aiding and abetting H. Keith Henson in failing to appear for sentencing before a state court in California, either by causing, aiding, advising or encouraging H. Keith Henson not to appear for sentencing.
9. In this same letter, Ben Shaw demonstrates both a knowledge and understanding of the California statutory law that purportedly applied to his allegation and of the complete factual basis for his allegation, as indicated by citing and quoting California statutes in the letter and by the attachments to the letter.
10. Subsequent to receipt of this same letter, the Respondent's probation officer at the Salvation Army presented him with the letter and advised the Respondent that the allegation in the letter would not constitute a violation of probation and therefore no further action would be taken on these allegations by the Salvation Army.
11. At the time he wrote and caused this letter to be sent, Ben Shaw knew and had reason to know that the law and the facts did not support his allegation that the Respondent had violated his probation by committing a criminal offense. See the Affidavit of ROBERT S. MINTON, JR., attached hereto as Exhibit B.
12. The sending of this letter to the Salvation Army Correctional Services with copies to the Court and counsel constituted an act of harassment by the Petitioner against the Respondent as that term was contemplated in Temporary Injunction Number Two.
14. The Respondent further has knowledge and belief that the Petitioner, through one Gerard Renna, identified as Director of Special Affairs for the Petitioner's Church of Scientology in Boston, acted in his capacity as a member, officer, agent, servant, or employee of the Petitioner in composing and causing to be sent two letters, the first dated May 9, 2001, and addressed to J. Scott Currier, Chief of Police in Sandown, New Hampshire, attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit C, and the second dated May 24, 2001, and addressed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and copied to the Boston Police Department and Chief of Police J. Scott Currier, attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit D.
15. In the same letter of May 9, 2001 (Exhibit C), Gerard Renna states in part to Chief of Police J. Scott Currier, "As Mr. Minton is known to have guns, I have also enclosed a copy of his six-month probation order for your information."
16. At the time this same letter was sent, Gerard Renna knew or had reason to know that Chief of Police J. Scott Currier, as a law enforcement officer in New Hampshire, had no authority or jurisdiction to enforce a probation order from the State of Florida.
17. At the time this same letter was sent, Gerard Renna knew or had reason to know from a review of the probation order that possession of firearms was not a violation of the Respondent's probationary conditions.
18. In the same letter of May 24, 2001 (Exhibit D), Gerard Renna refers to an enclosed "letter sent to Minton's probation officer regarding violation of his probation by assisting Henson," and further states, "Minton lives in New Hampshire and Boston and that it is likely, due to his arrogance for the law, that he might harbor this fugitive of the United States at his home."
19. At the time this same letter was sent, Gerard Renna knew or had reason to know that H. Keith Henson was staying in the country of Canada and therefore would not be at the Respondent's home.
20. At the time this same letter was sent, Gerard Renna also knew or had reason to know that the Respondent's alleged conduct did not constitute a violation of his probation.
21. It is the Respondent's knowledge and belief that a copy of Gerard Renna's letter of May 9, 2001 (Exhibit C), or a similar communication stating that the Respondent "is known to have guns" was sent to the Salvation Army Correctional Service, as the Respondent's current probation officer made additional inquiries of the Respondent on June 26, 2001, concerning the Respondent's ownership of firearms, even though the Respondent had previously obtained the permission of his former probation officer, Donna Muniz of the Salvation Army, to keep and possess the firearms that he owned. See the Affidavit of ROBERT S. MINTON, JR., attached hereto as Exhibit B.
22. By sending these same letters (Exhibits C and D), Gerard Renna intended or anticipated that inquiries, investigations and searches of the Respondent would be made while Gerard Renna knew or had reason to know that no legal or factual basis for such inquiries, investigations or searches existed.
23. Each act of sending of these letters to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chief of Police of Sandown, New Hampshire, the Boston Police Department, and the Salvation Army Correctional Services with copies to the Court and counsel constituted harassment by the Petitioner against the Respondent as that term was contemplated in Temporary Injunction Number Two.
24. Because each of these acts of harassment constitute a violation of Temporary Injunction Number Two by a member, officer, agent, servant, or employee of the Petitioner, the Petitioner has violated the Injunction and should be required to show cause why the Petitioner should not be held in contempt of this Court.
25. Alternatively, the Petitioner through its members, officers, agents, servants and employees has repeatedly demonstrated an intent to harass the Respondent through abusing the processes of the Court by knowingly making misrepresentations that the Respondent is in violation of his probation.
26. An effective deterrent to such continued harassment and abuse by the Petitioner would be for the Court to terminate the Respondent's probation, or alternatively to modify and clarify condition 5 of the Respondent's probation by allowing the Respondent to keep and possess such firearms as he owned.
27. The Respondent has attempted to comply with condition 5 of the probation order by informing his probation officer of his weapons, but has been informed by the Salvation Army Correctional Services that in order to comply with condition 5 he is also required to submit a list of his weapons and a notarized statement to the Salvation Army. See letter of the Salvation Army Program Administrator dated July 5, 2001, attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit E.
28. The Respondent wishes to comply with the direction of the Salvation Army Correctional Services, but is rightly concerned that the requested list of weapons would become part of the public record subject to disclosure under the public records law of Chapter 119, as the Salvation Army Correctional Services is an "agency" as defined by Section 119.011(2), Florida Statutes (2000), and the requested list of weapons would be a "public record" as defined by Section 119.011(1), Florida Statutes (2000), subject to inspection by any person.
29. The Respondent is also rightly concerned that the Petitioner, the CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY FLAG SERVICE ORGANIZATION, INC., has taken an inordinate and illicit interest in amassing information concerning the Respondent which would not otherwise be discoverable in this cause, and that the Petitioner would acquire and use information concerning the Respondent's ownership of certain firearms to harass the Respondent further by making additional baseless allegations to authorities as the Petitioner has done repeatedly.
30. An appropriate solution to insure compliance by the Respondent with condition 5 of his probation while preventing abuse of the requested information by the Petitioner would be for the Court to receive and inspect in camera the Respondent's list of firearms as requested by the Salvation Army Correctional Services and to thereupon determine the Respondent's compliance with condition 5 and to make such modifications and clarifications to condition 5 as the Court deems appropriate, and to then seal or return the Respondent's list of firearms.
WHEREFORE, the Respondent requests this Honorable Court to issue its Order for the Petitioner to show cause why the Petitioner should not be held in contempt of this Court, and the Respondent further requests this Honorable Court to terminate the Respondent's probation or alternatively to receive and inspect in camera the requested list of the Respondent's firearms to determine the Respondent's compliance with condition 5 of the probation order, and to clarify or modify condition 5 of the Respondent's probation to permit the Respondent to keep and possess his firearms.
Certificate of Service I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was sent by U.S. Mail to F. Wallace Pope, Esq., P.O. Box 1368, Clearwater, FL 33757, and to John Merrett, Esq., 2716 Herschel Street, Jacksonville, FL 32205, and to Connie T. Dugan, Program Administrator, Salvation Army Correctional Services, 300 North Fort Harrison Avenue, Clearwater, FL 33755, this _____ day of July, 2001.
_________________________
Bruce G. Howie
Piper, Ludin, Howie & Werner, P.A.
5720 Central Avenue
St. Petersburg, FL 33707
Telephone (727) 344-1111
Facsimile (727) 344-1117
Florida Bar No. 263230
SPN 0085319
Attorney for ROBERT S. MINTON, JR.
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND FOR PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA
CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY FLAG
SERVICE ORGANIZATION, INC.,
a Florida corporation,
Petitioner, Case No. 99?7430?CI?O8
vs.
ROBERT S. MINTON, JR., et al.,
Respondents. ______________________________
AFFIDAVIT OF ROBERT S. MINTON, JR.
The Respondent, ROBERT S. MINTON, JR., hereby states under oath as follows:
1. I am a citizen of the United States, I am a resident of Sandown, New Hampshire, and I am over the age of 18 years.
2. All facts set forth in this affidavit are personally known to me.
3. In accordance with the Judgment of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in this cause, on February 22, 2001, I reported to the Salvation Army Correctional Services to begin the supervision of my term of probation.
4. I was assigned Donna Muniz as my probation officer, and at the beginning of my probation, in order to comply with the terms of my probation, I volunteered to her that I owned firearms. I advised her that I had firearms at my home in Sandown, New Hampshire, and at that time Donna Muniz permitted me to continue to own these firearms.
5. On June 26, 2001, I received a call from Sharon Young of the Salvation Army Correctional Services inquiring whether I owned any firearms. I advised her that I did and that I previously addressed this issue with Donna Muniz. Ms. Young asked me to have these firearms registered, at which time I told her that to the best of my knowledge New Hampshire does not have provision for the registration of firearms unless one is seeking a license to carry a concealed weapon.
6. I have also received and reviewed the following letters: (a) one dated May 17, 2001, by Ben Shaw to the Salvation Army, (b) a second dated May 9, 2001, by Gerard Renna to the Chief of Police of Sandown, New Hampshire, and (c) a third dated May 24, 2001, from Gerard Renna to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
7. I never advised or encouraged or otherwise suggested to H. Keith Henson that he fail to appear for sentencing before the state court in California, nor have I aided or abetted H. Keith Henson in any way in his failure to appear in court as required.
8. I have complied with all terms and conditions of the probation imposed in this cause to the best of my ability, and I am not aware of any violation of these terms and conditions.
FURTHER AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGHT.
___________________________________
ROBERT S. MINTON, JR.
