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JEFF MAXWELL LAWSUIT FILED. |
If
you think dealing with the legislative system is frustrating,
you don't know the half of it.
Those of you who followed the case of Jeff
Maxwell, a Marine Corp veteran who was arrested at Western
Oregon University for exercising his Second Amendment rights,
know how long we have been involved in our efforts to get justice
for him.
It has been a very long and complicated journey,
Although we were able to quickly get the criminal charges against
him dropped, getting the Oregon University system to comply
with the law is another matter.
As those of you who have followed our defense of the Medford
teacher know, these processes can take a ridiculously long
time. (We are still awaiting the Appeals Court decision on that
issue.)
This case was complicated by a number of factors. First, there
were several ways we could have approached it. Each had their
own strengths and liabilities.
Second, other organizations got involved in the issue, As a
result, there was a major possibility that we would be working
at cross purposes with people who were trying to reach
the same goal we were.
When multiple players are addressing the same legal issue, their
cases could be consolidated, or one group might be bumped out
of the process altogether. While any legal strategy comes with
a chance of losing, we felt very strongly that we had
to have a plan that had the greatest chance of success for Maxwell
and all gun owners. We also had an obligation to protect
Jeffery from any additional liability.
Frankly, this took a lot longer than we expected. For those
of you who have so generously contributed, we thank you for
your support and your patience.
As you know, early on we considered a Federal Deprivation of
Civil Rights lawsuit. At one time, we felt strongly that that
was the best way to go.
As this case developed, our attorneys concluded that that
path might not be the most beneficial. There were a number of
reasons why. One, there was a distinct possibility that the
Federal Courts might simply refuse to hear our case. Because
another organization had served notice of their plans to challenge
Maxwell's suspension in state court, the Feds might very likely
have taken the position that they would not rule until the State
had reached a conclusion.
Had that happened, there would have been little we could do
for a long time. But there were other considerations.
Our attorneys informed us that should the Feds hear our case,
and our side lost, Maxwell could be personally liable for attorney's
fees.
We have always been clear that our Foundation would pay for
Jeffery's legal bills, but we were not comfortable allowing
him to be in the financial cross hairs. We can budget for known
lawyer's bills, and our supporters have been very generous,
but to have him be technically responsible instead of us made
no sense.
So, after much consideration and discussion, with a lot of input
from friends in many quarters, we chose another route
that we believe will allow us to reach a conclusion to this
matter and isolate Jeffery from any future potential liability.
Jeffery has been involved on all stages of this process and
is on board with this strategy.
On August 7th, our attorneys filed a Petition
for Judicial Determination of Validity of Rule.
Since our Foundation is the plaintiff instead of Jeff Maxwell,
he cannot be liable for any negative outcomes in the future.
The law also requires that the plaintiff not be a party
to any current dispute, so the Foundations becomes the perfect
party to address this issue.
There are other reasons why we believe, win or lose, that this
will be the best way to go.
As you know, we have been involved in numerous legal actions
when we felt there was no legislative remedy. As you also know,
courts are really accountable to no one and they reach some
bizarre conclusions. If the case was just about Jeff, the courts
may have found a creative way to either affirm Jeff's suspension
from school, or reverse it while never addressing the rule itself.
Then we could face this same battle again.
We have sued the Oregon University System in the past with no
resolution. The way this case is crafted, we believe that we
have a far better chance of getting an answer that applies to
everyone.
This step unfortunately, is but the first of a long trip.
The actual legal battle will go on for some months. But it's
a battle that must be fought.
Once again, we thank you for your support and patience.
We thank the courageous
legislators who have stepped up to challenge the law-breakers
at the University System , especially Senator Brian Boquist
and Representative Kim Thatcher and we ask that you continue
to stand with us as this lengthy process unfolds.
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© 2000 - 2010, Oregon Firearms Federation. All Rights Reserved.
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