IT'S ON: CONWAY V. FLORIDA BAR
VS. 
Attorney Sean Conway Francisco Angones
Free Speech Advocate Florida Bar President
I spoke to Fred Haddad earlier today.
It turns out the Broward Bar, in conjunction with Florida Bar counsel in Tallahassee, decided to file a formal complaint in the Supreme Court against Sean Conway, over his "evil, unfair witch" comments regarding Judge Cheryl Aleman.
Chief Justice Lewis has sent an order to 15th Circuit Chief Judge Kathleen Kroll in Palm Beach, directing her to appoint a judge to preside over the hearing.
In the meantime, Fred is preparing a Motion to Dismiss, to be filed with the standard responses to the formal charges. The defense will be rooted squarely on 1st Amendment grounds, citing Fieger, Yagman, Gentile, and other precedent. Additionally, he will be presenting evidence of the recent JQC panel that found Judge Aleman to be "arrogant, discourteous, and impatient."
In response to questions regarding his other tactics, Fred was, as usual, to the point.
"You know me. Take no prisoners. I'm debating whether to go to federal court now, we'll have to see. I know one thing. If the state court is not sensible enough to dismiss this piece of shit, it will end up in federal court."
Could it go all the way to the US Supreme Court?
"It might."
In the meantime, depositions will be taken, and months will pass. It won't be easy for Sean, so let him know you are thinking of him.
Time to plan the fundraiser.....
Bill Gelin
You have so many cases that have been continued already, do you really need one more? I guess the spotlight of notariety is too appealing to let this one go.
Do your other clients a favor, tell them no spotlight, no representation & let them get another attorney to stop their continuations.............
Come on. Fred is a great guy and the man to jam this up their tight asses.
He wont take prisoners but a continuance he will take any day of the week. Debating on going to Federal court because they give many more continuances?
I always thought Sean's mentor and friend big daddy marshall was more suited to be the man to jam something up tight asses for Sean
has ratboy ever been seen with a real women? not a fake one? is there a ratguy out there for ratboy?
Go Fred. First amendment is the way to go.
Its time for a good pary/fundraiser. Go old school in the back of the Juvi offices kegs frozen drinks and burers/dogs on the grill. PD's old and new will pay up to protect one of our own. Come on Howard get behind this.
Cathy says parties are bad. Too much liability.
Sean gets in trouble for telling the TRUTH.
Only in Florida.
Remember the Fighting Irish! We love you Sean
The problem with this is simple. They will be asking judges to say it is OK to call a judge an evil bitch, even when everyone knows she really is an evil bitch.
The courts have ruled before that lawyers have to be careful what they say about judges.
Judges just don't have a good sense of humor or first amendment.
They stink.
Great job Conway and Haddad.
We're proud of you!
Angnones is a moron for allowing this to happen on his watch.
The bar president is just a puppet. He doesn't know anything. The Bar itself is just a network of civil servants doing the bidding of the judiciary. Presidents come and go, then they shine their plaques the rest of their lives.
Sean rocks
Screw the Florida Bar.
What have they ever done for me?
What are my dues used for except to employ a bunch of people in soft jobs who can't hack it in court?
Your dues are used to respond to Jack Thompson's endless stream of complaints and whining.
a dumbass who brought this on himself by posting under his own name?
Before you respond to this post defending Sean, are you willing to put you name on it? If not, are you really supportive of Sean or just happy it hasnt happened to you?
Seanway to the Supreme Court - awesome.
Are Fred Haddad's comments sanctionable misconduct?
I filed a federal declaratory judgment action this week in the Southern District to stop The Bar from pursuing Conway and others like him. If anyone wants a copy of the complaint as filed, just email me at amendmentone@comcast.net.
As to your dues allegedly going to respond to my whining, I'm actually out here helping Sean Conway while some of your knuckleheads are anonymously whining and doing absolutely nothing about this Bar assault upon the First Amendment.
Jack Thompson
Dear Free Speech Advocate:
The only "dumb ass" here, to use your term, is you. Did the signers to the Declaration of Indpendence sign it "Anonymous?"
What the Bar is doing here violates Keller v. State Bar of California--a unaninous decision by the US Supreme Court striking down the use of state bars in this fashion.
That case is at the core of my dec. action filed this week.
Further, Barry Richard, who is a lying sack of disinformation at Greenberg Traurig, who represents The Bar in all of its litigation, tells federal courts that Conway and I have an absolute right to appear before the Bar Governors to make our constitutional arguments pre-trial, doing that to secure federal abstention from intervening, and then the Governors, on Richard's advice, deny appearances before the governors, thereby denying the "adequate state remedy," for those of you who know anything about abstention.
Frank Angones thinks he's back in Cuba where the state dictates the limits of dissent.
Jack Thompson (see, I actually sign my name)
John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
amendmentone@comcast.net
March 7, 2008
Frank Angones
Florida Bar President
All Florida Bar Governors
Miami, Florida Via Fax to 305-371-3948 and e-mails
Re: Right of Bar Respondent to Appear before Florida Bar Governors
Dear Frank and All Bar Governors:
I see that we have our annual Bar meeting coming up June 18-21 at the Boca Raton Resort and Club. I hereby exercise my absolute right to appear before the Bar’s Board of Governors to assert my constitutional defenses to The Bar’s SLAPP assault upon my First Amendment and due process rights. Put me on the agenda, now, at your Governors meeting at the Boca Raton gathering. Speaking of Boca Raton, I’ll be the mouth and the Governors can be the rats.
As you know, your outside counsel, Barry Richard of Greenberg Traurig, routinely asserts to federal courts that the federal case of Mason v. Florida Bar case establishes that any Bar respondent has the absolute right to appear before the Governors for this purpose. I exercise that right. Richard says there is such a right in order to secure, fraudulently, federal abstention from review of what The Bar is doing in these regards. The Bar then denies respondents their requested audiences. Naughty, naughty.
I exercise this absolute right also because it is now reported that The Bar is going after Broward attorney Sean Conway for doing what I have done—truthfully criticizing the misconduct of a judge. Frank, you are like the little Dutch boy running around trying to plug all the leaks in the dike. You don’t have enough thumbs.
Either tell me by next Monday that I am on the agenda for the June 18 meeting, or I shall secure a writ of mandamus to make you put me on the agenda.
I’m more than tired of your lies, obfuscations, and cowardice.
Regards, Jack Thompson
Copy: Attorney Fred Haddad (Fred, loved the “piece of shit” comment. Right on!
Fred is the best. I had a case not too dissimialr from Conway's. It's not what was said that was troubling to the Bar, but who the comments are directed to, because it undermines the respect to the judiciary in general.
Dear Ted Danson:
Please email me at amendmentone@comcast.net, and I'll send you a copy of my federal dec action I filed this week. Keller v. State Bar of California prohibits the Florida Bar from doing this.
What undermines the respect of The Bar is not criticism of judges but rather a state judicial hierarchy that protects corrupt judges and goes after whistleblowers. Justice Douglas in Lathrop v. Donohue predicted that integrated state bars would eventually become "goose-stepping brigades." The brigades are here in Florida, with Justice Cantero now stating that we should round up lawyers with "bad manners" and suspend them. How about we impeach bad Justices for being constitutional illiterates?
Jack Thompson
I have gone to the Florida Supreme Court site and found the docketed case for Mr. Conway. Here is the information thereat:
02/25/2008 COMPLAINT CO The Florida Bar FB BY: CO Alan Anthony Pascal 961663 W/EXHIBIT (O&1)
02/27/2008 No Fee Required
03/03/2008 ORDER-REFEREE APPOINTMENT (DISCIPLINARY) HON. KATHLEEN J. KROLL, C.J., 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
Note that the complainant is Mr. Pascal, who is a Florida Bar prosecutor.
It is wholly improper, under our separation of powers doctrine upon which our form of government rests, for The Bar to be the maker of the rules (legislative function), the prosecutor of rules violations (executive), and the adjudicator of whether rules have been violated (judicial).
Here is The Bar coming after, trying, and adjudicating Mr. Conway, all in one entity, in violation of this separation of powers doctrine.
This is just one problem with all of this. The Bar, then, is not simply processing complaints against lawyers on the basis of concerns BY THE PUBLIC. It is hunting people down who threatened its cherished "judicial independence" nonsense, which is really the protection of incompetent and corrupted judges. That is not judicial independence; that is superordinating the judiciary about any other branch of government. In this instance, it is going after a lawyer who identified Aleman as what she is.
The Fieger decision absolutely prohibits this. Mr. Pascal should be prosecuted for imitating a lawyer, as he has taken an oath to uphold the constitution. This prosecution of a whistleblower subverts the constitution, which is why my federal dec action on all this will succeed.
Jack Thompson
PS: Where's Mr. First Amendment Norm Kent on all this? At a NORML meeting?
And finally, our Florida Bar (motto: "we never met a lawyer we didn't want to disbar") has decided to move forward with a formal complaint against Broward attorney Sean Conway for his comment calling Judge Aleman an "evil, unfair witch" on the Broward Blog. The blog's post on the topic is
HERE along with Fred Haddad's (Conway's counsel in the matter) thoughtful legal analysis of the complaint: "a piece of shit".
Truer words were never spoken.
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 08-20565, JUDGE LENARD/MAGISTRATE TORRES
JOHN B. THOMPSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
THE FLORIDA BAR,
Defendant.
PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO STAY STATE PROCEEDINGS AND
MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT THEREOF
Comes now plaintiff, pursuant to 28 USC 2283, and moves this court for a stay of all state proceedings in aid of its jurisdiction, more specifically stating:
The instant action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief regarding The Florida Bar’s ongoing violation of the United States Constitution by this integrated state bar in expending funds and otherwise engaging in activities violative of its members’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The United States Supreme Court in Keller v. State Bar of California, 496 U.S. 1 (1990) unanimously held
The State Bar's use of petitioners' compulsory dues to finance political and ideological activities with which petitioners disagree violates their First Amendment right of free speech when such expenditures are not necessarily or reasonably incurred for the purpose of regulating the legal profession or improving the quality of legal services. P P. 9-17.
Despite the filing of this suit, and in fact because of its filing, The Florida Bar has decided to proceed, pell-mell, against Broward attorney Sean Conway in a clear violation of Keller and in an attempt to thwart this court’s jurisdiction over the illegal, unconstitutional acts of The Florida Bar on the issue of whether “discipline” can be used to punish lawyers for truthful speech about the misconduct of state judges. The following appears today at http://jaablog.jaablaw.com/:
IT'S ON: CONWAY V. FLORIDA BAR
VS.
Attorney Sean Conway Francisco Angones
Free Speech Advocate Florida Bar President
I spoke to Fred Haddad earlier today.
It turns out the Broward Bar, in conjunction with Florida Bar counsel in Tallahassee, decided to file a formal complaint in the Supreme Court against Sean Conway, over his "evil, unfair witch" comments regarding Judge Cheryl Aleman.
Chief Justice Lewis has sent an order to 15th Circuit Chief Judge Kathleen Kroll in Palm Beach, directing her to appoint a judge to preside over the hearing.
In the meantime, Fred is preparing a Motion to Dismiss, to be filed with the standard responses to the formal charges. The defense will be rooted squarely on 1st Amendment grounds, citing Fieger, Yagman, Gentile, and other precedent. Additionally, he will be presenting evidence of the recent JQC panel that found Judge Aleman to be "arrogant, discourteous, and impatient."
In response to questions regarding his other tactics, Fred was, as usual, to the point.
"You know me. Take no prisoners. I'm debating whether to go to federal court now, we'll have to see. I know one thing. If the state court is not sensible enough to dismiss this piece of shit, it will end up in federal court."
Could it go all the way to the US Supreme Court?
"It might."
In the meantime, depositions will be taken, and months will pass. It won't be easy for Sean, so let him know you are thinking of him.
Time to plan the fundraiser.....
Bill Gelin
Posted by William Gelin at 3/6/2008 4:49 PM | View Comments (28) | Add Comment
The Florida Bar was apprised previously of the fact that this federal lawsuit would be filed, and it was this week. It is not a coincidence that The Florida Bar and the Suprme Court have gone into overdrive this week to harm Mr. Conway. Mr. Conway’s improper targeting by The Bar is mentioned twice in this instant suit, and now The Bar is scurrying to get the punishment of him underway and in doing so thwart this federal court by seeking to undercut its jurisdiction over unconstitutional state actions.
This attempt to limit the power of the federal courts is improper and it is consequential to the rights of Mr. Conway, to the undersigned plaintiff, and to other Florida lawyers similarly situated.
28 USC 2283 gives this court authority to enjoin state court proceedings in order to aid its jurisdiction. This situation cries out for just that.
Plaintiff has, prior to this, communicated with Barry Richard of Greenberg Traurig, a private law firm which always represents The Florida Bar in such matters, despite the fact that The Bar claims to be a state agency, and asked about service of this suit, and plaintiff has received no response. Plaintiff also certifies that he has transmitted this motion for stay to Mr. Richard as well. Plaintiff has no idea, at the time of this filing, if Mr. Richard agrees to same, although plaintiff is certain that The Bar will not voluntarily agree to a stay of its unconstitutional proceedings.
Staying such proceedings will harm no one. The Republic will not fall. The Bar’s disciplinary system will not collapse. State judges will not resign en masse. All that will happen if such a stay is entered is that this federal court will assert its legal and constitutional power to address whether a state is violating the United States Constitution.
WHEREFORE, plaintiff moves this court pursuant to 28 USC 2283 to stay until the merits of this case might be reached all state Bar proceedings that seek discipline of lawyers for speech that The Bar considers endangers “judicial independence” as such a use of “discipline,” under Keller, clearly constitutes a violation of the First Amendment rights of speech and association.