Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2000 14:02:10 -0500 (CDT)
From: James Floyd (jfloyd@hiwaay.net)
Subject: The next flag I burn will have stars and stripes!
Oh, woe is me. De judge say I gotta go to court on Good Friday?
Well, it somehow seems appropriate, doesn't it? Me and Jesus
never have done any good in court.
And I too have a Peter. His name is Oscar Stilley, of Little Rock
Ar. This bastard gave his oath that he would stick with me to
the end. He quit me, Monday, four days before this first hearing.
Alone, again, amen!
The below may be of interest;
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to The Honorable James H. Hancock
U.S. District Court
case #: 00-CV-383
from James Floyd
Plaintiff
Your Honor, I have no illusions of adequacy regarding my ability
to proceed with this case. However, at this late date, I find myself
without an attorney. Mr. Becraft only agreed to file the necessary
papers with the understanding that Mr. Stilley would be totally
responsible for representing me in this action. Mr. Becraft's
appearance, in your court, is obligatory and he has no desire to
continue beyond this hearing.
Mr. Stilley has confessed that his conduct in this case has been
both unprofessional and unconscionable. In a taped conversation,
he asked forgiveness for failing to perform his duties and admitted
that he fabricated excuses to justify his conduct. He confessed that
his advice to me, given four days before this hearing, was for his
convenience without regard for my best interest. He never intended
to come to this court.
The Case
In January of 1998, I organized a meeting to protest illegal
immigration. At this gathering I attempted to burn a Mexican flag.
I did not falsely assume that flag burning was/is a constitutionally
protected right of free speech and expression. I listen to the first
reports of this decision on National Public Radio and went to the
library, prior to the flag burning, to verify that the Supreme Court
had so ruled and had reaffirmed this right.
I acted in childish faith, believing that the Federal Court System,
which told me that I could burn a flag, would surely not allow the
City of Cullman or the State of Alabama to deny me this right through
subterfuge and legal maneuvers. Am I now to be told that fifty states
and thousands of backwater towns and cities have arrogated to
themselves the power to qualify, revise or otherwise restrict the
exercise of this mode of free speech?
I told everyone, in a number of TV and press interviews and with my
local attorney present, that I had no confidence in receiving fair
treatment from our city, county or state courts. Your Honor, I am
painfully aware of Alabama's record of non-compliance with federal
law and their disregard for civil rights. That record is abysmal
and any thinking person would consider them innocent of any
qualification as a defender of our rights.
At no time, ever, was I told of the Rooker-Feldman doctrine and the
possibility that the Federal Court would not hear my complaints. It
is patently unfair to be told, three days before this hearing, that
my only chance to be heard would have been by way of a writ of
certiorari (?) and that only two percent of these filings are addressed
by the Supreme Court.
Mr. Becraft told me that he knew you and that you would not listen to
my complaints. Again, with child-like faith I am trusting that this
is untrue.
As briefly as possible, these are my complaints;
In city court the original citation was changed from "burning flags"
to "violation of the burn ordinance." At my first appearance before
Judge H. Frank Brunner, county court, I was told that the case was
not about flag burning, free speech, the constitution etc. and that
we were to refrain from such statements.
Judge Brunner restated this admonition in his court, during the trial,
and threatened to punish my attorney if he continued to pursue this
line of defense. I have attached the citation, ARJA, to this document,
please note that in two places it charges me with "burning flags," and
"burning flags at civic center." This citation was not presented to
the Appeals Court or the State Supreme Court.
Your Honor, there is a man in your court that I do not believe will
lie to you about the following complaint. Chief of Police, Kenny
Culpepper, is an honest man with whom I have exchanged books, had long
conversations and have, for a long time, considered to be a friend.
Ask him whether or not Judge H. Frank Brunner, spoke the following
words from his bench, "Floyd you are going to take this case to another
court, to another judge, and you might win, but you are not going to
win in my court."
No, that obscene statement is not in the transcript but should be and
should have been presented to the other courts, because it best
exemplifies the heavy-handed treatment I received from this judge.
I was, also, offended when the prosecutor, Wayne Fuller, asked the
perspective jurors, "Is there anybody here who thinks they can violate
our local laws just because we violate your civil rights?"
These two statements, alone, speak volumes regarding the combined
effort of this judge and prosecutor to deny me a fair trial but there
is more, much more!
I am capable of explaining the city's machinations surrounding the
issue of a flag burning permit.
I am capable of debunking any charge of public endangerment, any
charge of bigotry or racism, and, most importantly, I am able to show
that from the material which finally reached the higher courts that
they did not have an accurate or saliently clear record with which to
reach a fair decision in this case.
Conclusion
I do not have a Judge Frank Johnson, a Thurgood Marshal or the ACLU
to defend my civil rights. Humbly and with respect, I am telling you
that all I have is a childish hope that you will not dismiss my case
and that you will allow me equal consideration in defending my right
to free speech.
James Floyd
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