Friday, May 17, 2019

Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Standards of Official Conduct Complaint re: Office for Civil Rights in Atlanta

Today is May 17, 2019. 
  • Today the House of Representatives voted to support the Equality Act, protecting GBLTQ people from housing, employment, education and public accommodations discrimination.
  • Today is the 65th anniversary of the Supreme Court's unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
  • Today is the 36th anniversary of the declassification of the Oak Ridge mercury pollution -- biggest mercury pollution event in world history, declassified as a result of our November 17, 1982 FOIA request by the Appalachian Observer, a/k/a "Aggravtin' Disturber," as our newspaper was often called by my friend, longtime Anderson County District Attorney General James Nelson Ramsey.
  • Today is the 54th birthday of Duane David Rinde, the "Rosa Parks of Gay rights" of Gay Marriage Equality in Washington D.C., whom I was honored to represent as my client in the Rinde v. Woodward & Lothrop case, a giant step toward Gay Marriage.
  • Today I filed an Inspector General Standards of Official Conduct complaint against the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights in Atlanta over possible maladministration, desuetude and delay in handling my:
  1. 2014 complaint against the University of Florida Levin College of Law Environmental Law and Land Use Planning Law (ELULP) LLM program; and
  2. 2019 complaint against Flagler College involving the "Keeping History Above Water" conference.

 As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, quoting Amos 5:24, in his August 28, 1963 "I have a dream" speech:
  • No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until ‘justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’

Investigation Services







-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: Nicole.Gardner
Sent: Fri, May 17, 2019 12:22 pm
Subject: Standards of Official Conduct Complaint re: U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Atlanta Office

Dear DoEd OIG HQ SAC Ms. Gardner:
Please call me to discuss today.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
www.edslavin.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: Aaron.Jordan ; Mark.Smith ; betsy.devos
Cc: Martin.Chen ; Scott.Sausser ; jjoyner ; fdupchurch ; lkeys ; gjennings ; dgalambos ; tupchurch1 ; tupchurch ; lfreeman ; rhorvath ; nsikeskline ; jvaldes ; georgio ; sam ; OCR ; pat.gleason ; sunshine ; kjakab ; mmilton ; tomcushman ; tanner ; OCR_Atlanta ; betsy.devos ; hamann ; flournoy ; rosenbury ; angelo ; ihdean47 ; bcc5hdean ; nancyshaver77 ; nsikeskline ; commkostka ; retlyn
Sent: Fri, May 17, 2019 12:14 pm
Subject: Standards of Official Conduct Complaint re: U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Atlanta Office
Dear Dept. of Education AIGI Jordan and DAIGI Smith and Secretary DeVos:
1. Please investigate possible violation of the federal employee Standards of Official Conduct involving the Atlanta Office for Civil Rights.  including:
A. repeatedly sending correspondence unadorned by the name of a living breathing natural person signer, with dubious unsigned statements, including errors and non sequiturs, 
B. its illegal and inartful unsigned May 17, 2019 e-mail in this case, below, which appears to encourage Respondent Flagler College, Inc. to destroy evidence, and 
C. refusing to furnish Respondent Flagler College, Inc. and me with a PDF copy of my administrative complaint in this action, despite repeated requests, and
D. five (5) years of ongoing unexplained delay in deciding my 2014 complaint against the University of Florida Levin College of Law Environmental and Land Use Planning Law LLM program.
2. I attempted unsuccessfully to resolve my concerns informally this morning by telephone with DoEd OCR in Atlanta.
3. DOE OCR supervisory attorney ROBERT SCOTT SAUSSER, a UF alumni, is out of the office. 
4. DOE OCR attorney MARTIN CHEN just spoke with me, was flippant, rude ,condescending and patronizing, claiming their were (unexplained) barriers to providing me with a copy of my own complaint.  
5. Mr. CHEN said that he would get back with me "by [next] Tuesday" on my request for a copy of my own complaint, winch Flagler College, Inc. claims not to have received.
6. Mr. CHEN repeatedly avoided and evaded answering my questions.
7. When I asked Mr. CHEN to send me (and Flagler College) a copy of my administrative complaint today, he said he was unable to do so, adding "Go ahead and file your [OIG complaint} then." Here it is.
8. Please assign your best OIG investigator(s) to investigate the U.S. Department of Education Atlanta Office for Civil Rights (OCR) for possible maladministration, desuetude, misfeasance, malfeasance and nonfeasance and violation of the Standards of Official Conduct involving:
A. my 2014 OCR complaint against UF, and 
B. my 2019 OCR complaint against Flagler College, Inc.
9. Does being the U.S. Department of Education "Office for (sic) Civil Rights" mean "never having to say you're sorry?"
10. Please call me today to acknowledge this Standards of Official Conduct complaint against the Atlanta OCR office.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
www.edslavin.com



-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin
To: OCR_Atlanta
Cc: Martin.Chen ; Scott.Sausser ; jjoyner ; fdupchurch ; lkeys ; gjennings ; dgalambos ; tupchurch1 ; tupchurch ; lfreeman ; rhorvath ; nsikeskline ; jvaldes ; georgio ; sam ; OCR ; pat.gleason ; sunshine ; kjakab ; mmilton ; tomcushman ; tanner ; mcghee.debra ; Dorka.Lilian ; rhines.dale ; Smith.Kevin ; Rhodes.Julia ; Goerke.Ariadne ; Bell.Aaron ; Aaron.Jordan ; Mark.Smith
Sent: Fri, May 17, 2019 11:12 am
Subject: Re: Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, Inc. U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2208: Respondent's Refusal to Agree to Preserve KHAW Conference Evidence
Dear Unnamed DoEd OCR Atlanta employee:
1. I filed an administrative complaint last month, giving rise to a duty to preserve evidence under federal law.
2. Again, please send me a copy of that complaint, which I have already shared with Flagler College, but which belatedly claims not to be able to open it.
3. Please provide me with the name of the living, breathing natural person who wrote the e-mail below, along with their title, professional qualifications and supervisor(s).
4. I have this morning sent a copy of this e-mail to the DoEd Inspector General AIGI and DAIGI, Messrs. Aaron Jordan and Mark Smith for their investigation evaluation of whether some Unnamed DoEd OCR Atlanta employee(s) mayve have violated the federal employee Standards of Conduct.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com
www.edslavin.com



-----Original Message-----
From: OCR Atlanta
To: Ed Slavin ; Chen, Martin ; Sausser, Scott
Cc: jjoyner@flagler.edu ; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com ; lkeys@flagler.edu ; Bell.Aaron@epa.gov
Sent: Fri, May 17, 2019 8:42 am
Subject: RE: Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, Inc. U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2208: Respondent's Refusal to Agree to Preserve KHAW Conference Evidence
Good morning,
To clarify the record, the U.S. Department of Justice, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has no pending or anticipated civil or administrative litigation in this matter.  OCR is an administrative enforcement agency and does not have direct litigation authority.
From: Ed Slavin  
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2019 2:44 PM
To: Chen, Martin ; Sausser, Scott
Cc: jjoyner@flagler.edu; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com; lkeys@flagler.edu; Subject: Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, Inc. U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2208: Respondent's Refusal to Agree to Preserve KHAW Conference Evidence
Dear Messrs. Chen and Sausser;
1. Would one of you please be so kind as to send Respondent Flagler College, Inc. an electronic copy of my April 24, 2019 OCR complaint today?
fdupchurch@fblaw.com, 
2. Respondent Flagler College, Inc. still engaging in massive resistance, refuses to agree to comply with its legal duty to preserve evidence.
3. While I sent Respondent's outside counsel a copy of the complaint last week, when requested, it now belatedly claims to be unable to read it.  See mendacious malarkey, below.
4. Please consider drawing adverse inferences against Respondent Flagler College, Inc. for spoliation of evidence and kindly issue an order to show cause why OCR should not grant default judgment.
5. Not one (1) responsive document on the "Keeping History Above Water" Conference has yet been provided by Respondent Flagler College, Inc..  Wonder why?
Enough.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, May 16, 2019 2:12 pm
Subject: RE: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
Mr. Slavin:
You are entitled to your opinion, as flawed as it may be. A party requesting that a litigation hold be placed on documents has a duty to advise which categories of records he/she wishes the party with the records to preserve. Winnowed to their essence, to date, your responses have been:
1.       I won’t give you a copy of the Complaint I filed in a format you can review so that you can make reasonable efforts to determine which records should be retained
2.       You need to retain “all documents”
Your positions are unreasonable and do not comport with the law concerning document preservation. If you remain uncooperative, we will simply retain records as best we can, but make no guarantees regarding whether certain records are ultimately retained.
Finally, in each of your e-mails you ask that I call you. I do not wish to debate the subjects of our e-mails by phone, and suspect you wish to lecture me on how wrong you believe I am. In fact, there is no longer a need to communicate about this issue by e-mail either unless you change your position regarding the complaint and a specific list of documents or categories of documents you are asking be  retained and made part of the litigation hold. You now have our position in light of your refusal to provide specifics about the nature of your complaint, the complaint itself or categories of records. If you decide it is best to be more cooperative and are willing to provide the information we have requested, I will respond. Otherwise, I consider the issue closed and will advise my client the best I can with the limited information you have been willing to supply.
Sincerely,

Rob Sniffen
Robert J. Sniffen
SNIFFEN & SPELLMAN, P.A.
Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law
 martindale 2019
  2017_atty Best Client Recommended   image34f6d1
123 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Phone: 850-205-1996
Fax: 850-205-3004
Website: www.sniffenlaw.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
To: rsniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
Cc: jjoyner <jjoyner@flagler.edu>; fdupchurch &Sent: Thu, May 16, 2019 12:39 pm
Subject: Re: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
Dear Mr. Sniffen:
1. No, you're wrong.  
2. Flagler College, Inc. has a mandatory legal duty is to preserve evidence under federal law. Period.  
3. That mandatory legal applies even in the face of foreseeable litigation.
4. Flagler College, Inc. has both actual notice, and a case number.
5. From my 1989 ABA Judges' Journal article, "ALJ Independence Undermined: What the Interior Department is doing and why." (attached):
"Discovery law is clear that potential litigants are subject to sanctions if they destroy records relevant to reasonably foreseeable litigation, regardless of whether a complaint has been filed." Solum & Marzen, "Destruction of Evidence," 16 Litigation (No. 1 at 14.) [Emphasis added.] Pursuant to discovery rules and the spoliation inference, default judgments are entered against par- ties that destroyed evidence. Telectron, Inc. v. Overhead Door, Corp., 116 F.R.D. 107 (S.D. Fla 1987); Wm. T. Thompson Co. v. General Nutrition Co., 593 F. Supp. 1443 (C.D. Cal. 1984);Carlucci v. Piper Aircraft Corp., 102 F.R.D. 472 (S.D. Fla. 1984).
Judge Learned Hand wrote five decades ago, "When a party is once found to be fabricating or suppressing documents, the natural, indeed the inevitable, conclusion is that [it] has some- thing to conceal, and is conscious of guilt." Warner Barnes & Co. v. Kokosai Kisen Kubushiki Kaisa, 102 F.2d 452, 453 (2nd Cir. 1939). As the First Circuit has held, it is only fair to "plac[e] the risk of an erroneous judgment on the party that wrongfully created the risk." Nation-Wide Check Corp. v. Forest Hills Distributors, Inc., 692 F.2d 214, 218 (1st Cir. 1982).... "[S]poliation evidence ... is admissible to show consciousness of guilt." United States v. Mendez-Ortiz, 810 F.2d 76, 79 (6th Cir. 1986), interpreting F.R.Ev. Rule 404(b). 22 Wright & Graham, Federal Practice and Procedure: Evidence §§5178, 5240.See also Maguire & Vincent, Admissions Implied from Spoliation or Related Conduct, 45 Yale L. J. 226 (1935); II Wigmore on Evidence §§278(2), 291 (Chadboum Rev. 1979); 31A C.J.S. Evidence, §§ 152-3, 155, 156(1).
6. What you mean by "litigation hold?"
7. Please call me to discuss.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, May 16, 2019 11:19 am
Subject: RE: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
Mr. Slavin,
There is no need for a call. You will either send them in a readable format, or you won’t. Our litigation hold responsibilities are dependent on the information you provide. If you choose not to give us the information, we will act accordingly. My fax number is below and, of course, you have my e-mail address.
Sincerely,
Rob Sniffen
Robert J. Sniffen
SNIFFEN & SPELLMAN, P.A.
Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law
     
123 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Phone: 850-205-1996
Fax: 850-205-3004
Website: www.sniffenlaw.com
From: Ed Slavin [mailto:easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2019 10:46 AM
To: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
Subject: Re: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
Dear Mr. Sniffen:
Please call me to discuss your request.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, May 16, 2019 10:38 am
Subject: RE: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
Mr. Slavin:
It is not a pdf document. And we are under no obligation to secure it elsewhere. You are requesting a litigation hold. We are trying to work with you to understand the categories of documents to be preserved. The Complaint will help us do that. If you want the litigation hold, it is on you to get the document to us in a readable format. If you have a legal basis for asserting otherwise, please forward it. Otherwise, please comply with our very simple request.
Sincerely,
Rob Sniffen
Robert J. Sniffen
SNIFFEN & SPELLMAN, P.A.
Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law
     
123 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Phone: 850-205-1996
Fax: 850-205-3004
Website: www.sniffenlaw.com
From: Ed Slavin [mailto:easlavin@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2019 9:34 AM
To: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
Subject: Re: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
Dear Mr. Sniffen:
1. Please obtain technical advice from Flagler's IT person.  It is a PDF.
2. I know of no other format. 
3. Or you may obtain it directly from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, which should have served it upon you.
Thank you.
With kindest regards, I am,
Sincerely yours,
Ed Slavin
904-377-4998
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
To: Ed Slavin <easlavin@aol.com>
Sent: Thu, May 16, 2019 9:05 am
Subject: Re: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
Mr. Slavin,
We are unable to open the document. Please send it in a different format such as pdf. Or if it is easier you may fax it to me at (850) 205-3004.
Sincerely,
Rob Sniffen
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
To: 'Ed Slavin' <easlavin@aol.com>; jjoyner@flagler.edu <jjoyner@flagler.edu>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; lkeys@flagler.edu <lkeys@flagler.edu>
Cc: Gracie Jennings <gjennings@sniffenlaw.com>; dgalambos@citystaug.com <dgalambos@citystaug.com>; tupchurch1@flagler.edu <tupchurch1@flagler.edu>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; lfreeman@citystaug.com <lfreeman@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; georgio@folioweekly.com <georgio@folioweekly.com>; sam@folioweekly.com <sam@folioweekly.com>; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov <ocr.atlanta@ed.gov>; ocr@ed.gov <ocr@ed.gov>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; kjakab@jakablaw.com <kjakab@jakablaw.com>; mmilton@miltonleach.com <mmilton@miltonleach.com>; tomcushman@bellsouth.net <tomcushman@bellsouth.net>; tanner@sunshine-law.com <tanner@sunshine-law.com>; Martin.Chen@ed.gov <Martin.Chen@ed.gov>; Scott.Sausser@ed.gov <Scott.Sausser@ed.gov>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>
Sent: Wed, May 15, 2019 6:01 pm
Subject: RE: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-2
From: Ed Slavin [mailto:easlavin@aol.com] Sent: Friday, May 10, 2019 3:30 PMTo: Robert J. Sniffen; jjoyner@flagler.edu; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com; lkeys@flagler.edu
Cc: Gracie Jennings; dgalambos@citystaug.com; tupchurch1@flagler.edu; tupchurch@citystaug.com; lfreeman@citystaug.com; rhorvath@citystaug.com; nsikeskline@citystaug.com; jvaldes@citystaug.com; georgio@folioweekly.com; sam@folioweekly.com; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov; ocr@ed.gov; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com; sunshine@floridafaf.org; kjakab@jakablaw.com; mmilton@miltonleach.com; tomcushman@bellsouth.net; tanner@sunshine-law.com; Martin.Chen@ed.gov; Scott.Sausser@ed.gov; waltbog@nytimes.com
Subject: Flagler College's Mandatory Legal Duty to Preserve Evidence re: May 5-9, 2019 Keeping History Above Water Conference Pursuant to F.S. 119.0701 and Ed Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Case No. 4-19-22...
From: Ed Slavin [mailto:easlavin@aol.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2019 8:13 PMTo: Robert J. SniffenCc: jjoyner@flagler.edu; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com; Gracie Jennings; lkeys@flagler.edu; dgalambos@citystaug.com; tupchurch1@flagler.edu; tupchurch@citystaug.com; lfreeman@citystaug.com; rhorvath@citystaug.com; nsikeskline@citystaug.com; jvaldes@citystaug.com; georgio@folioweekly.com; sam@folioweekly.com; ctinlin@circuit7.org; mbailey@mbaileygroup.com; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov; ocr@ed.gov; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com; sunshine@floridafaf.org; kjakab@jakablaw.com; mmilton@miltonleach.com; tomcushman@bellsouth.net; tanner@sunshine-law.com; Martin.Chen@ed.gov; Scott.Sausser@ed.gov; waltbog@nytimes.com
Subject: Re: CEASE AND DESIST UNCONSTITUTIONAL DENIAL OF PRESS PASS & CEASE WITHHOLDING PUBLIC RECORDS; Request 2019-187: City press pass policy for City-sponsored events; Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Case No. 4-19-2208
-----Original Message-----
From: Robert J. Sniffen <rsniffen@sniffenlaw.com>
To: 'Ed Slavin' <easlavin@aol.com>
Cc: jjoyner@flagler.edu <jjoyner@flagler.edu>; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com <fdupchurch@ubulaw.com>; Gracie Jennings <gjennings@sniffenlaw.com>; tupchurch1@flagler.edu <tupchurch1@flagler.edu>; tupchurch@citystaug.com <tupchurch@citystaug.com>; lfreeman@citystaug.com <lfreeman@citystaug.com>; rhorvath@citystaug.com <rhorvath@citystaug.com>; nsikeskline@citystaug.com <nsikeskline@citystaug.com>; jvaldes@citystaug.com <jvaldes@citystaug.com>; georgio@folioweekly.com <georgio@folioweekly.com>; sam@folioweekly.com <sam@folioweekly.com>; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov <ocr.atlanta@ed.gov>; ocr@ed.gov <ocr@ed.gov>; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com <pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com>; sunshine@floridafaf.org <sunshine@floridafaf.org>; kjakab@jakablaw.com <kjakab@jakablaw.com>; mmilton@miltonleach.com <mmilton@miltonleach.com>; tomcushman@bellsouth.net <tomcushman@bellsouth.net>; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com <tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com>; waltbog@nytimes.com <waltbog@nytimes.com>; Gracie Jennings <gjennings@sniffenlaw.com>
Sent: Wed, May 8, 2019 7:43 pm
Subject: RE: CEASE AND DESIST UNCONSTITUTIONAL DENIAL OF PRESS PASS & CEASE WITHHOLDING PUBLIC RECORDS; Request 2019-187: City press pass policy for City-sponsored events; Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Case No. 4-19-2208
From: Ed Slavin [mailto:easlavin@aol.com] Sent: Tuesday, May 07, 2019 10:00 AMTo: Robert J. SniffenCc: jjoyner@flagler.edu; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com; Gracie Jennings; tupchurch1@flagler.edu; tupchurch@citystaug.com; lfreeman@citystaug.com; rhorvath@citystaug.com; nsikeskline@citystaug.com; jvaldes@citystaug.com; georgio@folioweekly.com; sam@folioweekly.com; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov; ocr@ed.gov; pat.gleason@myfloridalegal.com; sunshine@floridafaf.org; kjakab@jakablaw.com; mmilton@miltonleach.com; tomcushman@bellsouth.net; tanner@sunshine-lawyer.com; waltbog@nytimes.com
Subject: Re: CEASE AND DESIST UNCONSTITUTIONAL DENIAL OF PRESS PASS & CEASE WITHHOLDING PUBLIC RECORDS; Request 2019-187: City press pass policy for City-sponsored events; Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Case No. 4-19-2208
From: Ed Slavin [mailto:easlavin@aol.com] Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2019 10:34 PMTo: dgalambos@aol.com; pwilliamson@citystaug.com; jregan@citystaug.com; reganj@bellsouth.net; ilopez@citystaug.com; jcary@citystaug.com; serdelyi@marksgray.com; jjoyner@flagler.edu; Robert J. Sniffen; tupchurch@citystaug.com; jpiggott@citystaug.com; tburchfield@citystaug.com; lfountain@citystaug.com; bfox@staugpd.com; fdupchurch@ubulaw.com; acuthbert@staugpd.com; tfleming@citystaug.com
Cc: lfreeman@citystaug.com; rhorvath@citystaug.com; nsikeskline@citystaug.com; jvaldes@citystaug.com; bcc5hdean@sjcfl.us; bcc1jjohns@sjcfl.us; bcc2jsmith@sjcfl.us; bcc3pwaldron@sjcfl.us; bcc4jblocker@sjcfl.us; comugeorge@cityofsab.org; commengland@cityofsab.org; commkostka@cityofsab.org; comdsamora@cityofsab.org; comdrumrell@cityofsab.org; sam@folioweekly.com; georgio@folioweekly.com; sheltonhull@gmail.com; news@historiccity.com; waltbog@nytimes.com; kdoering@rapidsys.com; mhylton@ufl.edu; sheplaw@att.net; mbailey@mbaileygroup.com; ctinlin@circuit7.org; tupchurch1@flagler.edu; ocr.atlanta@ed.gov; jmidyette@aclufl.org; RevJen@aol.com; celliw@bellsouth.net; jclark@firstcoastnews.com; jim.sutton@staugustine.com; craig.richardson@staugustine.com; sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com; waltbog@nytimes.com
Subject: CEASE AND DESIST UNCONSTITUTIONAL DENIAL OF PRESS PASS & CEASE WITHHOLDING PUBLIC RECORDS; Request 2019-187: City press pass policy for City-sponsored events; Slavin v. Flagler College, U.S. Department of Education Case No. 4-19-2208
9.   By denying me a press pass and by refusing to communicate civilly with a journalist, the City of St. Augustine and Flagler College are guilty of blatant viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment and Civil Rights laws.  See, e.g., United Teachers of Dade v. Stierheim, 213 F. Supp. 2d 1368, 1371 (S.D. Fla. 2002); Sherrill v. Knight, 569 F.2d 124, 129 (D.C.Cir.1977) ("arbitrary or content-based criteria for press pass issuance are prohibited under the [F]irst [A]mendment"); Quad-City Cmty. News Serv. v. Jebens, 334 F. Supp. 8, 17 (S.D.Iowa 1971) (stating "any classification which serves to penalize or restrain the exercise of a First Amendment right, unless shown to be necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest, is unconstitutional").  In Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of Univ. of Va., 515 U.S. 819, 828-829, 115 S. Ct. 2510, 132 L. Ed. 2d 700 (1995) the Supreme Court held that "[d]iscrimination  against speech because of its message is presumed to be unconstitutional ... When the government targets not subject matter, but particular views taken by speakers on a subject, the violation of the First Amendment is all the more blatant. ... Viewpoint discrimination is thus an egregious form of content discrimination."). 




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