I reckon that repeatedly calling someone a felon or accusing them of "felony thefts" is libel per se. As one who was in 1983 sued for libel in Tennessee, my heart goes out to both JAMES HIGBEE, the plaintiff, and to the defendant, former advertising genius NICOLE CRANBURG CROSBY (R) of Ponte Vedra, for facing consequences for her apparently poor judgment. Ms. Crosby allegedly called a political opponent of "felony thefts." The plaintiff had pled guilty to a misdemeanor involving stealing from Walmart. A misdemeanor is not a felony. Thus, Ms. CROSBY's motion to dismiss the libel case was denied. Her motion to block depositions was denied.
A Florida jury may eventually decide on whether the plaintiff prevails, and whether he is entitled to receive damages and other remedies.
Full disclosure: I was sued for $1,000,000 for "libel," and served on December 10, 1983, on the morning of my first law school exam (Torts), in Memphis. But no Tennessee jury ever got to decide. The retaliatory SLAPP libel case was filed against me, my publisher, and our Appalachian Observer newspaper. The plaintiffs were three bail bondsmen and Interstate Bonding Company. The plaintiffs claimed that we defamed them by reporting they had 87% of the bail bonding business in Anderson County Jail and were "in cahoots" with the Sheriff, which indeed they were I counter-sued the plaintiffs for malicious prosecution of a civil lawsuit, abuse of civil process, civil RICO (racketeering) and civil rights violations. In May 1984, I took a bus from Memphis to Knoxville and watched as three FBI agents arrived in Anderson County Courthouse. I watched them take Sheriff DENNIS OWEN TROTTER, in handcuffs, to jail. On his way there, Sheriff TROTTER asked the agents, "What's this all about? Who else have you arrested? On this occasion, they arrested Sheriff DENNIS O. TROTTER for federal felonies, including a drug conspiracy, selling drugs from the Anderson County Sheriff's evidence locker (cocaine, Quaaludes, Dilaudids (synthetic heroin) and marijuana). The libel plaintiffs soon pled guilty to federal felonies -- they admitted in federal court in 1984 that they paid Anderson County Sheriff DENNIS OWEN TROTTER $10,633.50 in bribes (10% of their proceeds) from their favored bail bonding business in the Anderson County Jail during 1983. Soon the plaintiffs dismissed their lawsuit. Then they paid me for their suing me. They all pled guilty to racketeering and bribery charges. The federal court settlements included money paid by their co-felon, disgraced drug-dealing Anderson County Sheriff DENNIS TROTTER, twice Tennessee Sheriff of the Year, (Home Insurance Company denied Sheriff TROTTER's meritless demand for insurance coverage, stating that "the business of Anderson County, Tennessee" does not include bribery.) In our federal court settlement, disgraced convicted ex-Sheriff TROTTER demanded the I agree never to contact him again; we made the agreement mutual. Postscript: During the 1980s, a total of nine (9) of 95 Tennessee Sheriffs were indicted, arrested, prosecuted and incarcerated on federal drug-dealing charges.
Now, thanks to St. Johns County Sheriff Robert Hardwick, in 2024, St. Johns County has body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras -- their purchase and use were actually resisted by controversial former St. Johns County Sheriff DAVID SHOAR, now running for State Senate. In a 2016 League of Women Voters debate, SHOAR responded to former Deputy Debra Maynard by stating that he rejected the "false narrative that cops need to be watched." Sheriff Hardwick recently told me that the cameras are "the best thing we ever did."
Lesson: yes, cops need to be watched, and businessmen too.
To Ms. CROSBY: speak the truth, please, ma'am.
From Jacksonville Today:
Court fight colors St. Johns County election
While St. Johns County voters cast their ballots in this month’s primary election, two people battling it out in the courts have connections to key races.
James Higbee and Nicole Crosby aren’t on the ballot, but their court fight is tied to the contests for the St. Johns County Commission.
Higbee, whose grandfather is running a largely inactive campaign for County Commission, is suing Crosby. She runs the advertising operations for County Commission hopefuls Ann-Marie Evans and Ann Taylor.
On paper, the case is unrelated to the election, but Crosby’s lawyer is accusing Higbee of playing politics.
Higbee’s defamation suit revolves around a 2013 misdemeanor conviction in which he pleaded guilty to stealing $252 worth of merchandise from a Walmart in Delray Beach.
His side is arguing that Crosby repeatedly referred to the result of that case as a felony charge and, in one Facebook post, said Higbee had been involved in multiple “felony thefts.”
Crosby has since edited a Facebook post made by Fight for St. Johns County, a page she runs, to remove the word “felony,” but Higbee’s attorney argues that Crosby’s posts affected him socially and emotionally and led to a demotion at his job.
Court documents state that Higbee used to be the chief technical officer at McGraw, a St. Augustine-based marketing agency. Nowadays, according to the company’s website, Higbee serves as senior vice president.
In one document filed with the St. Johns County courts, Crosby’s lawyer says the case “purports to be a defamation case, but it is really all about politics.”
Her lawyer, W. Bradley Russell, accuses Higbee’s team of “attempting to misuse discovery to obtain political intelligence against his adversaries.”
Questions that Higbee’s team issued to Crosby intially centered on her Facebook page, but quickly shifted toward the upcoming election, specifically about the candidates she’s supporting for office.
“Since October 2023, have the majority of the posts by Defendant on the FFSJC Facebook Page advocated for the election of Ann Taylor and/or Ann Marie Evans?” one question asks.
The team also asked whether Crosby had any communications with current St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Joseph — whose 2022 campaign Crosby also supported — about her posts, or whether Crosby has been promised the role of county administrator if her candidates are appointed to office. Crosby says that charge came out of nowhere and was manufactured by the incumbents’ campaign staff. Joseph has also publicly commented on Facebook saying she would not support a bid by Crosby for county administrator.
Crosby’s legal team requested not only that the case be thrown out, but that Joseph as well as Evans and Taylor be shielded from the discovery process.
“Higbee is currently seeking to depose Ann Taylor, Ann-Marie Evans, and Commissioner Joseph before the election. These depositions would in all likelihood be about the election, not about this case,” Russell wrote in one court document.
Last Friday, a judge denied those requests and scheduled Joseph’s, Evans’ and Taylor’s pretrial testimonies for Aug. 26. The judge did note, however, that questions “shall be limited to matters bearing on the issues raised by the complaint” and that “the parties and the witnesses retain their rights to raise objections.”
Speaking with Jacksonville Today this month, Crosby said she believes supporters of the incumbent St. Johns County Commission candidates are using underhanded tactics to target challengers like Evans and Taylor.
Higbee isn’t running for office like his grandfather, but, according to his social media, he previously worked as a volunteer and social media manager for County Commissioner Christian Whitehurst. Whitehurst is up for reelection and is supported by a number of the same political action committees and companies as fellow County Commissioners Henry Dean and Roy Alaimo.
Crosby also alleges that other individuals connected to the campaigns she’s supporting are being targeted as part of a larger pattern of Republican infighting in St. Johns County. She specifically called to mind Commissioner Joseph’s censuring after she was accused of using her time during a County Commission meeting to campaign for candidates she supports.
A federal judge has cleared Joseph of any wrongdoing.
“Individuals associated with the incumbents have also weaponized the justice system to bring harm to the Anns’ team,” Crosby says.
Crosby has repeatedly been under fire during this election cycle, with some in her own party accusing her of being a liberal infiltrator trying to get like-minded candidates elected.
Higbee’s lawyer, Zachary Watson Miller, told Jacksonville Today he could not comment on the ongoing litigation.
Court fight colors St. Johns County election
While St. Johns County voters cast their ballots in this month’s primary election, two people battling it out in the courts have connections to key races.
James Higbee and Nicole Crosby aren’t on the ballot, but their court fight is tied to the contests for the St. Johns County Commission.
Higbee, whose grandfather is running a largely inactive campaign for County Commission, is suing Crosby. She runs the advertising operations for County Commission hopefuls Ann-Marie Evans and Ann Taylor.
On paper, the case is unrelated to the election, but Crosby’s lawyer is accusing Higbee of playing politics.
Higbee’s defamation suit revolves around a 2013 misdemeanor conviction in which he pleaded guilty to stealing $252 worth of merchandise from a Walmart in Delray Beach.
His side is arguing that Crosby repeatedly referred to the result of that case as a felony charge and, in one Facebook post, said Higbee had been involved in multiple “felony thefts.”
Crosby has since edited a Facebook post made by Fight for St. Johns County, a page she runs, to remove the word “felony,” but Higbee’s attorney argues that Crosby’s posts affected him socially and emotionally and led to a demotion at his job.
Court documents state that Higbee used to be the chief technical officer at McGraw, a St. Augustine-based marketing agency. Nowadays, according to the company’s website, Higbee serves as senior vice president.
In one document filed with the St. Johns County courts, Crosby’s lawyer says the case “purports to be a defamation case, but it is really all about politics.”
Her lawyer, W. Bradley Russell, accuses Higbee’s team of “attempting to misuse discovery to obtain political intelligence against his adversaries.”
Questions that Higbee’s team issued to Crosby intially centered on her Facebook page, but quickly shifted toward the upcoming election, specifically about the candidates she’s supporting for office.
“Since October 2023, have the majority of the posts by Defendant on the FFSJC Facebook Page advocated for the election of Ann Taylor and/or Ann Marie Evans?” one question asks.
The team also asked whether Crosby had any communications with current St. Johns County Commissioner Krista Joseph — whose 2022 campaign Crosby also supported — about her posts, or whether Crosby has been promised the role of county administrator if her candidates are appointed to office. Crosby says that charge came out of nowhere and was manufactured by the incumbents’ campaign staff. Joseph has also publicly commented on Facebook saying she would not support a bid by Crosby for county administrator.
Crosby’s legal team requested not only that the case be thrown out, but that Joseph as well as Evans and Taylor be shielded from the discovery process.
“Higbee is currently seeking to depose Ann Taylor, Ann-Marie Evans, and Commissioner Joseph before the election. These depositions would in all likelihood be about the election, not about this case,” Russell wrote in one court document.
Last Friday, a judge denied those requests and scheduled Joseph’s, Evans’ and Taylor’s pretrial testimonies for Aug. 26. The judge did note, however, that questions “shall be limited to matters bearing on the issues raised by the complaint” and that “the parties and the witnesses retain their rights to raise objections.”
Speaking with Jacksonville Today this month, Crosby said she believes supporters of the incumbent St. Johns County Commission candidates are using underhanded tactics to target challengers like Evans and Taylor.
Higbee isn’t running for office like his grandfather, but, according to his social media, he previously worked as a volunteer and social media manager for County Commissioner Christian Whitehurst. Whitehurst is up for reelection and is supported by a number of the same political action committees and companies as fellow County Commissioners Henry Dean and Roy Alaimo.
Crosby also alleges that other individuals connected to the campaigns she’s supporting are being targeted as part of a larger pattern of Republican infighting in St. Johns County. She specifically called to mind Commissioner Joseph’s censuring after she was accused of using her time during a County Commission meeting to campaign for candidates she supports.
A federal judge has cleared Joseph of any wrongdoing.
“Individuals associated with the incumbents have also weaponized the justice system to bring harm to the Anns’ team,” Crosby says.
Crosby has repeatedly been under fire during this election cycle, with some in her own party accusing her of being a liberal infiltrator trying to get like-minded candidates elected.
Higbee’s lawyer, Zachary Watson Miller, told Jacksonville Today he could not comment on the ongoing litigation.
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Donald Trump is a felon.. but they don't care about that. Woe unto him that takes a single one of these people seriously... and they aren't fit for public service. Better suited for grifting and gouging.
ReplyDeleteI can remember when Bill McClure AkA Billy the Bamboozler McSewer tried to threaten you with a suit for engaging in the First Amendment. Epic fail. The truth should never be illegal. Conservatives Republicans want to outlaw the truth and replace it with far right propaganda and supernatural narratives.
ReplyDeleteTrump endorses incumbents. Hip hip hooray for the fraudulent and irrelevant SJC REC.
ReplyDeletehttps://flvoicenews.com/trump-endorses-st-johns-commissioners-christian-whitehurst-roy-alaimo-and-henry-dean-for-reelection/