O'Hairs Vindicated Once Again
April 1997
For the fourth time Madalyn Murray-O'Hair and her family have been vindicated by the courts in the matter of The Truthseeker Company v John G. Jackson. The January issue of this newsletter reported that on 13 January 1997 the US Ninth Court of Appeals in California had ruled in favor of American Atheists for an appeal case argued back on 9 April 1996. To our dismay, Mr. Roy Withers, attorney for The Truthseeker, then filed an appeal to have the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals hear his appeal en banc (all the judges together hearing the case, about 24 of them) regarding his claim that the O'Hairs were guilty of malicious prosecution. That motion has now been denied. His only recourse now is to file for a writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court. There does not seem to be much chance of the high court taking the case.
Simultaneously, Mr. Withers has abandoned his other appeal rights on the RICO (racketeering) claim in the case, the District Court has finalized it, and the appeals court has affirmed it. So the saga of the Truthseeker case has for all intents and purposes come to an end. Our only regret is that the Murray-O'Hairs probably do not know of their victory and John G. Jackson didn't live to see it. The decision reads:
Before: SCHROEDER and LEAVY, Circuit Judges, and TRIMBLE*, District Judge.*Honorable James T. Trimble, Jr., United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, sitting by designation.
The panel has voted to deny the petition for rehearing. The petition is therefore DENIED.
The IRS And The Murray-O'hairs
Receivers have been appointed for each of the Murray-O'Hairs. Each receiver filed bankruptcy claims for them, which halted the sale of the property taken from the Murray-O'Hair home (including all the personal belongings of Spike Tyson, the director of operations at American Atheists GHQ). But as of this writing it appears that the IRS is refusing to return the property they took - which could result in them being sanctioned by the court. That is all we know as of this writing. We will keep you informed.
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