CIVIL
COURT: ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR
TRANSPARENCY
 |
| Marcus Jackson (NCDOC photo) |
While sexual predator and former Charlotte
Mecklenburg Police Officer Marcus Ramon Jackson has long been released from his
short sentence behind bars, the last known civil suit related to his actions
while on the job is still set to come before the Court. While a jury trial was originally called,
documents filed more recently show a bench trial is set for Monday, June 10,
2013 in the U.S. Western District Court of North Carolina before the Honorable
Judge Graham Mullen at 10:30 a.m.
Judge Mullen set out at number of specific
requirements in the order shown below
on May 25th, including a requirement to discuss the possibility of
settlement. However the trial remains on
the court schedule as of 6/6/13. All
subpoenas were to be issued immediately and there are orders about how evidence
and exhibits are to be prepared and distributed.
Smith & Arnold will be representing two women
as consolidated plaintiffs. Marcus
Jackson does not have an attorney of record.
Chief of Police Rodney Monroe will be
well-represented on the dime of Charlotte tax funds by two attorneys from
Womble Carlyle: James P. Cooney, III and
Marcey Rose Selle, along with Richard Harcourt Fulton representing
the City of Charlotte
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Read in this prior post more
details about Jackson’s lengthy list of crimes, Monroe’s false statements to
the public about his involvement with Internal Affairs about Jackson’s earlier
known activity, and restraining orders that had been granted before Jackson was
even a police officer. Monroe admitted
Jackson should never have been admitted to be an officer. The post also talks about millions in
settlements and fees paid to attorneys, not to mention the internal attorneys’
fees, employees’ time spent in deposition and preparation for those… it’s lots
of money to add to the trauma induced by at least one bad actor with a badge.
Some on Charlotte’s City Council at the time
voiced a desire to see Jackson’s personnel file and perform an investigation
into how Chief Monroe and Internal Affairs had handled the entire matter, as
well as how the hiring process was run.
In the end, they inexplicably voted not to know how this critical part
of the city was being run.
DOUBLE
JEOPARDY: DO THE RIGHT THING NOW,
JACKSON
Citynewswatch
editorial staff would argue the sentence Jackson received was nowhere near long
enough for the offenses committed under color of law he committed. He is now out of jail. He’s a registered sex offender. Those are the facts.
He can not be tried again. He probably does not have any appreciable assets
to be held in civil judgment, so if he is making any effort to reform and
repent, the decent thing to do would be to get on the stand and TALK. For the women involved, freely admit to and
document everything he did to them specifically.
For the department, there is a long list of things
that happened leading to his hiring and retention which shouldn’t have
happened. He knows it. We know it.
Monroe and others have admitted to some of them (after being caught and
forced to) but nobody has the full story.
All the other cases were settled, and so there was no public testimony
about his hiring, who may have sponsored him, if he received any special
conditions on hiring, why his falsifying reports was permitted, if there were
others we don’t know about still, if he did in fact inform anyone about his
restraining order before being hired or at any other time, etc…
It’s past time to finish cleaning house.
It’s going to be very interesting to see who’s on
the witness list. Let’s hope some of the
local media cover this trial.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRIT
OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
3:11-CV-237
JANADA BRIANNA PUTMON, )
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) O R D E R
)
CITY OF CHARLOTTE, et
al, )
Defendants. )
THIS MATTER IS BEFORE THE COURT ON ITS OWN
MOTION. This
case is set for trial on Monday, June 10, 2013, at 10:30 a.m. The
parties are hereby directed as follows:
1. By
Monday, May 13, 2013 at 4:00 P.M. the parties are required:
(a) To discuss the
possibility of settlement.
(b) To exchange copies
of exhibits, number and become acquainted with all exhibits and agree to the
extent possible on the authenticity of exhibits.
(c) To file a trial
brief and a joint statement of the issues remaining for trial.
(d) To file proposed
findings of fact and conclusions of law in all non-jury matters.
2. You will be expected to comply with the
provisions of the pretrial order regarding trial preparation. COUNSEL ARE
NOTIFIED THAT FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DEADLINES WILL RESULT IN SANCTIONS.
3. All cases are subject to call for trial
when reached, regardless of their position on the calendar. As this is a bench
trial, no jury will be selected.
4. Issue
any needed subpoenas immediately upon receipt of this Order.
5. When presenting judgments or orders for
the trial judge’s signature, you are required to submit them in Microsoft Word
format via CyberClerk. If you are not a registered ECF user, or if are
appearing pro-se, you need to show that you have sent copies to opposing
counsel and to submit the original and three copies for the use of the Court,
plus sufficient copies for all counsel of record in the case. Upon entry of the
judgment, the Clerk will at that time serve the filed copies to counsel.
6. Exhibits: Parties are expected to use
presentation technology available in the courtroom to display evidence to the
jury. Training on the equipment should be arranged well in advance of trial
with the courtroom deputy. See “Courtroom Technology” link on the district
website at www.ncwd.uscourts.gov. Counsel shall provide in electronic format any
exhibits of documents, photographs, videos, and any other evidence that may be
reduced to an electronic file, for the use of Court personnel and the Court’s
Jury Evidence Recording System (JERS) during trial. Documents and photographs
shall be in .pdf, .jpg, .bmp, .tif, or .gif format; video and audio recordings
shall be in .avi, .wmv, .mpg, .mp3, .wma, or .wav format. Each electronic
exhibit shall be saved as a separate, independent file, and provided to the
Court on a storage device, such as cd, dvd, or flash drive. Exhibit files shall
be named consistent with their order and name on the exhibit list. For example:
Exhibit 1 - photograph
of....
Exhibit 2(a) - contract
Exhibit 2(b) - video
deposition of....
7. If you
have or discover a serious objection to trial which you think ought to result
in a postponement, please file your motion to continue electronically or in
writing if you are not a registered ECF user or if you are appearing pro-se.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Signed: April 25, 2013
