Protest Letters Sent To Various Officials

Under this topic, we are publishing protest letters sent by our friends to various public offices. If you sent such a letter and want to share it, please post it below. Alternatively, you may email your letter to FODU and ask the moderator to publish it on your behalf.

This letter was sent to Department of Justice, Voting Section by Walter C. Abbott III on October 2, 2006.


Chief, Voting Section
Civil Rights Division
Room 7254 - NWB
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20530

Dear Sir:

It has been alleged that on Saturday, September 30, 2006, Duke University officials forcibly prevented on campus voter registration efforts at the university’s football game.

Duke Students for an Ethical Durham (http://www.ethicaldurham.com/) is a student organization whose mission statement reads in part, “…seeks to encourage students to fulfill their civic obligation to register and vote in Durham County.” They attempted to fulfill that mission at a university football game. Reportedly, they went through “channels” and obtained permission from university officials in accordance with university rules. As they gathered prior to the game to pick up their forms, they were confronted by officials and prevented from accomplishing any voter registration.

On its face, this action by Duke University officials would seem to be a violation of the federal Higher Education Act, which encourages campus voter registration.

This letter shall serve as a formal complaint to you and a charge to investigate said allegation. I look forward to a prompt response, as registration deadline is October 13, 2006.

Sincerely,
Walter C. Abbott III

Cc: President Richard H. Brodhead
Duke University

Duke Students for an Ethical Durham

This letter was sent to North Carolina Assistant Attorney by Walter C. Abbott III on October 3, 2006.

Mr. Ben White
Assistant US Attorney
Middle District of North Carolina
P. O. Box 1858
Greensboro, NC 27402

Dear Sir:

This letter is to document our conversation of today, October 3, 2006 in re: Duke University student voter registration efforts (see attached letter).

Your response was, “Duke is private property, so they (Duke) can do what they want,” and “No one is preventing the students from going downtown and registering.” You said that you had not heard any complaints from the students themselves and would like to hear from them directly. You also questioned whether or not Duke students would be eligible to vote.

Please advise if my recollection is faulty or that you remember the conversation differently.

Sincerely,
Walter C. Abbott III

Cc: John K. Tanner, Chief
Voting Section, USDOJ

Anna Mills S. Wagoner
US Attorney, Middle District of NC

This letter was sent to Department of Justice, Attorney General by Walter C. Abbott III on October 5, 2006.

Mr. Alberto Gonzales
United States Attorney General
U. S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Gonzales:

I write to enlist your help in resolving a complaint on a voting rights issue I filed with Mr. John Tanner, Chief of the Voting Section, USDOJ. A copy of the correspondence is enclosed. Also enclosed is a letter to Mr. Ben White, Assistant US Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina confirming a telephone conversation I had with him on Tuesday, Oct 3.

Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, I tried to follow up with phone calls to Mr. Tanner and then Wednesday with Ms. Anna Wagoner, US Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina. With the exception of Mr. White, I’ve talked only to administrative assistants.

Mr. Gonzales, as the election is Nov. 7 and the registration deadline even closer, this matter is urgent. I was truly shocked to hear of the incident detailed in the complaint – I never imagined such a thing could happen in the United States of America in 2006.

Please help so that these students won’t be denied the right to register and vote in the community where they live.

Sincerely,
Walter C. Abbott III

Cc: John K. Tanner, Chief
Voting Section, USDOJ

Anna Mills S. Wagoner, US Attorney
Middle District of North Carolina

Don't forget the letter written by a Duke alumnus in the Chronicle, on the same issue. Here is the link.


http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/s...gepublisher.com

Maybe it is time to send another round of letters.

Here is a link for a sample letter to be sent to your senator or congressman.

Write your senators and congressman
http://z9.invisionfree.com/LieStoppers_Boa...p?showtopic=710

Please copy one of the letters above and customize it to suit your needs, or write a letter of your own, and send it to:

1. NC State Bar
2. DOJ
3. Your state senator
4. Your state congressman

Addresses to these officies are available on FODU Links page:

Contact Information for Durham/NC/Federal Officials
http://friendsofdukeuniversity.blogspot.co...nformation.html

I am writing my Christmas cards today. I will also send a bunch of complaint letters as advised above. It should not be too big a deal. Thanks for the tips and samples.

A Duke friend from Texas shared this letter with us. The letter was recently sent to Herald Sun. Please write and send similar letters to Herald Sun. Their coverage of the Duke Lacrosse case has been appalling. Every letter sent to H/S helps in highlighting the problem. Perhaps, our collective letters could make a difference.


From a former Durham resident and frequent visitor to Durham

Dear Mr. Moser,

I would like you to know that your paper, in my opinion, has gone way out of bounds in its coverage of the Duke Lacrosse mess. Why has the paper done that? I don’t understand. Those young men (the “accused” not the “rapists”) are due the courtesy of some balance in the press until we know what happened. But that didn’t happen, according to what I have read in the Herald Sun during this entire saga. I understand that the news media is now all about “making” the news instead of simply “reporting” the news but what gave your paper the right to convict those three boys in the court of public opinion, way before any of us knew what had happened? From interviews with witnesses, etc., I am now seeing a much clearer view of the situation and your newspaper is looking pretty darned stupid, at this point.

I live in Texas and I can assure you that I am far from being the only person out here who has that view of your paper. And you will most certainly pay the price for your slanted and mean spirited coverage of the lacrosse mess in terms of circulation and people just not taking your paper seriously. To test that last comment, simply go back and look at some of your paper’s “fine” journalism relating to the lacrosse mess.

And your coverage of Mike Nifong has been equally one sided and slanted to the positive. I have many friends in Durham, formerly lived there myself, and still belong to Hope Valley CC and know some folks who interact with the District Attorney and therefore KNOW that your coverage of him is slanted-maybe to protect him, for whatever reason. But he has dug a hole for himself that you or your paper cannot fix. And so has the Herald Sun.

December 18, 2008

In case you were wondering how Governor Easley's office has been responding to the protest letters sent to them these days, on the lacrosse case, and in view of all the recent developments, we share such a response with you. This one was received by one of our friends only two days ago. Unfortunately, Governor Easley continues to disappoint.

Dear xxxx,

Thank you for writing the Office of the Governor. Governor Easley has asked me to respond on his behalf.

Since District Attorneys are officials of the Judicial Branch of Government and are elected by the voters of their counties, the Governor does not have the authority to intervene in cases brought before them. Concerns about the methods used by your district attorney should be shared with your district attorney or the North Carolina State Bar.

You can contact the Bar at 919-828-4620.

Thank you,
Kelley McFarland
Office of the Governor

Dear Governor Easley,

The citizens of North Carolina asked me to reply to your letter. If it is correct that you will be a candidate for Elizabeth Dole's seat in the US Senate, please be advised that the people of your State will remember your silence in the Duke Lacrosse case. In addition, we will do everything possible to keep this issue in the forefront of your campaign by asking some simple questions. Do you, Governor Easley, believe in the consititutional premise that the accused are innocent until proven guilty? Do you, Governor Easley, believe that it is the duty of an officer of the court, i.e., the District Attorney, to seek truth and justice? Do you, Governor Easley, believe that it is unlawful for a prosecutor to enter into a conspiracy to deny the accused their due process rights under the law and do you believe that the investigative practices of a district attorney should follow the rules of his own department and the guidelines generally accepted by honorable district attorneys everywhere. If the answer to these questions is "yes", then as the highest ranking officer of your State, you must be held accountable for your silence.

Firefly, well said. I hear you.

Perhaps we need to make these points clearer with Easley, although I doubt he does not know.

I wouldn't let him get off with that. As Zola penned in "I Accuse!", to the president of France :

This is the plain truth, Mr President, and it is terrifying. It will leave an indelible stain on your presidency. I realise that you have no power over this case, that you are limited by the Constitution and your entourage. You have, nonetheless, your duty as a man, which you will recognise and fulfill.

So what prevents Easley as a man from speaking out against injustice?

Quasi, I've learned a lot of history from your responses. Indeed you are correct. Nothing keeps Easley from speaking out about wrongdoing. He is creating a veil so that he later can claim none of this travesty came under the power of his office. Whatever happened to the bully pulpit?

This letter was published by AMac on Durham in Wonderland on Jnauary 11, 2007. I copy it over here so that memeber os this borad can get ideas from it and write similar letters to the NC Bar Members. Here is the link to the original post:

Post by AMac on DinW
http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/...091837345683653


Public Councilors of the NC State Bar:

Isaac Heard Jr.
Heard Systems
6728 Constitution Lane
Charlotte, NC 28210

Dr. Vinni Goel
NFE Technologies, Inc.
Goels Plaza
117 International Drive
Morrisville, NC 27560

William F. Dowdy
8021-103 Allyn's Landing Way
Raleigh, NC 27615

Dear Mr. Heard, Dr. Goel, and Mr. Dowdy,

I am writing to you about Michael Nifong, the District Attorney for the 14th Prosecutorial District, concerning the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case.

Revelations of Mr. Nifong’s behavior since March have sparked widespread outrage. However, people outside North Carolina find fault not only with this “rogue prosecutor,” but with the absence of state oversight into the actions of its agent. To this point, both elected officials and regulatory organizations have not addressed the accumulated evidence of serious misconduct. Even today, the felony case against the three indicted Duke University students lurches forward.

Granted, Mr. Nifong was not the sole instigator of this injustice. Certain local newspapers and some of Duke’s own faculty created the poisonous rush-to-judgment atmosphere that led to the initial presumption of guilt. However, North Carolina lawyers should keep in mind that it was a member of their community who employed the power of the State to transform this “social disaster” into a legal disaster.

One summary timeline that clarifies the early series of events may be accessed here:

http://durhamwonderland.blogspot.com/2007/...arly-dates.html

Even at this late date, many hope that the North Carolina State Bar will rein in a State’s Attorney who has inflamed prejudicial public opinion, tainted police investigations, and engaged in conspiracies to withhold evidence.

I believe that you volunteer to serve as Public Councilors because of your concerns for public policy matters such as the protection of Due Process rights. If so, I hope that you impress upon your peers that prompt action is urgently required. In the face of the temptation to delay further, the Bar should choose the aphorism “justice delayed is justice denied” to guide its imposition of remedies in the wake of its investigators’ findings.