Post by starfish on Apr 27, 2008 23:21:04 GMT -6
Just another case of a SB doing the Delphi thingy "sit down and shut up"
Resident sues Sparta school board for $1 million
By TOM HOWELL JR.
thowell@njherald.com
NEWTON — A Sparta resident has filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated by the township school board according to Superior Court papers released Wednesday.
He sued the board and two members who were voted off the board earlier this month, saying they did not let him speak at a public meeting.
In the complaint, plaintiff Mark Scott alleges his constitutional rights were violated when Board President Michael Schiavoni cut short his reading of a letter written by Superintendent Thomas Morton in response to a censure motion.
The suit cites the Board of Education as defendants along with Schiavoni and school board Vice President Richard Sullivan both personally and in their official capacities.
"Mr. Scott was deprived of his right to participate meaningfully in the public comment session," the suit said. "He was repeatedly interrupted, told by Defendants that he was 'out of order' and told to sit down and shut up."
The civil complaint was marked as received by the Superior Court on April 16, just one day after Schiavoni and Sullivan were ousted in sweeping elections that changed the complexion of the township school board.
Scott's attorney, Walter Luers, said he was unaware that Schiavoni had been voted out, but it is not relevant to the suit.
"What's at issue is his conduct while he was a member of the board," Luers said. "As an employee of the board, the board as an entity is responsible for his conduct."
Schiavoni said he was "very surprised" and "very disappointed" by the lawsuit, especially in light of the election results.
"It's a very sad day for Sparta in my mind that citizens are making such outrageous lawsuits against the school board," he said.
Sullivan was on vacation and not reachable for comment.
The suit marks the second time that township board controversy entered the legal system in recent months. Just weeks before the election, Schiavoni sued Citizens for a Quality Education founder George Thompson and two of the candidates running against Schiavoni, accusing them of "extortion" and "harassment."
In the more recent suit, Scott said he wanted to read the "Morton Letter" — a three-page cover letter to a more comprehensive rebuttal — during the public comment period, after Morton had been told the letter should be read at a later segment of the meeting, "when most of the public would have left," according to the suit.
About two minutes into Scott's public comments, Sullivan advised Schiavoni that Scott was reading from the Morton Letter, the suit said.
Scott contends that Schiavoni violated his rights by slamming a gavel, telling him to stop and taking the microphone away from him at least two times.
The suit also alleges that Schiavoni adjourned the meeting to put the kibosh on Scott's comments, and that other board members and school officials were allowed to speak over Scott's voice.
Township police were summoned to the meeting, but did not file charges against Scott, the suit said.
A jury in 2004 awarded a New Jersey man $100,000 after he was cut off from speaking at a public meeting, suggesting there is precedent for Scott to prevail, Luers said.
www.njherald.com/324687651151512.php
Resident sues Sparta school board for $1 million
By TOM HOWELL JR.
thowell@njherald.com
NEWTON — A Sparta resident has filed a $1 million lawsuit claiming his First Amendment rights were violated by the township school board according to Superior Court papers released Wednesday.
He sued the board and two members who were voted off the board earlier this month, saying they did not let him speak at a public meeting.
In the complaint, plaintiff Mark Scott alleges his constitutional rights were violated when Board President Michael Schiavoni cut short his reading of a letter written by Superintendent Thomas Morton in response to a censure motion.
The suit cites the Board of Education as defendants along with Schiavoni and school board Vice President Richard Sullivan both personally and in their official capacities.
"Mr. Scott was deprived of his right to participate meaningfully in the public comment session," the suit said. "He was repeatedly interrupted, told by Defendants that he was 'out of order' and told to sit down and shut up."
The civil complaint was marked as received by the Superior Court on April 16, just one day after Schiavoni and Sullivan were ousted in sweeping elections that changed the complexion of the township school board.
Scott's attorney, Walter Luers, said he was unaware that Schiavoni had been voted out, but it is not relevant to the suit.
"What's at issue is his conduct while he was a member of the board," Luers said. "As an employee of the board, the board as an entity is responsible for his conduct."
Schiavoni said he was "very surprised" and "very disappointed" by the lawsuit, especially in light of the election results.
"It's a very sad day for Sparta in my mind that citizens are making such outrageous lawsuits against the school board," he said.
Sullivan was on vacation and not reachable for comment.
The suit marks the second time that township board controversy entered the legal system in recent months. Just weeks before the election, Schiavoni sued Citizens for a Quality Education founder George Thompson and two of the candidates running against Schiavoni, accusing them of "extortion" and "harassment."
In the more recent suit, Scott said he wanted to read the "Morton Letter" — a three-page cover letter to a more comprehensive rebuttal — during the public comment period, after Morton had been told the letter should be read at a later segment of the meeting, "when most of the public would have left," according to the suit.
About two minutes into Scott's public comments, Sullivan advised Schiavoni that Scott was reading from the Morton Letter, the suit said.
Scott contends that Schiavoni violated his rights by slamming a gavel, telling him to stop and taking the microphone away from him at least two times.
The suit also alleges that Schiavoni adjourned the meeting to put the kibosh on Scott's comments, and that other board members and school officials were allowed to speak over Scott's voice.
Township police were summoned to the meeting, but did not file charges against Scott, the suit said.
A jury in 2004 awarded a New Jersey man $100,000 after he was cut off from speaking at a public meeting, suggesting there is precedent for Scott to prevail, Luers said.
www.njherald.com/324687651151512.php
