Starting over

It has been a long time since I put anything on the blog.  I didn’t actually put the blogs from my days in jail online.  Someone else did that.  I wrote drafts in jail and sent them out.  The material that was published was similar to what I said but not identical.

My political enemies have attacked viciously from every side.  They have jailed me twice so far this year for a total of 7 weeks, and tried to jail me a third time.  UAFS, by its lawyer Walton Maurras, falsely claimed I missed a $1,000 payment and asked that I be jailed.  When the falsity of the claims became to obvious to ignore, the motion was withdrawn.

Southwest Times Record refused to publish anything about it.  They said it was not a story.  That’s interesting.  When I tried to subpoena certain individuals for depositions, and withdrew the subpoenas, I was accused of a crime, tried by the accuser (Judge Stephen Tabor) convicted and sentenced to 30 days in jail, suspended on conditions.  SWTR thought that was a BIG story.  When UAFS filed a frivolous pleading and withdrew it, not a word was said by Judge Tabor or SWTR.

The assaults on my license to practice law in Arkansas continue.   The Arkansas Supreme Court refuses to recuse from the accusations that it made about 5 years ago, suggesting that I had used “strident” language in a brief.  Prior to my case the Arkansas Supreme Court had never punished a lawyer for language in a brief, unless it was disrespectful to the court below (the circuit court judge).

The Arkansas Supreme Court not only judged their own accusation, they also usurped the role of the chair of the panel of the Committee on Professional Conduct hearing the case.  I briefed this issue.   The Supreme Court refused to even acknowledge the existence of the legal provision that prohibited them from usurping the role of the chair of the panel. 

Amazing conduct, this is.  Hard to believe but true.   By the way, I think I could win most of my cases if I got to serve as the complaining party and the judge from start to finish. 

Oscar Stilley

Jailed for Contempt: Day 8

April 2, Monday

My lawyer did not come today. I don’t know why. The only secure communication from here is lawyer visits or legal mail.

Last night I got a razor. I shaved with soap, no shaving cream or lotion. Chad didn’t get a razor. Apparently because Wesley is a mental case. Chad immediately requested a grievance form, which never came.

The deputy came back in about a half hour and picked up the used razor. They won’t let inmates keep them.

I did laundry today, briefs and t-shirts only. I was afraid to do the orange lest my lawyer came in the middle of it. Doing laundry is fun when you have nothing else to do.

Jailed for Contempt: Day 7

April 1, Sunday

Julie, my wife, came to see me today. It was a wonderful 15 minutes. I got to see a card through the glass with the names of a lot of my friends. That meant a lot to me.

I talk to my friend, Chad, most of the day. That’s more enjoyable than anything else to do. I have one appellate argument to prepare for, but less than the full set of briefs and record excerpts to study.

There is a retarded black man named Wesley in the next cell, along with Chad. There are only 2 2-man cells where I am at here in protective custody.

Wesley decides to trash his cell. He swamps it with water from the toilet, wetting all his clothes and bedding. The jailers bring more bedding and tell him not to do it again.

Jail seems the totally wrong place for Wesley. He appears to have the intellect of a dull 5 year old. He thinks he is from Conway and the best I can gather is accused of hurting a child.

As I talk with other inmates, they tell me of continuance after continuance until a guilty plea is forthcoming.

Jailed for Contempt, Day 6

March 31, Saturday

I discover that my order for a pillow, comb, deodorants, etc. was never processed. The other order, for treats to pay another inmate for his pillow, was processed and reflected on my commissary account.

The treats, candy, chips, etc. were brought to me in a bag later. The deputy insisted on going down the list and checking everything off, although I said it was no concern of mine what was there.

I asked that the bag of goods be given to the other inmate. “No way,” came the reply. They explained that this was to prevent extortion. I observed that I was an unlikely victim, since I was a lawyer, he was my client and a trustee, and I was out of jail while he was in jail. “Sorry, that’s the rules,” they replied.

Aha, could I please see my client? “Of course not,” came the reply, “as long as you have that bag of goodies.”

I refused the bag even though they said it would just get restocked. I remember another client, reminded that a commissary item was barred by his diet, responded that the food was for another inmate. There was not a word of protest.

Jailed for Contempt, Day 5

March 30, Friday

Jail is such a strange place. One deputy went through my papers and took all staples and paper clips, as well as the metal eraser holders on the pencils. Another deputy brought me two verbatim copies of a fax. Both copies were faxed directly to the jail and both had staples necessarily placed there by jail personnel.
The right hand knoweth not what the left hand doeth. That’s not altogether bad. If you keep on politely asking different people (sometimes the same person) you will usually get a reasonable result.

Jailed for Contempt, Day 4

Thursday, March 29

I scored another blanket late last night. I was comfortable, but would have used another one if it had been available. The new mat is great.

Pencil sharpener technology apparently hasn’t found its way into the jail. A kindly deputy took mine, tore off the metal eraser holder, hacked off enough wood to allow writing and brought all the non-metal pieces back.

Jailed for Contempt, Day 3

March 28, Wednesday

I have only one set of underwear and no socks. I am told that more can’t be brought in, that they must be bought from the commissary.
The junky mat was traded in for a nice one. They also trade my too-small pants for large ones with no elastic. They almost fall off but don’t cut off circulation like the small ones.

They have good ones but you can see through mine. I am freezing at night, it gets really bad at about 3:00 or 4:00 a.m.

They have a “one blanket per person” rule, erratically enforced. This causes inmates to use wet toilet paper to cover the vents. The rule is abusive and costly to taxpayers.

I thoroughly cleaned the room. The floor feels great! I used my only briefs and t-shirt to scrub the floor. The stainless steel toilet was a great mopbucket, and later a great clothes washing facility.

My underwear is clean again and back on, dried mostly with body heat. I feel rich compared to yesterday.

Jailed for Contempt: Day 2

March 27, Tuesday

Because I am not a convicted criminal, I am denied work release (W/R). Normally, the County Sheriff decides who is allowed W/R. No really, that is Judge Tabor’s stated reason for not allowing the sheriff to decide that I can have work release.  Judge Tabor’s order says “That statute applies to persons ‘convicted’ by a court. Mr. Stilley has not been convicted of an offense.”
I wonder, does Judge Tabor realize how counterintuitive this sounds? He made no findings that Oscar is a security risk, nor could he. He just summarily denied W/R.

Jailed for Contempt: Day 1

March 26, Monday

Judge Stephen Tabor is plainly and clearly unhappy with me. He is express that I am not complying, and he doesn’t believe that I will comply. He denies the pleading I submitted concerning client records. I am reminded that I do not seem to take “No” for an answer, and then ordered into confinement until I comply with the order to turn over all financial records. I take a couple minutes to give instructions and property to others.

A female deputy starts to pat me down. Clearly uncomfortable, a male deputy finishes the job. I am handcuffed and escorted to the car. At first I misunderstood who I should stay beside. A sharp command cures that. I always either keep my mouth shut or respond politely.

At the jail I am strip searched. The deputy searches me in places that I would have never thought possible to conceal contraband. I have to ask: how often is this a problem with lawyers coming from court in a business suit?

I get the sorriest excuse for a mattress. It is broken in the middle, lumpy, and only an inch or 2 thick most of its length. My three cellmates all have thick mattresses in good condition.

I am moved to another cell where I am by myself. The lights here dim at night, a big improvement over the “hospital cell” which has the same lighting 24/7.

Letter sent to Southwest Times Record 3-16-07

Dear Editor:

After two years UAFS now finally admits that Judge Marschewski served on UAFS’ political committee known as “Our University” while ruling on property tax litigation involving UAFS and his wife’s employer, Greenwood School District. UAFS suggests that this wasn’t really a big deal since this was only a political committee.

That wasn’t the issue. Marschewski’s name and the title of “Judge” helped UAFS raised $42,000 for political purposes and changed the face of Fort Smith forever. In court, Judge Marschewski claimed no recollection of being on the committee, but promised to look at proof to the contrary. Four times I respectfully offered solid documentary proof, but each time he refused to consider it.

No one has ever claimed that the rules allow Marschewski to sit on UAFS’ committee and judge their litigation at the same time. They just said I could not prove it.

Faced with a choice of stealing client funds and breaching client confidences, or 30 days jail, I chose the latter. UAFS now asks for another jail term, in violation of Arkansas statute §16-10-108 (b)(3) which says that I must be released after 30 days. UAFS asked the judge to deny work release for this jail term, a devastating blow to family and clients. Why?

If UAFS and/or Judge Marschewski admitted their conduct was wrong and offered reasonable corrective action, I would from my heart forgive, with or without a formal apology. But with no admission that they did anything wrong, what is there to forgive?