Jason Scott case

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Scott v. Ross
Seal of the United States Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit.svg
Court United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Full case nameJason Scott v. Rick Ross, aka Rickey Allen Ross; Mark Workman; Charles Simpson, and Cult Awareness Network, a California Non-Profit Corp.
DecidedSeptember 1995 (jury verdict)
April 8, 1998 (Court of Appeals decision)
Citation(s) 140 F.3d 1275 (9th Cir. 1998)
Case history
Prior action(s)Jury verdict in favor of plaintiff
Subsequent action(s)Rehearing En Banc denied, August 26, 1998, 151 F.3d 1247.
Certiorari denied March 22, 1999, 526 U.S. 1033.
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting Mary M. Schroeder, Robert Beezer, & William Schwarzer
Case opinions
Majority: Beezer
Dissent: Schwarzer

The Jason Scott case was a United States civil suit, brought against deprogrammer Rick Ross, two of his associates, and the Cult Awareness Network (CAN), for the abduction and failed deprogramming of Jason Scott, a member of the United Pentecostal Church International. Scott was eighteen years old at the time of the abduction and thus legally an adult. CAN was a co-defendant because a CAN contact person had referred Scott's mother to Rick Ross. In the trial, Jason Scott was represented by Kendrick Moxon, a prominent Scientologist attorney.

Contents

The nine-member jury unanimously held the defendants liable for conspiracy to deprive Scott of his civil rights and religious liberties. In addition, the jury held that Ross and his associates (but not CAN) "intentionally or recklessly acted in a way so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community." The case resulted in an award of $875,000 in compensatory damages and punitive damages in the amount of $1,000,000 against CAN, $2,500,000 against Ross, and $250,000 against each of Ross's two associates.

The case bankrupted the Cult Awareness Network, and its name, phone number, records and files were obtained by Scientologists. [1] [2]

Prior events

In January 1991, at the time of the failed deprogramming attempt, Jason Scott, of Bellevue, Washington, was an 18-year-old member of the Life Tabernacle Church, affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church International. [3] [4] Scott's mother, Katherine Tonkin, had been a member of the church, but had withdrawn from it. [5] Jason and two younger sons of hers disagreed with her decision and insisted they would remain in the church. [5] [6] [7]

The two younger sons then left Tonkin's household, the youngest, aged thirteen, going to live with his grandmother, and the second-youngest, sixteen, moving in with another family from the church. [5] Jason remained at home at first, but subsequently also moved in with his grandmother. [5]

Tonkin, who believed a pastor in the church had behaved inappropriately toward one of her younger sons, subsequently called the local Cult Awareness Network (CAN) hotline. [4] [5] [7] The CAN contact person, Shirley Landa, referred her to Rick Ross; based on her endorsement of Ross, Tonkin retained him to deprogram her sons. [5] [6] [7] At the time, Ross still performed forcible deprogrammings, a fact that Landa was aware of. [4] [7] Landa had had a longstanding relationship with CAN; she had founded its predecessor organization, and was a former member of CAN's board. [7]

Deprogramming

To facilitate the deprogramming, Ross put together a two-man "security team". [5] [8] The three traveled to the grandmother's home, locked the two youngest children in the basement, and following several days of argument and lecturing, the boys gave up their Pentecostal beliefs. [5] For deprogramming Jason, Ross demanded a larger fee, in view of the fact that he was powerfully built and legally an adult, increasing the risk of prosecution. [5] Ross hired a karate black belt named Clark Rotroff to help with the operation. [5] One evening, as Scott returned to the family residence, he was surprised by Ross's three associates, wrestled to the ground, and dragged into a waiting van. [6] [9] [10]

Scott struggled, but was held down and handcuffed by the three men, gagged with duct tape from ear to ear, and had his ankles tied with rope. [6] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] As he lay face down and with his cuffed hands beneath his body, one of the men, weighing 300 pounds, sat on top of his back. [5] Scott's legs, upper body and back had sustained multiple bruises and abrasions from being dragged to the van across stairs, floors and a patio. [5]

Scott was driven to a beach cottage, where the rope around his ankles was loosened sufficiently to enable him to make steps. [5] [6] [9] [13] Ross and his partners walked him into the house, one of the men leading him on a nylon leash, another holding his handcuffs. [5] Ross and his partners had made the house a virtual prison; the windows were covered with thick nylon straps forming a mesh, to prevent escape. [5] The two doors to the room where he was held were guarded. [5] His captors also took his shoes and fitted the room with motion detectors. [5] According to Shupe and Darnell's (2006) account of court testimony, Scott demanded that he be allowed to leave, and asked Ross whether he would try to make him change his religious beliefs. [5] Ross was said to have replied that that was what he was paid to do. [5] When Scott threatened Ross with criminal prosecution, Ross was said to have threatened Scott that he would handcuff him to the bed frame. [5]

Scott testified that he then endured five days of derogatory comments about himself, his beliefs, his girlfriend and his pastor, and diatribes by Ross about the ways in which Christianity and conservative Protestantism were wrong. [5] [6] He was intimidated, forced to watch videos on cults and told his church was just the same. [4] [13] He said he was watched 24 hours a day. [4] On every visit to the bathroom, he was accompanied by at least two men. [5] Every day, Ross argued with Scott about matters of religion, without giving him a chance to say anything in return, often tapping him or hitting him on the head to underscore his points while Scott was being restrained or closely watched. [5] Scott was told that he would only regain his liberty once the deprogramming had been concluded successfully and he had given up his beliefs. [5]

After four days, Scott began to pretend that he had changed his mind, feigning tears and remorse, in the hope that this would in due course give him a chance to escape. [4] [5] [6] [9] The final day of his imprisonment he spent watching films on New Age religions and channeling, even though neither are related to Pentecostalism. [5] Scott's plan ultimately worked; Ross, pleased with the apparent success of the deprogramming session, proposed that they all went out to meet with Scott's family for a celebratory dinner. [4] [9] [11] In the restaurant, Scott was allowed to go the restroom by himself; he ran out and called the police, who arrested Ross and his companions on suspicion of unlawful imprisonment. [4] [6] [9] [11] Initially, the charges were dismissed. [9]

Trials

Criminal

In 1993, two years later, criminal charges were brought against Ross and two of his associates for unlawful imprisonment during the deprogramming. At the trial, Ross's defense lawyer argued that Ross "was hired to deprogram Scott but that others who restrained Scott were not under Ross's control." [14] The trial ended in acquittal for Ross. [3] [5] [8] [9] [15] Jurors said "prosecutors had not proved Ross participated in restraining Scott." [16] Grays Harbor County prosecutor Joe Wheeler said "he was surprised by the jury's verdict", arrived at after two hours of deliberation. [16] Mark Workman and Charles Simpson pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of coercion and were sentenced to one-year jail terms, with all but 30 days suspended. [3] [14] [16] The third associate, Clark Rotroff, also from Arizona, testified for the prosecution and was not charged. [14]

Civil

In addition to the criminal trial, a civil suit for damages was filed against Ross, the two convicted associates and CAN by Kendrick Moxon, a long-time member and counsel for the Church of Scientology, on behalf of Jason Scott. [3] [7] Moxon took the case pro bono. [17] The case led to renewed debate on the deprogramming issue. [3] At the trial, the jury was tasked to decide whether the defendants had violated Scott's civil rights, including the right "to practice and believe in the religion of his choice, free from force, violence, threats, retaliation or intimidation." [3] Anson Shupe appeared in the trial as an expert academic witness for Scott, [4] giving testimony as to "the entrepreneurial nature of deprogramming and its origins in religious intolerance". [18]

Ross's defense lawyer argued that since Scott was powerfully built, it had made sense to bring along others "for security", but that Ross's role had been "limited to counseling and providing information". [19] "Mr. Ross had no physical contact with Mr. Scott," his attorney said. [19] "He did what he was intended to do – provide information." [19] CAN's defense asserted that none of CAN's leaders or employees were aware of the deprogramming. [19]

In September 1995, a nine-member jury unanimously held the defendants liable for negligence and conspiracy to deprive Scott of his civil rights and religious liberties. [20] [21] [22] In relation to the negligence charge, the jury attributed 70% of the total combined negligence to Ross, and 10% each to CAN and his two associates. [23] In addition, the jury held the defendants, excluding CAN, liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress, finding they "intentionally or recklessly acted in a way so outrageous in character and so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency and to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in a civilized community." [5] [12] [20] [24] [25]

The descriptions of the forcible nature of the kidnapping and deprogramming attempt seemed to have made an impact on the jury, [26] who awarded $875,000 in compensatory damages to Jason Scott, and punitive damages in the amount of $1,000,000 against CAN, $2,500,000 against Ross, and $250,000 against each of Ross's two co-defendants. [21] [27] The court found that CAN volunteers routinely referred callers to deprogrammers. [7] [28]

After the jury decision, Scott said "he thought the amount of the award was justified." [29] Moxon said he thought "the decision and the large award for punitive damages set an important precedent and would deter other religious deprogrammers." [29] United States District Judge John C. Coughenour pronounced the verdict "quite reasonable" [29] and refused a motion to grant a new trial, stating: [26]

Finally, the court notes each of the defendants' seeming incapability of appreciating the maliciousness of their conduct towards Mr. Scott. Rather, throughout the entire course of this litigation, they have attempted to portray themselves as victims of Mr. Scott's counsel's alleged agenda. Thus, the large award given by the jury against both the CAN and Mr. Ross seems reasonably necessary to enforce the jury's determination on the oppressiveness of the defendants' actions and deter similar conduct in the future. [5] [10] [12]

CAN tendered the claim to its insurance and the insurance company paid CAN the award. But instead of satisfying the judgment, CAN used the money to finance its appeal of the judgment. [30] [31] The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the award in April 1998, two of the three judges finding against CAN, with the third judge dissenting. [7] [28] In August 1998, the full 9th Circuit court voted against reconsidering the case. [28] [32] The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal by CAN in March 1999. [28]

Unable to pay the judgment from its remaining resources, and beleaguered by legal suits from other alleged victims and members (some of which were financed by the Church of Scientology), CAN declared bankruptcy in 1996. The Church of Scientology bought the CAN name all its assets from the bankruptcy trustee, as told in further detail below. [5] [33] [34] Ross declared bankruptcy as well. [9]

Outcome

In November 1996, the CAN name, logo and telephone number were bought in Bankruptcy Court by another Scientologist attorney, Steven Hayes, whose partner Timothy Bowles had at one time been partners with Moxon. [8] [35] [36] According to Moxon, Scott had not collected any part of his judgment at that time, as both CAN and Ross had declared bankruptcy. [35] In early December, Scott reconciled with his mother and settled with Ross for $5,000, and 200 hours of professional services to be supplied by Ross. [37] [38] Moxon filed unsuccessful emergency motions alleging that Scott must have been coerced, but admitted he had no proof of this. [8] [35] In December 1996, Scott replaced Moxon as his attorney with Church of Scientology opponent Graham Berry. [35] [38] [39]

The settlement between Scott and Ross was leaked to the Washington Post , which reportedly angered Scott. [8] Berry, his new attorney, said that "it would be a mistake to assume that Scott's decision to make use of Ross' time was a vindication of Ross or his deprogramming methods," and refused to say what services Ross would supply under the agreement. [8] Berry also pointed out that the Church of Scientology had "had a long-standing campaign to destroy the Cult Awareness Network" and asserted that the destruction of CAN had been in the interest of Moxon's main client, the Church of Scientology, rather than in Scott's interest. [8]

The Jason Scott case brought about the demise of the "Old CAN", marking the end of the cult wars in North America. [1] [2] Controversies surrounding new religious movements have continued, but the debate has mostly moved to other arenas than the courts. [1] [40] With the Scott decision, deprogramming came to an almost complete halt in North America, [40] [41] and the practice was largely given up in favor of voluntary exit counseling. [42] After acquiring the CAN name and telephone number, the Church of Scientology established a "New CAN", which serves as an information and networking center on nontraditional religions; [43] it is managed by former opponents of the "Old CAN". [36]

According to religion scholar J. Gordon Melton, head of the Institute for the Study of American Religion at UC Santa Barbara, "The Scott case virtually brought deprogramming to a halt in this country" "What this judgment does ... is cut the communication lines that allow deprogramming to go forward" [44]

See also

Related Research Articles

Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that seeks to dissuade someone from "strongly held convictions" such as religious beliefs. Deprogramming purports to assist a person who holds a particular belief system—of a kind considered harmful by those initiating the deprogramming—to change those beliefs and sever connections to the group associated with that belief system. Typically, people identifying themselves as deprogrammers are hired by a person's relatives, often parents of adult children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology and law</span> Church of Scientology legal cases

The Church of Scientology has been involved in numerous court disputes across the world. In some cases, when the Church has initiated the dispute, questions have been raised as to its motives. The Church of Scientology says that its use of the legal system is necessary to protect its intellectual property and its right to freedom of religion. Critics say that most of the organization's legal claims are designed to harass those who criticize it and its manipulative business practices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cult Awareness Network</span> 1978–1996 American organization

The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was an anti-cult organization created by deprogrammer Ted Patrick that provided information on groups it considered "cults", as well as support and referrals to deprogrammers. After CAN lost a lawsuit and filed for bankruptcy in 1996, Scientologists acquired CAN's name and assets, including phone numbers and records, and reopened the organization under the name New Cult Awareness Network. The Church of Scientology had previously been one of CAN's main targets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientology controversies</span>

Since its inception in 1954, the Church of Scientology has been involved in a number of controversies, including its stance on psychiatry, Scientology's legitimacy as a religion, the Church's aggressive attitude in dealing with its perceived enemies and critics, allegations of mistreatment of members, and predatory financial practices; for example, the high cost of religious training:191 and perceived exploitative practices. When mainstream media outlets have reported alleged abuses, representatives of the church have tended to deny such allegations.

CESNUR, is a non-profit organization based in Turin, Italy that studies new religious movements and opposes the anti-cult movement. It was established in 1988 by Massimo Introvigne, Jean-François Mayer and Ernesto Zucchini. Its first president was Giuseppe Casale. Later, Luigi Berzano became CESNUR's president.

The anti-cult movement consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of cults, uncover coercive practices used to attract and retain members, and help those who have become involved with harmful cult practices.

Anson D. Shupe, Jr. was an American sociologist noted for his studies of religious groups and their countermovements, family violence and clergy misconduct. He was affiliated with the New Cult Awareness Network, an organisation operated by the Church of Scientology, and had at least one article published in Freedom magazine.

Galen G. Kelly, born c. 1947, is a private investigator and Cult Awareness Network-associated deprogrammer. He was a former director for the Citizens' Freedom Foundation, a precursor to the Cult Awareness Network (CAN). He served as CAN's "security advisor." Kelly was raised in Accord, New York. He lives in Kingston, NY.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ford Greene</span> American lawyer

Aylsworth Crawford Greene III – sometimes called Ford Greene – is an American attorney, political leader and three-time Mayor of San Anselmo, California. Greene is noted for having successfully conducted litigation against the Church of Scientology and the Unification Church of the United States. He is also a deprogrammer. Greene is serving his fourth-term as an elected San Anselmo town council member. He was voted to the position of Mayor in 2010, 2015, and 2019.

Cyril Ronald Vosper was an anti-cult leader, former Scientologist and later a critic of Scientology, deprogrammer, and spokesperson on men's health. He wrote The Mind Benders, which was the first book on Scientology to be written by an ex-member, and the first critical book on Scientology to be published.

Moxon & Kobrin is a "captive" law firm of the Church of Scientology, meaning that it has no other clients apart from Scientology-affiliated entities. Its headquarters are located in Los Angeles, California, in the Wilshire Center Business Improvement District. Its members are: Kendrick Moxon, Helena Kobrin, and Ava Paquette.

Timothy Bowles is an American attorney who served as general legal counsel for the Church of Scientology International for eight years. In addition to his legal practice, he also serves as the executive director of Youth for Human Rights International, is a Commissioner on the Board of Advisors of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights and has helped establish other social organizations sponsored by the Church of Scientology, including Narconon and Applied Scholastics.

Theodore "Ted" Roosevelt Patrick, Jr. is an American deprogrammer and author. He is considered to be the "father of deprogramming."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Alan Ross</span> American anticult activist

Rick Alan Ross is an American deprogrammer, cult specialist, and founder and executive director of the nonprofit Cult Education Institute. He frequently appears in the news and other media discussing groups some consider cults. Ross has intervened in more than 500 deprogramming cases in various countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kendrick Moxon</span> American Scientology official

Kendrick Lichty Moxon is an American Scientology official and an attorney with the law firm Moxon & Kobrin. He practices in Los Angeles, California, and is a lead counsel for the Church of Scientology. Moxon received a B.A. from American University in 1972, and a J.D. degree from George Mason University in 1981. He was admitted to the Washington, D.C., bar association in 1984, and the State Bar of California in 1987. Moxon's early work for the Church of Scientology involved legal affairs, and he also held the title of "reverend". He worked out of the Scientology intelligence agency known as the Guardian's Office (GO), and was named as an unindicted co-conspirator after the Federal Bureau of Investigation's investigation into criminal activities by Scientology operatives called "Operation Snow White". An evidence stipulation in the case signed by both parties stated he had provided false handwriting samples to the FBI; Moxon has since said that he did not "knowingly supply" false handwriting samples.

<i>Twisted Scriptures</i>

Twisted Scriptures: Breaking Free from Churches That Abuse is a non-fiction book by Mary Alice Chrnalogar, published by Zondervan. Chrnalogar instructs readers on how to determine if a religious group is manipulative or abusive, and describes techniques of mind control. The book was first published in 1997 by publishers Whitaker House and Control Techniques, and republished in 2000 by Zondervan. A Spanish language edition was published in 2006 by Vida.

The "New Cult Awareness Network" is an organization that provides information about cults, and is owned and operated by associates of the Church of Scientology, itself categorized in many countries as a cult. It was formed in 1996, with the name purchased from the now defunct Cult Awareness Network, an organization that provided information on groups it considered to be cults, and that strongly opposed Scientology.

Martin Faiers is a British deprogrammer and former official in the Unification Church in Canada. He was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire. His family members are publishers of This England, a quarterly magazine about small-town and country England. According to scholar Elisabeth Arweck, Faiers lives in southern France and works in the Spanish deprogramming "market." In addition to being a deprogrammer, he also organized for several years a UK organization called Council on Mind Abuse.

The People's Organised Workshop on Ersatz Religion (POWER), also called the People's Organised Workgroup on Ersatz Religion, was a British anti-cult organisation founded in 1976 based in Ealing, London. Some believe that POWER is a front organisation by large new religious movements (NRMs) meant to delegitimise other anti-cult organisations like Family, Action, Information, Rescue (FAIR). POWER functionally disappeared in 1977 but caused major controversy within its roughly one-year lifespan. The organisation published a brochure called Deprogramming: The Constructive Destruction of Belief: A Manual of Technique, which advocated for mass deprogramming of cult members, including methods like sleep deprivation, food deprivation, forced nudity, kidnapping, and "aggressive sex".

The New Vigilantes: Deprogrammers, Anti-Cultists, and the New Religions is a 1980 nonfiction book on anti-cultism, deprogramming, and new religious movements (cults) by sociologists of religion Anson D. Shupe and David G. Bromley. A foreword was written by Joseph R. Gusfield. It was published by SAGE Publications in its Library of Social Research series as volume 113. Some have described the volume as a companion to their previous work, "Moonies" in America: Cult, Church, and Crusade (1979). Shupe and Bromley approach the anti-cult movement in the United States through a resource-mobilization lens.

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