[imc-st.louis] Fwd: Nenninger Appeal Brief filed in 8th Circuit

[scottie a.]

Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:28:14 -0600
To: agr-list
From: "scottie a." <sca at free-assembly.org>
Subject: Nenninger Appeal Brief filed in 8th Circuit
Cc:
Bcc: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

       PCU  //\  Free Assembly Project    /	~ an Association of 
Volunteers    /
       St. Louis, MO * Washington, DC

		24 Nov.'08

	re:  'Nenninger v. Forest Service':

	Rights & RFRA Lawsuit from Arkansas '07, On Appeal --
	  "Appellant's Opening Brief" filed in 8th Circuit, 11/20/08
	````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

	As the 2007 Rainbow Gathering got underway in Ozark National 
Forest, Arkansas -- under a siege of police roadblocks and harassment 
tactics -- Tony Nenninger, aka 'Goodwater', went to Court:

       On 6/25/07 he filed for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) in 
the U.S. District Court in Fayetteville, naming the U.S. Forest 
Service and various high officials as Defendants, in official and 
individual capacities.  The Complaint cited systematic violations of 
his rights as a gathering attendee, under the 1st, 4th, & 5th 
Amendments, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
[Case No. 07-3028, Western District of Arkansas]

       On 6/28/07 Chief Judge Jimm Larry Hendren denied the TRO, and 
the hassles persisted through the course of the gathering. 
Subsequently in July Nenninger enhanced his civil claims with an 
Amended Complaint, and in January '08 the Government entered a 
cursory Motion to Dismiss or for Summary Judgment -- which the judge 
summarily Granted on 7/3/08, dismissing the case "with prejudice" to 
preempt such claims in the future.  The plaintiff followed with a 
Motion to Amend Judgment, which the judge Denied on 8/20/08, deeming 
his claims "without merit".

	Of course the District Court ruling ignored the Plaintiff's 
facts, deprived discovery, disregarded the Motion to Stay Summary 
Judgment, and erred fundamentally on the standard of review.  His 
only recourse was to take the matter up on Appeal -- so that's just 
what he did.
[Appeal No. 08-3106, 8th Circuit Court of Appeals]

	Nenninger has been to the 8th Circuit before, on the criminal 
case appeal of his 1998 'Group Use' citation, represented by ACLU of 
Eastern Missouri.  After 5-1/2 years, in Dec. 2003 that court upheld 
the Magistrate conviction on grounds unrelated to the facts in the 
case, based on dicta from other rulings.  U.S. v. Nenninger, 351 F.3d 
340 (8th Cir. 2003).
In coming back as a civil case appellant, he had to distinguish the 
issues before the court and present new arguments for review... and 
arguably, he has done so:

       The Appellant's Brief filed on 11/20/08 embodies extraordinary 
scholarship, and puts an unprecedented factual record before the 
Court of Appeals.  This is the first 'Rainbow' case to link pretexts 
of the permit requirement with roadblocks, camp invasions, and other 
devices of targeted enforcement against the gatherings.  It presents 
compelling religious use claims, and fully develops grounds for 
"strict scrutiny" of official actions under the Religious Freedom 
Restoration Act, and the "hybrid rights" theory in 1st Amendment law. 
It also alleges conspiracy by high-placed federal officials to deny 
civil rights in exercising rights of expression and prayer, and seeks 
damages in accord.  In closing arguments, it mounts a new facial 
attack on the 'Group Use' regulation, showing how unaffiliated 
speakers are precluded from compliance -- for which the Government 
has no plausible defense.

       The Brief also poses a new wrinkle in Nenninger's standing as a 
'pro se' Plaintiff-Appellant:  In the interim since the District 
Court's derogation & dismissal of claims, he completed law school and 
passed his bar exam... so the signature lines now show him to be a 
member of the Missouri Bar.

	This legal filing changes the game, and raises the stakes: 
It presents the most comprehensive case to date on the Right to 
Gather in the National Forests, and official depravations of 
assembly, privacy, due process, and equal protection.  Moreover it 
exposes glaring judicial errors in the District rulings, which the 
8th Circuit cannot evade in appellate review.
       After a decade of hapless litigant mistakes and candidly stupid 
court judgments in 'Rainbow' cases, apparently this is what it takes 
to induce Federal Courts to follow the law.

	Nenninger has put a lot of guts into this case, much effort 
and dedication, and has incurred significant expenses in filing and 
sustaining it.  In turn, PCU_/Free Assembly Project has supported it 
from the outset, contributing substantial research and work products, 
and covering costs of extensive document prep & printing -- also 
out-of-pocket.
       Donations in mutual interest would be graciously accepted, on 
both parts... private inquiries to this end are invited, to resolve 
means of payment and  answer any questions.

	Direct links are provided below -- to download the Brief (2 
versions) and supporting Indexes, and to view the full archive on the 
civil case & appeal -- FYI.


		For Our Land & Rights,
		Many Talk, a Few Fight...

				_scottie addison__
				  Coordinator
				  St. Louis, MO



	Direct Links for document downloads:
	` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
<http://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/ar07-ozark/nenninger-v-fs/appealbrief-20no08.pdf/view>Appellant's 
Brief, 11/20/08 (pdf)
     "Appellant's Opening Brief", on appeal of District Court's 
dismissal to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis... filed 
on 20 Nov. 2008. (71 pp.) PDF version, 528 kb.
The filing included an attached 43-page Addendum of case & policy 
documents, a separate 52-page Addendum of Legal Authorities, and a 
600-page Appendix of facts & evidence in 2 large binders.

<http://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/ar07-ozark/nenninger-v-fs/appealbrief-20no08.doc/view>Appellant's 
Brief, 11/20/08 (doc)
     ...as above, MS Word '.doc' version, 192 kb.

<http://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/ar07-ozark/nenninger-v-fs/briefaddendum-index.doc/view>Brief 
Addendum, Index
     -- contents of document Addendum attached to the Brief.

<http://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/ar07-ozark/nenninger-v-fs/legaladdendum-index.doc/view>Legal 
Addendum, Index
     --contents, "Addendum of Legal Authorities for Appellant's Opening Brief"

<http://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/ar07-ozark/nenninger-v-fs/appendix-index.doc/view>Appendix 
Index
     -- contents of 600-page Appendix filed with the Appellant's 
Brief, 11/20/08.

	View the full archive on 'Nenninger v. FS':
	` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
http://www.free-assembly.org/gather/courtstorms/ar07-ozark/nenninger-v-fs
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