Reverend Magdalen Part 3

August 22, 2008: With one week to go before the Cleveland fundraiser for her legal fund, Magdalen has received a notice that her ex-boyfriend is causing trouble once again. She has been summoned back to New York for a new custody hearing, one that supposedly accuses her of violating the settlement made at the beginning of this year. She writes:

"So today I heard from my lawyer in New York, and he regretted to inform me
that his partners will not let him appear for me on September 5th until I
pay the back fees that I owe their office, which is $32,000. So unless I
can come up with that amount, I will have to ask for a court-appointed
lawyer and hope that I can qualify for one. If neither me nor a lawyer
representing me shows up on September 5th, I will be charged with contempt
of court and could be sent to jail for six months. So basically, I'm
freaking out."

Despite the ominous sound of being charged with contempt, I've tried to reassure her that this is a standard for any of these legal notices. I received one myself, a couple of years ago (not related to her case, it was something else entirely). The idea here is, "show up in court OR ELSE." In my own case, I settled with the other party a week before, and the court date was cancelled…though I doubt that will happen here. However, maybe the lawyer might be able to come up with a settlement that would avoid the necessity of a court date.

There hasn't been any word that the Church of the SubGenius will be dragged back into this again – at least not YET. If Jeff was smart, he'd leave the Church out of this altogether. However, previous experience suggests that he may not be very smart.

Rev. Ivan Stang wrote on August 22nd: "I just heard from her and she has changed from being scared yesterday
to being REALLY PISSED OFF today. She is now planning to fight it all the way, take it to federal court if necessary."

Magdalen writes:

"I want to ask the federal government to step in and protect me from
New York State, because they violated my rights, but I just don't know
how to find a crusader who would agree with me and take up the cause.
I'm just like, hey, if a judge, presiding in open court, on the
record, calls you a "pervert," that should be the end of the matter.
They should not get another chance to then go on and interrogate you
about your religion and artwork choices, and then further order you to
remove that artwork from your home."

"I'm thinking of making a YouTube video to explain my situation and
see if anyone in the internets would be willing and able to take this
to a higher authority and say hey, there needs to be a change of
jurisdiction here, this person cannot get a fair trial in this area,
and she's just going to keep getting harassed again and again if
someone doesn't step in and say enough is enough."

"I'm getting all fired up! I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take
it anymore, by Gobbs! These things were unconstitutional and damn it
I want to be protected from it happening again, and an apology, and I
want my money back too! So until they come and take me to jail, I'm
fixing to fight it as hard as I can at the highest level I can, given
that I have absolutely no financial resources. I'm optimistic though,
because it's a lot easier to fight when your head isn't occupied with
the unbearable pain of missing your only child! I'm just going to
keep shouting for help as loud as I can until somebody who's been
waiting for a cause to champion comes along and helps me."

The major issue here is that Magdalen needs a lawyer who won't bankrupt her, because she's already bankrupt – probably someone who could represent her pro bono. If anyone reading this has suggestions for a law firm who'd be willing to do this…especially one that specializes in religion and family and custody law…then we'd certainly like to hear from you.

alt.slack discussion thread on this latest development: tinyurl.com/6ocl2d

August 29: Magdalen's hearing has been delayed until September 26th. Apparently the court did not provide the proper paperwork when her legal notice was sent to her via the United States Post Office (not by registered or certified mail, either), and this was not a proper serving of notice. So the hearing is now delayed until the 26th.

September 1: Rev. Ivan Stang gives a report on the Jocko Dome-o fundrasier on alt.slack: [1]

September 12, 2008: Magdalen has a new lawyer ready to represent her at the hearing on September 26th: R. Brian Goewey of Rochester, New York. He is not representing her for free, though, which means that a call for donations must be made once again. Magdalen writes:

"I was able to locate a lawyer who is a civil rights crusader, Mr. R. Brian Goewey, who is not only available on the 26th, but is also willing to represent such a degenerate artist as myself, and who is willing to do it for half of what every other lawyer has quoted me! Truly the Luck Plane tilted my way when I found him.

"We've made it so far from the days when I lived in a 10 by 12 box apartment crying myself to sleep every night, never knowing how my son was, never knowing if I would ever get him back. We're so close to being free from the threat of being compelled to return to Orleans County, which has hung over our heads since my son was a baby. All we need is $2,500 to get started, with a full retainer of $5,000. Of course, if things go badly, it could run into another $80-$100,000, but I'm focusing my slack waves on the thought that this new Judge Griffiths is going to be reasonable and let us go…I realize this is the worst possible time to ask for money again, with gas prices and food prices and unemployment the way they are, but I can't raise more than about $1,500 on my own, not by September 26 anyway. I'm forced to once again appeal to you, who've helped our family so much in the past, or one more push to finally get free."

"Thank you so very much for everything you've already done. I apologize for asking for more; I know I already owe you a debt of gratitude that I could never repay."

The complete text of her email from September 12th, which summarizes her entire situation since the beginning of the year, can be found here:

• Reverend Magdalen email September 12, 2008

Legal Fund

Please consider donating to Magdalen's legal fund, either directly or by purchasing a T-shirt. Direct donations can be sent via Paypal to: magdalen@subgenius.com

• Pledgie.com keeps a running total of all donations! (Pledgie site begun on March 10, 2007)
• Direct donation to Magdalen's legal fund: [tinyurl.com/jbpe8 ]
• Taphouse IRC Cabal "Why A Goat?" T-shirt fundraiser: [2]
• A second T-shirt fundraiser, sponsored by Rocknar and Hellpope Huey: [3]

Up-to-the-minute updates can be found on the IRC channel #subgenius and the newsgroup alt.slack.