Federal Magistrate John J. O’Sullivan Omits Material Facts In Order to Deceive

Judge Donald L. Graham, “Teflon Don”

Purpose of this Post

This post will take a Report and Recommendation,”R&R” of Federal Magistrate John J. O’Sullivan and demonstrate that he intentionally omitted material facts for the sole purpose of deception. Judge O’Sullivan, suggests without stating, that the Eleventh Circuit had reviewed two orders for validity when knew or should have known that they didn’t. If the Eleventh Circuit had declared the orders in question to be valid and constitutional, all Judge O’Sullivan needed to do was say so. Admittedly, this post presumes that Magistrate John J. O’Sullivan reads the documents that he references in his R&R and that he reads the documents that support a pending motion. The purpose of this post is to:

• Question the personal integrity of Federal Magistrate John J. O’Sullivan.
• Vindicate the personal integrity of Marcellus Mason.
• To show the extreme measures federal judges will employ to protect each other.
• To help make the argument that “judicial independence” equals judicial non-accountability.
• To show how a judge can fit the “facts” around desired outcome and place the document beyond public scrutiny.
• To demonstrate that the federal judicial process needs the disinfectant of sunlight and public scrutiny.

Magistrate John J. O’Sullivan left out the material fact that the Eleventh Circuit, on appeal, refused to discuss the validity of two orders, though fully briefed, (DE# 201 and 246), that it claimed that Marcellus Mason violated. It is really quite a remarkable story in that the Eleventh Circuit spent 14 pages talking about Mason’s supposed violations of these orders, but none talking about their validity which is the reason the appeal was filed in the first place. It could have saved itself some pages and “judicial resources” by simply recognizing the orders are not legal in the first place. However, the Eleventh Circuit chose to give the illusion of “meaningful appeal”.

Pertinent History [Case No. 99-14027-CV-Graham/Lynch]

On June 15, 2000, Docket Entry 199, and July 12, 2000, Docket Entry 231, Maria Sorolis and Brian Koji, Allen, Norton Blue asked Judge Graham’s Magistrate, Frank Lynch, Jr., to grant them preliminary injunctions that required Mason to contact them before he could talk to the government defendants, the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners. These orders required Mason, a nonlawyer, living in Sebring, FL to contact private attorneys some 90 miles away in Tampa, FL. These orders were granted by the Magistrate, Frank Lynch, Jr., on June 19, 2000 and July 25, 2000.

Plaintiff shall be prohibited from contacting any of the Defendants, including their supervisory employees and/or the individual Defendants, regarding any matter related to this case.

(DE #201). This order is dated June 19, 2000. Additionally, these orders directed that Mason contact these same lawyers prior to making public records request under Florida law. Between June 19, 2000 and July 25, 2000, Mason repeatedly challenged the jurisdiction of the district court via motions and the like. Judge Graham and the Magistrate absolutely refused to state where they got the legal authority from to issue these orders.

Plaintiff shall correspond only with Defendants’ counsel including any requests for public records.

(DE #246).

Plaintiff shall be prohibited from contacting any of the Defendants, including their supervisory employees and/or the individual Defendants, regarding any matter related to this case.

Judge Graham has held that the above are orders are not “clearly erroneous nor is it contrary to law.” Specifically Judge Donald L. Graham held:

On June 19, 2000, the Honorable Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch entered an Order granting Defendants a preliminary Defendants in this action. Upon notice that Plaintiff was violating this order, Defendants filed a Renewed Motion For Preliminary Injunction. On July 25, 2000, Magistrate Judge Lynch entered an Order granting Defendants’ Renewed Motion for Preliminary Injunction, once again prohibiting Plaintiff from contacting any of the Defendants in this action or their supervisory employees. Magistrate Judge Lynch also ordered that Plaintiff shall only correspond with Defendants’ counsel.

Plaintiff then moved to rescind the July 25, 2000 order, however, on August 15, 2000, Magistrate Judge Lynch denied Plaintiff’s Motion to Rescind. Plaintiff appeals the August 15, 2000 ruling. After careful review of the file and the pertinent portions of the record, the Court finds that Magistrate Judge Lynch’s ruling is not clearly erroneous nor is it contrary to law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72; see also Cooper-Houston v. Southern Railway Company, 37 F.3d 603 (11th Cir. 1994).

See Docket Entry No. 407 dated November 2, 2000.

Impetus Of Judge O’Sullivan’s Statement

The act that precipitated Judge O’Sullivan’s statement was a “Motion to Vacate Conviction”, in Case No. 02-14020-CR-Moore, Document No. 106. Case No. 02-14020-CR-Moore was a criminal contempt case based upon Mason’s alleged non-compliance with a clearly void sua sponte issued pre-filing injunction. This is an interesting matter in and of itself, however discussing the nature of this case is not the purpose here. For more information see, mcneilmason.wordpress.com, generally, and specifically a post entitled “Eleventh Circuit Sits Idly By While A Clearly Void Sua Sponte Issued Pre-Filing Injunction Wreaks Havoc On A Man’s Life“. The “Motion to Vacate Conviction” was filed on 07/17/2007, (D.E. #106). Among other things, this motion sought to have the following orders rendered by Judge Graham and his Magistrate, Frank Lynch, Jr., declared unconstitutional:

Plaintiff shall be prohibited from contacting any of the Defendants, including their supervisory employees and/or the individual Defendants, regarding any matter related to this case.

(DE #201), datd June 19, 2000.

Plaintiff shall correspond only with Defendants’ counsel including any requests for public records.

(DE #246),

Plaintiff shall be prohibited from contacting any of the Defendants, including their supervisory employees and/or the individual Defendants, regarding any matter related to this case.

This motion sought declaratory relief pursuant to Rule 60(b) Fed.R.Civ.P. which in pertinent part states:

On motion and upon such terms as are just, the court may relieve a party or a party’s legal representative from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for the following reasons: (4) the judgment is void;

A Rule 60(b)(4) is not subject to any time limitation. Carter v. Fenner, 136 F.3d 1000,1006 (C.A.5 (La.), 1998); Hertz Corp. v. Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc., 16 F.3d 1126, 1130 (C.A.11 (Fla.), 1994)(“the time within which a Rule 60(b)(4) motion may be brought is not constrained by reasonableness”). At page 3, this motion specifically asserts:

On October 16, 2002, the Eleventh Circuit decided the direct appeal, D.C. Case No. 99-14027-CV-Graham, 11th Cir. Case No. 01-13664. In the entirety of the very verbose 14 page (unpublished) opinion, there is no discussion as to why the so-called “discovery orders”,[(D.E. #201); ,[(D.E. #246)] were or were not violative of the First Amendment; however, there is ample discussion about Mason’s so-called violation of these “discovery orders.”

At page 23, this motion specifically requests the following remedy:

A declaration that the so-called “discovery orders”, Case No. 99-14027-CV- Graham, (D.E. #201, dtd. 6-19-2000) and (D.E. #2461, dtd. 7-25-2000), are unconstitutional.

The “Motion to Vacate Conviction”, Document No. 106, uses nine pages, 15-23, of small type, 10 point, to argue that the orders are invalid and unconstitutional. Apparently, Judge O’Sullivan is unable to reach the desired outcome so he just ignores the arguments.

The Defendant, Highlands County Board of County Commissioners, in the lawsuit who was the beneficiary of the court’s largess with respect to the above orders filed no brief against this motion. Consequently, the motion should have been granted by default pursuant to Local Rule 7.1.C which states:

C. Memoranda of Law. Each party opposing a motion shall serve an opposing memorandum of law not later than ten days after service of the motion as computed in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Failure to do so may be deemed sufficient cause for granting the motion by default.

Judge O’Sullivan’s Act of Deception

The following is a direct quote from the Report and Recommendations authored by Federal Magistrate Judge John J. O’Sullivan.

The undersigned notes that in his appeal to the Eleventh Circuit, appellate Case no. 01-13664, the defendant made essentially the same arguments he makes here with respect to Judge Lynch’s Orders (DE# 201 and 246). See Mandate (DE# 929 in 99-cv-14027-DLG, 4/18/03). The defendant argued that the Orders (DE# 201 and 246) violated his First Amendment and Florida state-law rights to petition Florida government officials and to request public records. Id. at 11. Notwithstanding the defendant’s arguments, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of case no. 99-cv-14027-DLG based on the defendant’s continued violations of the orders issued in that case. Accordingly, the defendant’s request for a declaration that Judge Lynch’s Orders (DE# 201 and 246) are unconstitutional should be DENIED.

Report and Recommendations, R&R, Doc. No. 118. If the Eleventh Circuit had declared the orders in question to be valid and constitutional, all Judge O’Sullivan needed to do was say so. Instead Judge O’Sullivan chose to engage in the act of stating deceptive truisms that purposedly evaded the issue. Every word of the Magistrate’s statement is true and there in lies the danger. When the general public or the legal community reads the statement of a federal judge they automatically assume them to be true. If a litigant disagrees with a decision of a judge, he or she is automatically branded a mere “disgruntled litigant”; consequently, the “disgruntled litigant” is not to be believed. There is another alternative and that is the Judge could be untruthful as Judge O’ Sullivan is here. The clear and unmistakable intent of Judge O’Sullivan’s statement is to suggest the orders, DE# 201 and 246, in question were reviewed for validity by the Eleventh Circuit on appeal in Case No. 01-13364. If Judge O’Sullivan read the document he referenced, DE# 929, or page 3 of the motion, Document No. 106, then he clearly would have noticed that the only review of these orders, DE# 201 and 246, consisted solely of the following statement:

On appeal, Mason argues that the magistrate’s discovery orders enjoined him without legal authority and violated his First Amendment and Florida state-law rights to petition Florida government officials and to request public records.”

DE# 929, is 17 pages consisting of three documents: (1)a cover letter from the Eleventh Circuit; (2)a mandate from the Eleventh Circuit; (3)An unpublished “opinion”, Case No. 01-13664, a direct appeal. The quoted statement comes from page 11 of the document and page 9 of the opinion. The undisputed fact is that Judge O’Sullivan was being untruthful. Yet again, Teflon Don, avoids scrutiny again.

Fifth Circuit, US Court of Appeal

The Fifth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeal has rejected a similar injunction as unconstitutional. According to the Fifth Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeal, Test Masters Educational Services, Inc. v. Singh, 428 F.3d 559, 579 (Fed. 5th Cir., 2005) an order that an order enjoined a litigant “from communicating directly with, threatening, or harassing Test Masters Educational Services, Inc., its employees, its staff, or TES’s counsel, counsel’s employees, or counsel’s staff” constituted an invalid prior restraint and a unconstitutional limitation on free speech. Judge Vanessa D Gilmore in Test Masters who was reversed, while Judge Graham has escaped appellate review because the Eleventh Circuit has declined to review his orders or injunctions for validity in what has to be a record number of times. See this mcneilmason.wordpress.com posting “Eleventh Circuit Repeatedly Refuses To Review Orders For Validity“. Yet again, Judge Graham has avoided appellate rebuke while his colleagues have not be so fortunate. Judge Graham has frequently benefited by such disparate treatment. See postings, “Eleventh Circuit Uses Same Set of Facts To Reverse One Florida Judge While Affirming Another Florida Judge” and ““Teflon Don” Avoids Reversal While Colleague Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages Suffers Reversal“. The myth of the “Teflon Don” grows larger!

Pertinent History [Case No. 99-14027-CV-Graham/Lynch]

On June 15, 2000, Docket Entry 199, and July 12, 2000, Docket Entry 231, Maria Sorolis and Brian Koji, Allen, Norton Blue asked Judge Graham’s Magistrate, Frank Lynch, Jr., to grant them preliminary injunctions that required Mason to contact them before he could talk to the government defendants, the Highlands County Board of County Commissioners. These orders required Mason, a nonlawyer, living in Sebring, FL to contact private attorneys some 90 miles away in Tampa, FL. These orders were granted by the Magistrate, Frank Lynch, Jr., on June 19, 2000 and July 25, 2000.

Plaintiff shall be prohibited from contacting any of the Defendants, including their supervisory employees and/or the individual Defendants, regarding any matter related to this case.

(DE #201). This order is dated June 19, 2000. Additionally, these orders directed that Mason contact these same lawyers prior to making public records request under Florida law. Between June 19, 2000 and July 25, 2000, Mason repeatedly challenged the jurisdiction of the district court via motions and the like. Judge Graham and the Magistrate absolutely refused to state where they got the legal authority from to issue these orders.

Plaintiff shall correspond only with Defendants’ counsel including any requests for public records.

(DE #246).

Plaintiff shall be prohibited from contacting any of the Defendants, including their supervisory employees and/or the individual Defendants, regarding any matter related to this case.

Judge Graham has held that the above are orders are not “clearly erroneous nor is it contrary to law.” Specifically Judge Donald L. Graham held:

On June 19, 2000, the Honorable Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch entered an Order granting Defendants a preliminary Defendants in this action. Upon notice that Plaintiff was violating this order, Defendants filed a Renewed Motion For Preliminary Injunction. On July 25, 2000, Magistrate Judge Lynch entered an Order granting Defendants’ Renewed Motion for Preliminary Injunction, once again prohibiting Plaintiff from contacting any of the Defendants in this action or their supervisory employees. Magistrate Judge Lynch also ordered that Plaintiff shall only correspond with Defendants’ counsel.

Plaintiff then moved to rescind the July 25, 2000 order, however, on August 15, 2000, Magistrate Judge Lynch denied Plaintiff’s Motion to Rescind. Plaintiff appeals the August 15, 2000 ruling. After careful review of the file and the pertinent portions of the record, the Court finds that Magistrate Judge Lynch’s ruling is not clearly erroneous nor is it contrary to law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72; see also Cooper-Houston v. Southern Railway Company, 37 F.3d 603 (11th Cir. 1994).

See Docket Entry No. 407 dated November 2, 2000.

Eleventh Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeal

Case No. 01-13664. The Eleventh Circuit,
Judge Stanley F. Birch, Jr., Judge Susan H. Black, and Judge Stanley Marcus, rendered a prolix 14 page opinion on October 16, 2002 that does not discuss the validity of these orders. It is quite remarkable in that The Eleventh Circuit is single-mindedly focused on alleged out of court communications with his government by Mason as alleged violations of the orders above while steadfastly refusing to review the validity of these orders. On appeal, Mason argues that the magistrate’s discovery orders enjoined him without legal authority and violated his First Amendment and Florida state-law rights to petition Florida government officials and to request public records.” See Pg. 10. Even though The Eleventh Circuit admitted the orders in question were being tested for validity on appeal, The Eleventh Circuit refused to review these orders for validity.

Tags: "R&R", (DE# 201), (DE# 246), 2000, Allen, Case No. 01-13664, Case No. 02-14020, Case No. 99-14027, clearly erroneous, desired outcome, disinfectant, Eleventh Circuit, integrity, John O'Sullivan, judicial accountability, judicial independence, judicial process, July 25, June 19, legal authority, material facts, nonlawyer, Norton Blue, omitted, personal integrity, preliminary injunction, private attorneys, public records, public scrutiny, Report and Recommendation, sunlight, validity