Justice in Louisiana

Jefferson Parish Louisiana has the honor of holding the grave site of Sephardic Jewish Pirate Jean LaFitte in Metairie. Ironically it is also the constituency that elected Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke to the Louisiana House of Representatives in 1989.

Metairie also holds the ignominious distinction of being the location of a 1965 murder of an Argentine Jewish business man which enabled the State of Louisiana to attempt to frame California National Organization for Women President Ginny Foat (I was one of her defense investigators in 1982). It became so obvious that her abusive ex-husband had committed the crime that it took a New Orleans jury 1 hour and 50 minutes to acquit her on the first ballot, but only after the authorities, subjected Ginny to 11 months of her ex-husband’s belated revenge for her having left him.

During Hurricane Katrina, Gretna, Louisiana where the Parish Clerk’s office is located, has the distinction of its police officers joining Jefferson Parish sheriff deputies in blockading the Crescent City Connection bridge, preventing African American refugees from seeking a safe haven.

At the height of the 1960′s civil rights movement, H. Rap Brown of the SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) summed up his experience with being Black in a white dominated society as “Justice in America means ‘Just Us White Folk.’” Even in 2012, Justice in the City of Gretna and Jefferson Parish, State of Louisiana, appears to be a commodity reserved for White Folk.

Jefferson Parish is overwhelmingly white and conservative.

Races in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana:

• White Non-Hispanic Alone (59.5%)

• Black Non-Hispanic Alone (26.1%)

• Hispanic or Latino (9.1%)

• Asian alone (3.7%)

• Two or more races (1.1%)

2008 Election results:

McCain (Republican): 62.8%
Obama (Democratic): 36.1%

Read more: http://www.city-data.com/county/Jefferson_Parish-LA.html#ixzz1xjMIsVv1

My private investigator colleague, former LAPD officer, and friend, Vickie Frelow, has been trying incessantly to obtain a marriage certificate for her mother to prove her eligibility for residual payments due to late husband, who was a musician. Here is a summary of what Jefferson County put her through over the past year:

1. I contacted the clerks office and received a letter that there was a record that the marriage license was applied for; they have a record with a license number but the church never turned it in

2. I contacted the church and they stated that someone did not do their job and there was no record in the journals (keep in mind of Katrina); they took responsibility but refused to reissue

3. I contacted the church archives and they stated that they needed information, such as application for SSI benefits, witnesses, etc. Each time they requested info, it was sent, but they would then ask for more information…..which we would send and then they still would refuse to issue a certificate of marriage. It literally became a game: they asked for documents from twenty and thirty years ago but when I was able to find it, they would just figure out some new reason why it wasn’t enough.

4. I I got tired of the games and went over the archives head to the Bishop, which angered them.

5. I then tried to go the Vatican and was able to get to the Vatican’s liaison, who did nothing but repeat each sides position and referred me back to the bishop.

6. I then kept finding witnesses which would take months to do and sent it to the church, which they still said was not enough. I found two eye witnesses: the sister in law of the best man, a person who lived next door to my mother and her husband. I found the marriage license number and a newspaper clipping describing the wedding.

7. I contacted the Jefferson County Clerk’s office which indicated that they needed two witnesses and information on the priest who performed the wedding. I sent that information and then they stated that they wouldn’t do anything without a court order

8. I then sent a Petition to the Court and other ORIGINAL documents to the church and the judge’s secretary called me and said that judge wanted a hearing. This was problematic because my mother and I live in California and my mother’s health was precarious.

9. I then tried to get numerous pro bono attorneys and help which took almost a year to do because of limited funds and the reason we were seeking the court order.

10. I sent the information to the church complying with what they asked for and a Certificate of marriage was finally issued.

11. I was under the impression that the church would have sent this to clerks office for filing but they did not.

12. I emailed the church and they told me that I needed to send it to the clerk.

13. I emailed the clerks office with the certificate of marriage from the church and called the office. I was told that they did not get it, so I emailed it again

14. I called the next day and was told that the person whom it was supposed to go to was out of the office.

15. I called the next day and was told that they had contacted the church and although I had gotten a marriage certificate supplying the information that the church and clerk’s office stated they needed, the information to supply the certificate of marriage came from my mothers witness info and notarized statements, NOT from the church original records. I was floored: why would they send a letter stating that is what they needed if that’s not what they needed?

I have five notebooks of evidence and numerous emails; this is just ridiculous.

Well, actually I wish there was no rational reason for it but there is. Racism. There is no rational legal reason for it, but the situation is explained perfectly by Racism, plain and simple. Here’s the legal rationale for why the State of Louisiana is required by its own laws and Constitution to issue the paperwork sought by Vickie’s mother:

PETITIONER ALLEGES AS FOLLOWS:

1. Petitioner Gloria Dixon nee Gloria McCracken (hereinafter “Petitioner”) is a resident of the County of Los Angeles and of the State of California who was married to the late Floyd Dixon in and within the jurisdiction of the 24^th Judicial District of the State of Louisiana.

2. Respondent Jon A. Gegenheimer (hereinafter “Respondent”) is the Clerk of Court for the 24^th Judicial District in and for the Parish of Jefferson, State of Louisiana, who is sued solely in his official capacity and not individually.

3. Petitioner has done a diligent search (See Exhibits 1-9, inclusive) for a Certificate of Marriage which is urgently needed to claim residual payments that are due and owing to her as the widow of Floyd Dixon from his career as a musician. After a diligent search by Petitioner’s daughter, who is a former peace officer and licensed private investigator of the State of California, Petitioner has ascertained that a marriage license (within the meaning of Louisiana Revised Statutes [LRS] 9 § 245) was in fact issued to her and her late husband but which was apparently never returned to the Clerk of Court by the officiant as required by LRS 9 § 252 and 254. The Federal Western District of Louisiana has held that “Where license was regularly issued and wedding ceremony performed by regularly ordained minister, marriage was valid, notwithstanding that return on license was not signed by parties and was not returned to issuing authority, but was turned over to private party who kept it in his safe.” McDonald vs. Employers Mutual Cas. Co. 73 F. Supp. 198, (WD LA, 1947). Additionally, “It is public policy that every effort must be made to uphold the validity of marriages.” LSA-CC., art. 112, Wilkinson v Wilkinson 323 So. 2^Nd 120 (1975).

4. Petitioner has no plain, adequate or speedy remedy other than to apply with the Honorable Court for a Writ of Administrative Mandamus directing the Clerk of the Jefferson County Court for the 24^th Judicial District, the Honorable Respondent Jon A. Gegenheimer, to cause to be issued nunc pro tunc a Certified and Exemplified Certificate of Marriage. Mandamus is the appropriate remedy in this case because it “is an extraordinary remedy which is used sparingly by the courts to compel something that is clearly required by law, and only where it is the sole available remedy or where the delay occasioned by the use of any other remedy would cause an injustice.” LSA-CCP art. 3862, City of Hammond vs Parish of Tangipahoa, 985 So. 2^Nd 171, 2007-0574 (LA App. 1 Cir. 9/26/08). Additionally, mandamus is proper when necessary to enforce a right. LSA-CCP, arts 3861, 3863, Chaney v Department of Public Safety & Corrections (Officer of Motor Vehicles) 36 So. 3^Rd 328, 2009-1543 (LA App. 1 Cir, 3/26/11).

5. Petitioner is indigent and in ill-health and prays for the Honorable Court to waive the filing fee and to permit the filing of this petition in forma pauperis pursuant to her rights to Due Process and Equal Protection under the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, Article I, Sections 2 and 12 of the Louisiana Constitution, and Article 23, §1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (pursuant to Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution).

   I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States and of the States of Louisiana and California that all that set forth herein is the truth, except as to those things to which I have attested upon my information and belief, and as to those things I believe them to be true.

   Executed this_______day of January, 2012, at Los Angeles County, California.

Gloria Dixon, Petitioner in propria persona and in forma pauperis

AFFIDAVIT OF VICKIE S. FRELOW

I, Vickie S. Frelow, declare as follows:

1. I have personal knowledge of the following facts and can and will testify to them competently and willingly in a court of law.

2. I Vickie S. Frelow conducted all of the interviews and phone calls of various parties listed in the Statement of Facts given by Gloria Dixon.

3. I am the daughter of Gloria Dixon and a licensed Private Investigator in the State of California, License No. 19728. At all times relevant herein the States of Louisiana and California enjoy and recognize reciprocity for their licensed investigators to conduct investigations which have begun in their home states and which are necessary to obtain information and/or evidence in the sister-state.

4. Gloria Dixon was present during all telephonic interviews and phone calls that were made during this process.

5. Due diligence was done to retrieve any and all information regarding the marriage of Gloria McCracken to Floyd Dixon in December of 1955.

   I declare that all that set forth herein is the truth under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States and the States of California and Louisiana, except as to those things to which I have attested upon my information and belief, and as to those things, I believe them to be true.

   Executed this _______day of January, 2012 at Los Angeles County, California.

Vickie S. Frelow, Affiant

AFFIDAVIT OF GLORIA DIXON

I, Gloria Dixon, declare as follows:

1. I have personal knowledge of the following facts and can and will testify to them competently and willingly in a court of law.

2. I was married in December 1955. My great Aunt who was elderly at the time orchestrated the entire wedding, inviting her friends who have all died. I lived and was raised by my grandmother who also invited her friends which are also dead. My mother died in 2003, and I did not know any of her friends as I was not raised by her. My husband Floyd Dixon was from Marshall, Texas and I don’t recall any of his friends that attended the wedding. Floyd Dixon died in 2006 at the age of 77. . Floyd Dixon’s mother and father are also dead. My brother who was my husband’s best man was murdered on Lyons Avenue after the wedding. My cedar trunk, which held all of my wedding information, and documents was left behind when I moved out of the house and destroyed before it could be shipped to me.

3. My daughter, Vickie S. Frelow, contacted the Louisiana Weekly to check for newspaper entries or any information that could be helpful. She was directed to Tulane University, where she spoke to Andrew. After several days he was able to find a legible copy of my Wedding Engagement Announcement. I also have my baptism certificate that shows that I was baptized and active at the church where my wedding to Floyd Dixon took place.

4. I was known as Gloria McCracken at the time I married Floyd Dixon at The Holy Ghost Church (which is now St. Katherine Drexel) in December of 1955. .

   I declare that all that set forth herein is the truth under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States and the States of California and Louisiana, except as to those things to which I have attested upon my information and belief, and as to those things, I believe them to be true.

Executed this _______date of January, 2012, at Los Angeles County, California.

Gloria Dixon, Affiant

HELP GLORIA DIXON GET JUSTICE

If you’re tired of seeing States like Louisiana trample over the rights of non-white people, don’t just sit on your ass and watch and say “tsk, tsk.” Do something. Write to Attorney General Eric Holder and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana with this message:

Honorable Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr.

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20530-0001

Honorable Governor Bobby Jindal

Office of the Governor

Post Office Box 94004

Baton Rouge LA 70804

or fax to 225-342-8320

I am requesting an investigation into whether the Jefferson County Clerk has failed and refused to issue a Marriage Certificate to Gloria Dixon because she is African American in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. You can see the details of this case at:

http://www.janbtucker.com/blog/2012/06/13/justice-in-louisiana