[nfbwatlk] Living History: No Justice for Jackie ... Yet

Mike Freeman k7uij at panix.com
Mon Sep 3 03:27:13 UTC 2012 

I'll see if I have it around somewhere also.

Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Albert Sanchez
Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2012 5:14 PM
To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Living History: No Justice for Jackie ... Yet

> OH! GOD! Yes! And those of us who were dog users at the time were 
> laughing so hard that none of us could correct the dogs! If my memory 
> is correct their were five or six dog users; myself plus Ron 
> Frederickson, Carol Wedrick, Jackie Galloway, and someone from Oregon. 
> I used to have a recording that Stan Cox made for "Golden Hours" about 
> the "informational rally" but I can not seem to find it.
  Albert Sanchez
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
> To: "'NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List'" <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2012 1:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Living History: No Justice for Jackie ... Yet
>
>
>> Yeah ... remember when we all started chanting: "Guide dogs inside!" 
>> and every last one of them turned in at the next building entrance? 
>> <g>
>>
>> Mike
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
>> [mailto:nfbwatlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Albert Sanchez
>> Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2012 8:55 AM
>> To: NFB of Washington Talk Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [nfbwatlk] Living History: No Justice for Jackie ... Yet
>>
>> My feet still hurt from that event! What a time we all had, dogs 
>> included.
>> Albert Sanchez
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
>> To: <nfbwatlk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, September 02, 2012 11:44 AM
>> Subject: [nfbwatlk] Living History: No Justice for Jackie ... Yet
>>
>>
>>> Braille Monitor
>>> November 1985
>>>
>>>
>>> No Justice for Jackie ... Yet
>>> But the Battle has Just Begun!
>>>
>>>
>>> by Scott H. Lewis
>>>
>>> (The National Federation of the Blind is constantly vigilant to 
>>> protect the rights of the blind. The Federation observes, analyzes, 
>>> and acts. This is true not only at the national level but also at 
>>> the state and local levels.
>>> Scott Lewis is a past president of the National Federation of the 
>>> Blind of
>>> Washington.)
>>>
>>> Last March 9 Jackie Galloway, a blind grandmother living in Port 
>>> Townsend, had never even heard of the National Federation of the 
>>> Blind. She had never thought much about civil rights and blind 
>>> persons. But then, again, Jackie had never had need to. Blindness 
>>> was still fairly new to her, and she had only been using a guide dog 
>>> for a few months.
>>>
>>> But on the afternoon of March 9 Jackie took her two daughters and 
>>> two grandchildren to a theater to see a matinee performance of
"Pinocchio,"
>>> and
>>> events took place that quite literally changed her life.
>>>
>>> The theater's owner, Richard Wiley, met Jackie in the theater lobby 
>>> and told her that dogs were not allowed in the theater--and that 
>>> there was no exception for guide dogs. He told her that her guide 
>>> dog would have to go, but that she could stay. When Jackie tried to 
>>> show him a copy of Washington's White Cane Law, Wiley grew impatient 
>>> and angry. He lost his temper, yelled that there would be no dogs in 
>>> his theater, and that he didn't much care what the law said. Jackie 
>>> Galloway stood up for her rights.
>>> She would not agree to be separated from her guide dog to satisfy 
>>> the arbitrary whim of a man who didn't care what the law said. She 
>>> decided, tearfully, to leave. But she decided also to fight for her
rights.
>>> Jackie
>>> contacted the Port Townsend police, who cited Wiley for violation of 
>>> the White Cane Law. Then, she contacted the state Human Rights 
>>> Commission, and made a complaint pursuant to the state's law against 
>>> discrimination.
>>>
>>> These two actions generated some attention in the press, and alerted 
>>> members of the National Federation of the Blind to Jackie Galloway's 
>>> plight.
>>> Federation representatives contacted Jackie and offered assistance, 
>>> which she accepted.
>>>
>>> In addition to the police citation and the Human Rights complaint, 
>>> the Federation helped Jackie file a citizen's complaint charging 
>>> Wiley with assault and reckless endangerment. NFB found her an 
>>> attorney, and a civil lawsuit was filed against Wiley asking money 
>>> damages for the discrimination suffered at the hands of Richard 
>>> Wiley.
>>>
>>> The time came for prosecution. Early in May Jackie and her 
>>> supporters gathered at the Jefferson County courthouse as city 
>>> attorney Keith Harper was prepared to argue the case against Wiley, 
>>> and Wiley's attorney, Harry Holloway, III, was ready to argue for 
>>> his client. But just before the trial was to begin the judge refused 
>>> to hear the case, claiming that the charges brought against Wiley 
>>> were violations of state law and that a city attorney cannot 
>>> prosecute such violations in a municipal court. The case would have 
>>> to be brought again, the judge said. The case would have to be 
>>> prosecuted by the county prosecuting attorney, and they would have 
>>> to be brought in district court.
>>>
>>> Now we faced a new challenge: The city attorney said that the judge 
>>> was wrong, but that he wouldn't appeal. The county prosecutor said 
>>> he didn't think he could prosecute the case, but that he'd think about
it.
>>>
>>> On July 20 prosecuting attorney John Raymond was still "thinking," 
>>> but he was telling newspaper reporters that he probably wouldn't do 
>>> anything to bring Wiley to trial. So members of NFB from Washington 
>>> and Oregon, along with a number of Jackie's friends and neighbors, 
>>> gathered again at the courthouse to stage what was termed an "old 
>>> fashioned civil rights march"
>>> through downtown Port Townsend, to the prosecutors office, and then 
>>> to the "scene of the crime--the Uptown Theater. About sixty persons 
>>> marched through Port Townsend's tourist-packed streets that Saturday 
>>> afternoon waving placards and chanting slogans: "Justice for 
>>> Jackie!" "Hey Prosecutor, Don't Be a Disgrace. We Want Justice in 
>>> the Galloway Case!" "Ban the Bigot!"
>>> "Guide Dogs Can Be Trained. Wiley Can't!"
>>>
>>> It was a serious demonstration, conducted in support of a cause, 
>>> even more than simply in support of an individual. Yet, it was also 
>>> festive and joyful. It was a day for solidarity, of the blind of the 
>>> region joining together to tell the people of Jefferson County (and 
>>> through Seattle television news, the people of Western Washington) 
>>> that the blind have fought hard to secure their rights by way of 
>>> laws, and that we would not passively sit and watch those rights be 
>>> diluted.
>>>
>>> Wiley and the prosecutor were invited, publicly, to come and speak 
>>> to the group. Prosecutor Raymond chose to go sailing. Wiley spoke to 
>>> the press briefly from his theater, then fled as the marchers drew 
>>> near.
>>>
>>> Two weeks after the march the prosecuting attorney wrote Bill 
>>> Knebes, a Port Angeles attorney NFB helped Jackie retain to fight 
>>> her legal battle, and said that he would not prosecute the case 
>>> against Wiley. His reasons were appalling. Too much time had passed 
>>> between the incident and early August, Raymond said. Secondly, he 
>>> said that if the law was broken, it was a minor violation only and 
>>> there would likely only be a suspended sentence and no fine imposed. 
>>> Thirdly, Raymond said that Jackie could have her day in court when 
>>> her civil suit was heard.
>>>
>>> Look carefully at what the prosecutor said. He had sat on the case 
>>> too long, but the case was not to be prosecuted because too much 
>>> time had passed.
>>> His
>>> concern was for the people in the theater, and if Jackie Galloway's 
>>> civil rights had been violated, this was too small a matter to 
>>> concern him.
>>> Finally, he takes the absurd position that criminal prosecution is 
>>> unnecessary because Jackie can file a civil suit.
>>>
>>> In short, the county prosecuting attorney placed a civil rights 
>>> violation on a level lower than a traffic ticket. Even the smallest 
>>> traffic ticket is prosecuted. If a person shoplifts a $2 item from a 
>>> drugstore, the state prosecutes the offense, and then the merchant 
>>> can file a civil suit. But discriminate against the blind in 
>>> Jefferson County, and you can expect no help from the prosecutor.
>>>
>>> A message has been sent out, and we cannot ignore that message. You 
>>> can bet that our opponents won't ignore it either. Discrimination 
>>> may be illegal, but it is okay, they 'll say. Laws that aren't 
>>> enforced are useless.
>>>
>>> The battle isn't over. But instead of fighting one theater owner, we 
>>> have been forced now to also fight the one man whose job it is to 
>>> enforce the law. Discrimination takes many forms and often is found 
>>> in the most unlikely places.
>>>
>>> The civil trial will not likely be heard until December, 1985, or 
>>> early 1986. NFB has assured Jackie Galloway that she will have 
>>> everything her attorney needs to insure that her case is successful. 
>>> We will stand with her, united, because her cause is truly ours. Nor 
>>> do we intend to let the prosecutor have the final word. NFB of 
>>> Oregon has contributed funds to help support Supreme Court 
>>> litigation that would force the prosecutor to bring criminal charges 
>>> against Richard Wiley. We are consulting with attorneys who 
>>> specialize in civil rights appeals, and will take such action as is 
>>> appropriate to protect the rights of the blind.
>>>
>>> It is important to emphasize that the actions we take in support of 
>>> Jackie Galloway are most valuable in a broader sense. What we do to 
>>> protect Jackie, we do to protect ourselves. Our legal system is 
>>> based upon precedent. As a result, how the courts treat 
>>> discrimination cases in the future is predicated upon how similar 
>>> cases were treated in the past.
>>>
>>> The justice demanded by the marchers has not yet been dealt. But the 
>>> battle is far from over. We have the law on our side, and Jackie 
>>> Galloway has a stout heart. She is becoming a true Federationist, 
>>> and she recognizes the importance of the struggle she is helping to 
>>> lead.
>>>
>>> And in the end there will not only be "Justice for Jackie," but also 
>>> for all of the blind of the state.
>>>
>>>
>>>
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> 


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