Articles Posted in Constitutional Rights

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Mario-Williams-Big-Head-300x235 Mario Williams filed the first lawsuit against the Trump administration on behalf of a Guatemalan mother and was able to succeed in getting her reunited with her son this morning. The reunification happened in the Baltimore airport and can be seen here. “This child is not the only child,” attorney Mario Williams said. “There’s thousands of children similarly situated we have to do something about.” More about the lawsuit can be read here.

Mario Williams is partner at Williams Oinonen LLC.

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Inmate-Stevenson-300x225

Georgia Civil Rights Lawyer Mario Williams represents Kelvin Stevenson and Miguel Jackson for violation of their civil rights after correctional officers at State Smith Prison beat them with a hammer. Williams Oinonen LLC filed suit on behalf of the Plaintiffs under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 for violation of their constitutional right under the Eighth Amendment to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. A copy of the complaint is below.

Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint-ECF by julie9094 on Scribd

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d74173891.jpgGood Georgia Civil Rights and Government Lawyer Mario Williams’ flash bang case on behalf of our client Treneshia Dukes was featured in the Atlantic magazine this week that you can read here.

Treneshia Dukes was pregnant when a flash bang grenade was thrown on her by the Clayton County Police Department while she was sleeping in bed causing her terrible burns and injuries. Flash bang grenades burn “Hotter than Lava” hence the name of this excellent article by Julia Angwin and Abbie Nehring. (Above photo as featured in the article by Bryan Meltz for ProPublica.)

These flash bang grenades which were originally created for military forces to use in hostage situations, now are common amongst the growing militarization of police. The Clayton County Police, deployed flashbangs on around 80 percent of their raids in the year before her injury, according to records.

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tribunal.JPGStudent disciplinary tribunals are notoriously difficult to win, a recent study showing that 89 to 91 percent of students are found guilty and lose their tribunal hearing.

Good Georgia Education Lawyer has been very fortunate to have a solid track record of success, including this past week where she won a student disciplinary tribunal for her client who was facing expulsion or alternative school.

Ms. Oinonen and her clients were very gratified and the fairness and objectivity of the hearing officer who found her client to not be in violation of the code of conduct charges and determined that “no further action” was needed against him in terms of discipline. The student was permitted to return to school and make up his school work.

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Good Georgia Civil Rights Attorney Mario Williams’s lawsuit was featured again in today’s recent issue of Buzzfeed.

The article features what happened to transgendered woman, Zahara Green. The article describes how between Ms. Green’s first day in prison and becoming repeatedly raped—she had met with the warden in person, then wrote to the warden and deputy warden of security for help, then finally asked to be put in protective custody. The result was only to find herself assigned to share her protective custody cell with her rapist.

Buzzfeed writes a full feature on Ms. Green that you can view here:

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Here is Gilda Day’s Response Brief in her case before the Georgia Court of Appeals. Many Floyd County Association of Educator members have wished to see it. For easier viewing, click on the brief and you can view it on the Scribd webpage:

a15a0402 – Brief of Appellee -Ee Gilda Day

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Attached below is Gilda Day’s Appeals Brief before the Georgia Court of Appeals. You can click on it to get to the Scribd webpage for easy viewing:

a15a0401 – Brief of Appellant Gilda Day

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Georgia Education Lawyer Julie Oinonen is representing DeKalb County teachers and Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) members in a suit against DeKalb County School District. The lawsuit alleges strong-arm bully tactics by the school district. See the Courthouse News article on it here.

Good Georgia Lawyer contends that this issue is part of the ongoing war on teachers and public education that is driving educators out of the profession and further destroying teacher morale. Each year, educators move to different parts of Georgia transferring to other school districts for any number of reasons such as professional career opportunities, financial, health, or family reasons. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit had to move due to very important family needs. They notified their principals and gave the earliest possible notice. Then they helped find new hires to replace their position, thus causing absolutely no financial loss to the School District.

The District bullied the teachers by threatening their teaching certification which all teachers need to keep in good standing in order to teach and maintain gainful employment to provide for their families. The District claimed that it was a sanctionable action by the PSC (the Professional Standards Commission, the regulatory body for teacher certification.) The trouble is that wasn’t true and the District knew it. Paul Shaw, Director of the PSC had already advised them that for teachers to resign prior to June 1st would not be considered a sanctionable violation of the code of ethics.

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Below is a copy of our contract:

DCSD Complaint

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The attack on public education and teachers is relentless and continues.

The source of these attacks come from the pro-charter corporate, big money anti-union movement that has swept the nation funded by hedge fund billionaires like the Koch Brothers, Bill Gates, the Waltons and more. Unfortunately both Democrats and Republicans have really drank the Kool-Aid on that one through Hollywood propaganda, Teach for America, and corporate lobby interests. It has especially been seen through Michelle Rhee (who is the former boss of the APS new Superintendent) and the movement to privatize public education by Board-TFA takeover. No political party has clean hands when it has come to buying into this propaganda. Sadly, slowly but surely teachers, parents, and communities are learning they have fallen prey to a giant bait and switch. Succumbed by promises of “local school governance” and “greater flexibility” they don’t realize what they’ve given up—necessary accountability and transparency which protects our students, teachers, and public schools—until it is too late.

The latest is the push is for districts to choose to become a charter system by June 2015. Charter advocates believe this is a good thing because it allows more flexibility. The problem is that it throws accountability out the window. Laws that regulate classroom size or teacher qualifications are good things not bad. Whether it is big banks that need regulation to protect consumers from subprime mortgage lending, or laws that protect kids from having oversized classrooms and unqualified teachers, rules are set in place to protect our schools and provide accountability.

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