The family at Good Georgia Lawyer, Williams Oinonen LLC, wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving and holiday season.
We are very thankful for all our many blessings this year. God has been good and it is only through Him that we derive our strength and being.
We wish all our clients and fellow neighbors of the Georgia community a safe and happy holiday. Enjoy the turkey, your loved ones– family, and friends.
Good Georgia Lawyer is very sad to report that another child has tragically lost their life due to suicide as a result of bullying. The Illinois family of a 10-year-old honor student named Ashlynn Conner who committed suicide last week stated that their daughter had been a victim of bullying at her elementary school and in her community.
Ashlynn, a student at Georgetown Ridge Farm Elementary School, told her mother two weeks before her death that she was being bullied for years and did not know how to react to the bullies.
Last week, Ashlynn asked her parents if she could be home-schooled. Shortly thereafter, her sibling found her hanging in her closet. The Police are now investigating the bullying claims through Twitter and emails.
At the request of Georgia State Bar President-Elect Robin Frazer Clark, President Ken Shigley appointed Julie Oinonen, partner at Williams Oinonen LLC to serve on the Georgia Fair Market Practices Committee.
The Fair Market Practices Committee will have two tasks:
First, this committee will review over potential amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct 7.2 on legal advertising and a nonbinding Statement on Professionalism in Lawyer Advertising that will address practices that the federal courts do not let us prohibit.
Williams Oinonen LLC partner Julie Oinonen was recently appointed as a Fellow at the Emory University School of Law Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.
Previously, Ms. Oinonen has been a Dean’s Teaching Fellow and Post Doctoral Fellow for Emory University School of Law. She is also admitted into the prestigious Order of Emory Advocates, in addition to being awarded the Kathleen Kessler-Eidson Trial Advocacy Award and International Academy of Trial Lawyers Award by Emory University School of Law. Ms. Oinonen has a Masters of Education and Masters of Business Administration graduating Magna Cum Laude. She completed her undergraduate education at Covenant College, a Christian college located on Lookout Mountain, Georgia.
Ms. Oinonen now joins her partner, Mr. Mario Bernard Williams, who is also a Fellow at the Center. Prior to Mr. William’s career as an attorney at Williams Oinonen LLC, he worked in the field of International Human Rights throughout South America. Mr. Williams graduated with honors from Morehouse with a degree in Political Science and has extensive experience with opponent research, policy analysis and political consulting. Additionally, Mr. Williams and Ms. Oinonen have had much success working on opponent research campaigns for elected officials throughout Georgia.
Today a Barrow County judge ruled against a former teacher who alleged that she lost her job due to a posting on Facebook.
Ashley Payne resigned from her job as a teacher at Apalachee High School in the Fall of 2009 after an individual who stated they were a parent sent a complaint about postings Ms. Payne had made on Facebook showing her drinking alcohol and stating that she was headed to a game of “Crazy Bitch Bingo” at an Atlanta restaurant. Ms. Payne claims she was under pressure to resign however the school district disputes this claiming she volunteered.
Ms. Payne is now graduate student at UGA and filed suit asking the court for a determination stating she was entitled to a due process hearing. It is unfortunate that Ms. Payne did not ask for a due process hearing, speak to her union advisor, or consult an attorney prior to resigning.
Occupy Atlanta has set up their occupation protest in Woodruff Park, just a short walk from the law offices of Williams Oinonen LLC. Our law firm is just a few blocks from the protests, located in 3344 Peachtree Rd NE #800 in Atlanta.
On Friday, several hundred members rallied in Woodruff Park, protesting corporate corruption. The protests are also timed for the 10th anniversary for Afghanistan war and patterned after the Occupy Wall Street group in New York.
Atlanta police first told the protesters to stay on sidewalks but later allowed a dozen or so tents to be set up in Woodruff Park as long as the protesters behaved themselves.
Douglasville, Georgia recently settled a federal lawsuit brought by an American Muslim woman named Lisa Valentine, who was jailed due to wearing a hijab, a Muslim headscarf while at the courthouse.
ACLU lawyer Azadeh Shahshahani stated: “Obviously the manner in which Ms. Valentine was treated was inexcusable and unconstitutional,” said Shahshahani, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. “We hope that through this settlement, no other people will be subject to this same humiliating treatment Ms. Valentine had to suffer.”
As part of the settlement, Douglasville agreed to adopt new policies that allowed those who wear religious head coverings the option to be screened privately by a same gender person. Those who have religious headwear will no longer be forced to remove them and can wear them while in court. The Georgia Judicial Council made this nonbinding recommendation to all local courts after the Valentine incident was reported.
Valentine, is an African-American woman who converted from Christianity to Islam 15 years ago and was jailed back in 2008 after she wore a hijab while taking her nephew to Douglasville Traffic Court. When a security guard told Ms. Valentine to remove her hijab she refused, protested, and then tried to leave. But the Judge ordered her arrested and jailed for ten days due to contempt of court. She was later released that day.
A similar incident occurred this past May in Henry County, when a state judge refused to allow a Muslim man to wear his religious head cap, called a kufi, while in court. Fortunately, the judge reversed his decision.
The First Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees us freedom of religion. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights defined freedom from religious discrimination as being guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution–thus the state of Georgia and its respective state court in Douglas County must also comply with such laws.
Religious discrimination happens when someone is denied equal protection of the laws, including equal treatment in the administration of justice and access to the courts because of the exercise of their right to religious freedom. Thus, it would be a violation of one’s constitutional right to freedom of religion through the 14th amendment whenever a Muslim, Jewish, or Christian are banned from a courtroom because they are wearing religious clothing or headgear (think a nun’s habit or Jewish yarmukle).
The largest growing number of religious discrimination cases however involve the area of employment. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge any employee or to discriminate with respect to compensation or other terms of employment due to the employee’s religion, as well as race, color, sex, or national origin. 42 U.S.C.S. § 2000e-2(a)(1).
When a plaintiff uses circumstantial evidence to prove religious discrimination, the court applies the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting approach. This approach requires a plaintiff the initial burden to establish a prima facie case showing: (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for his job; (3) she was subjected to an adverse employment action; and (4) her employer treated similarly-situated employees outside her class more favorably or replaced him with someone outside her class. Mackmuhammad v. Cagle’s Inc., 379 Fed. Appx. 801 (11th Cir. Ga. 2010)
Once the plaintiff does this, the employer must prove a non-discriminatory basis for its actions and if those are given, then the plaintiff must show that those reasons are simply pretextual (false, a cover up to hide true motives and intentions.) Id.
It is illegal to harass someone because of their religion in an employment setting. The law also requires employers to reasonably accommodate an employees religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would create more than a minimal burden on the employer’s operation. An example of reasonable accommodation would be making sure an Orthodox Jew was not scheduled during Sabbath, or a Christian on Sunday morning worship hour.
If you believe you have been a victim of religious discrimination, you can file a charge with the EEOC but there are time limits and you must do it within 180 days of the discriminatory treatment.
It is also highly recommended to seek legal counsel.
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Tekila Mynon Glass, age 30, from Riverdale, Georgia was charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide as a result of the death on Sept. 18, 2011 of a 1-year-old child who was in a stroller at Lenora Park in Gwinnett County.
Witnesses who observed Ms. Glass strike the child in the stroller as she backed up with her 2005 Chrysler Pacifica through the parking lot at Lenora Park on Lenora Church Road are urged to contact the Accident Investigation Unit at 770-338-5675.
Tekila Mynon Glass, was charged with improper backing which resulted in the death of Olivia Hellwig. Broooke Hellwig was the mother of Olivia Hellwig. Ms. Hellwig was pushing Olivia in her stroller when her young daughter was killed.
Olivia Hellwig was transported to Children’s Healthcare at Egleston in Atlanta where very sadly she tragically died. Her mother, Brooke Hellwig, was also treated for injuries police said. Her greatest injury of course was the loss of her young daughter due to the negligence of Ms. Glass.
Gwinnett County police report revealed that Glass’ vehicle carried six passengers. The police request that anyone who has witnessed the accident and has yet to speak with investigators to please contact the Accident Investigation Unit at 770-338-5675.
Good Georgia Lawyer urges our legislature to craft stricter laws that will keep pedestrians safe and prevent terrible tragedies that result in the loss of life. In the event a Georgia citizen dies due to the result of someone’s negligence, then the negligent driver is generally held liable for a failure to exercise reasonable care while driving. Hopefully, it is the case that Ms. Glass carried an ample insurance policy so that the family of the young child she killed may receive damages—money given as compensation to assist a family in a personal injury suit.
In Georgia, there are two major types of damages–compensatory and punitives. Punitives punish and deter the offender from injuring someone in the future. Compensatory helps with medical bills, funeral costs, pain and suffering.
If you know someone who has experienced the loss of a loved one due to the negligence of a person or a corporation, we encourage you to seek legal advice immediately.
Good Georgia Lawyer implores all Georgians to drive carefully: always pay attention when backing up your vehicle in a parking lot. You never know what precious cargo may be in your path and your life as well as the life of someone else can change in a split second if you are not exercising caution at all times while driving.
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Last week, Williams Oinonen LLC helped sponsor and organize a two day event at Emory University School of Law presented by the Center for Advocacy and Dispute Resolution.
This past weekend, Williams Oinonen LLC presented a volunteer lunch and learn workshop for pre-law students at Covenant College. For more information on the event, you can view the printed flyer here: lunch and learn Poster fall 2011.pdf.
Covenant College is a four year liberal arts, Christian College that is the official college of the Presbyterian Church of America located on Lookout Mountain, Georgia. The topics covered during the workshop were:
Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog