Court: Bill Sizemore still owes OEA money, and AFT, too.
Initiative racketeer Bill Sizemore was found in contempt of court and ordered to pony up the cash he owes the Oregon Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers/Oregon, rather than use it for political purposes.
Oregon political activist Bill Sizemore has been found in contempt of court after a judge ruled he ignored an injunction aimed at forcing him to pay a 2002 jury award.A pair of teachers unions won a verdict now worth about $3.5 million against Sizemore after a jury determined the organization he founded, Oregon Taxpayers United, had engaged in racketeering, fraud and forgery during signature gathering for initiative petitions.
The Oregon Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers-Oregon went back to court to claim that Sizemore transferred money out of his latest political organizations to pay for initiative campaigns despite a 2003 court injunction ordering him to pay off the jury award first.
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May 27, 2008
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May 27, '08
No surprise. Mr. Sizemore and his defenders have made it no secret that they don't agree with these court rulings, and feel they shouldn't have to follow them. I wouldn't be surprised if Sizemore apologists soon appeared in this thread, claiming that these judgments are part of a conspiracy by unions and the government to prevent Sizemore from doing the people's work. The truth is that Sizemore has been caught--again--showing blatant disregard for the law. No respectable activist, of any political persuasion, should do business with him.
May 28, '08
Interesting, though, because typically you can't be found in contempt for not paying a judgment -- a judgment is not an order to pay, it's just an award of money, and we don't allow debtors' prisons anymore. Just out of curiousity, does anyone have a link to the order?
9:45 a.m.
May 28, '08
I'm no lawyer, but wouldn't there be a distinction between failure-to-pay (perhaps because you don't have the money) and deliberately playing shell games, hiding money, and moving it around to avoid paying up? Especially when you're using the money to continue the activities that got you in trouble in the first place?
May 28, '08
It is really sad that someone with resonable intelligence and common sense would betray these inherent human traits and go the route that Bill has gone. Instead of being reasonable, he is perpetually uptight and would rather be this way with the system than use his natural common sense and do the correct thing by doing as he is told with the ruling.
May 28, '08
You can be found in contempt for failing to follow a specific court order that you were capable of following. For instance, an order to pay child support is enforceable both civilly and criminally. Inability to pay is obviously a defense.
May 28, '08
“Instead of being reasonable, he is perpetually uptight and would rather be this way with the system than use his natural common sense and do the correct thing by doing as he is told with the ruling.”
I’ve heard Mr. Sizemore speak several times, and my sense is that he’s a fairly bright guy (not an idiot by any stretch) who’s terribly inflicted with a form of religious dogma and a political ideology that have systematically eroded his ability to see the world outside of a tiny, doctrinaire box. He’s dreadfully limited in his political vision. This dogma has also managed to kill off any common sense the man may have once possessed.
It is, in a sense, quite sad.
May 28, '08
Interesting, though, because typically you can't be found in contempt for not paying a judgment -- a judgment is not an order to pay, it's just an award of money, and we don't allow debtors' prisons anymore. Just out of curiousity, does anyone have a link to the order?
*** As I understand from the NPR story this morning, there was a specific prohibition on transferring monies -- a shell game -- and that's what was contemptuous. The order restricted behavior over which he had complete control (or maybe not).
R
May 28, '08
That guy owes me $5!
6:11 p.m.
May 28, '08
Also, I think that is not just that he's refused to pay a judgment, but that after his initial failure to do so, he was brought to court and a different kind of injunction to pay, and not to do specifically what he has done regarding money shifting, was issued, and that the contempt refers to the secondary court order.
Eric Parker, you have regularly been employing an idiosyncratic accusation that varous people are "uptight" that I don't quite get. Would you explain what you mean by the phrase, why it's bad, and what its antonyms or better ways to be might be?
11:36 p.m.
May 28, '08
So we'll all be very, very sad when BS goes to jail and we TAXPAYERS have to foot the bill for his care, feeding and mandatory de-lousing. What flavor is irony? Delicious!
May 29, '08
Bill Sizemore obviously and incontrovertibly has all the attributes needed to be the next (or current) President of the United States of America "...he’s a fairly bright guy (not an idiot by any stretch) who’s terribly inflicted with a form of religious dogma and a political ideology that have systematically eroded his ability to see the world outside of a tiny, doctrinaire box. He’s dreadfully limited in his political vision. This dogma has also managed to kill off any common sense the man may have once possessed."
Perhaps some of his supporters (like Richard Wendt) could make even more contributions, for a Presidential bid...then he could pay off the judgements against him. That might be illegal, but none of them will care.