I mentioned that Rocky Joe was litigious. How litigious?
I mentioned that Rocky Joe was litigious. How litigious?
There’s a hilarious exchange happening right now on In Session. Ashleigh Banfield has Rocky Joe’s sister on the phone.
Banfield points out that Rocky Joe is lawsuit happy. He has sued everyone, and all the cases have been dismissed.
Here’s a typical Rocky Joe dismissal:
In this matter, filed January 1, 2007, Plaintiff sued President George W. Bush, Judge Phillips, the Sixth Circuit Clerk, the “federal government,” and the State of Ohio. Plaintiff alleges a deprivation of his Sixth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff alleges “a conspiracy in furtherance of a conspiracy and a direct attempt to delay, impede, and obstruct justice”; in other words, his prior lawsuits have not been dealt with in the way Plaintiff would like, and George W. Bush and the Sixth Circuit were complicit in permitting this travesty (it is unclear what Ohio has done, other than being the state where the City of Cincinnati is located).
Plaintiff’s complaint is full of invective against non-defendant federal and state officials, police officers, the victim in the murder of which Plaintiff has been accused, and pretty much every one else except soldiers in the armed forces. Procedurally, Plaintiff has demanded Judge Varlan’s recusal and entry of default judgment against all defendants-despite the absence of evidence any defendant has been properly served.
Here (and in all his pending cases), Plaintiff is seeking monetary damages from government entities or officials. As stated herein, his claims are frivolous, malicious, offensive, and patently without merit. Moreover, his complaint fails to state a claim.The defendants are all immune and thus this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction, as it has pointed out to Mr. Houston on numerous occasions. Plaintiff’s claims also appear to be time-barred…*
Banfield then asks the sister, “Do you see how this doesn’t help Rocky Joe’s case?”
What’s hilarious is that the sister doesn’t get it… “Well we sued George Bush because…”
Banfield looks shocked, but refuses to engage with the stupidity and asks another question.
On Westlaw: Houston v. Potter. Slip Copy, 2007 WL 5238976. E.D.Tenn.,2007.
On LexisNexis: Houston v. Potter, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39898 (E.D. Tenn. May 30, 2007)
The trial-of-the-week on In Session is the Rocky Joe Houston murder trial.
I’m watching the cross examination of Rocky Joe’s wife (Nancy Houston). Apparently Rocky Joe was very litigious. The prosecutor keeps asking her “was this suit successful? What about this one?”
None of the suits went anywhere. Nancy keeps saying “No, no, I’m not sure.”
Nancy Houston seems resigned. I half expect her to say,
“Sir, I have no idea. My husband was a paranoid man who thought the government was after him. He gets a speeding ticket and then sues George Bush. What am I supposed to do?! Some men have football, but my husband had law suits. So, no, I wasn’t paying attention to the law suit of the week. Rachael Ray was on okay? Stop asking me!”
“Oh my god that idiot…”
Rocky Joe and his brother Leon are on trial for killing a police deputy and a ride-along. An old fashioned shootout in front of the farmhouse:
Jones, 53, and Brown, a 44-year-old former police officer on disability retirement, died May 11, 2006, in a shootout with Rocky Houston and his older brother Leon in front of the Houston family farmhouse on Barnard Narrows Road south of Kingston. The brothers claim self-defense. (Via Knoxnews)
The original news story was more vivid:
According to the TBI, the deputy and Brown were still in the patrol car in the Houston’s driveway when the two suspects began firing shots into the vehicle with a high-powered rifle. One neighbor claims he heard at least 20 shots fired.
Rocky Joe and Leon were injuried. Rocky was arrested at a hospital, but Leon jumped out of the ambulance and fled through a cemetery. A brief manhunt ensued, shutting down a few schools…
The most dramatic part of the case was the testimony of Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Darinka Mileusnic-Polchan. She described each shot by stabbing an arrow through a mannequin.
It was gruesome. The doctor made it very easy to visualize each bullet entering and ripping through the body. A photo gallery of the trial is here.
High drama. I see why In Session selected this case.
The trial turned out to be, as Professor L would say, “sound and fury signifying nothing.” The jury returned an odd split verdict:
A jury couldn’t agree Friday afternoon after three days of deliberations about Rocky Houston’s guilt or innocence on most of the charges in the men’s deaths.
The split verdict marked the second hung jury in the case. Another jury deadlocked this summer on his brother’s guilt or innocence.
The jury found Rocky Houston not guilty of first-degree murder or facilitation of any other charges in the death of Brown. They couldn’t decide whether Brown’s death amounted to second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, reckless homicide or any type of felony murder.
Jurors also couldn’t agree on charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or most other lesser charges in the death of Roane County Deputy Bill Jones, except for facilitation of voluntary manslaughter.
Special Judge James “Buddy” Scott indicated he’d declare a mistrial and said he’ll set a status hearing on the case. (via KnoxNews)
At least In Session has a built-in sequel…