Case Of Alleged Sexual Assault Against Halliburton Staffers Won't Go To Trial
By Logan Murphy Tuesday Feb 05, 2008 6:58pm
Photo and more via ABC:
A mother of five who says she was sexually harassed and assaulted while working for Halliburton/KBR in Iraq is headed for a secretive arbitration process rather than being able to present her case in open court.
Barker's attorneys had argued that Halliburton/KBR had created a "boys will be boys" atmosphere at their camps and that sort of condition is not the type of dispute that she could have expected to be within the scope of an arbitration provision.
District Judge Gray Miller, however, wrote in his order that "whether it is wise to send this type of claim to arbitration is not a question for this court to decide." Read on...
BushWorld justice at work, folks. Jamie Leigh Jones, who claims to have been gang raped by KBR employees, then held in a cargo container against her will, is still fighting for her day in court. She has testified before the House Judiciary Committee about her experiences and has started a website for other people who have been the victim of crimes while working for contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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I guess the rapists were hoping to be included with the telecom immunity act?
Isn't everything arbitration now?
BUT Clinton did it FIRST , Reich ?
Heck, look who Bush pardoned last year. Laws mean nothing to this bunch of thieves and criminals...
Pardoned
James Albert Bodendieck Sr., of New Athens, Ill., convicted in 1959 of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
Jeffrey James Bruce, of Chandler, Okla., convicted in 1994 of possession of stolen mail.
Charles Wayne Bryant, of Sautee, Ga., convicted in 1962 of theft of United States mail matter by employee.
Carleton Gregory Carpenter, of Wayland, Mass., convicted in 1981 of making a false representation with respect to information required to be kept in the records of a person holding a federal firearms license.
John Edward Casto, of Ripley, W.Va., convicted in 1990 of distribution of cocaine.
Jackie Ray Clayborn, of Deer, Ark., convicted in 1993 of manufacturing marijuana.
Debbie Sue Conklin, formerly known as Debbie Sue McAlevy, of Douglas, Wyo., convicted in 1990 of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Charles Richard Fennell, of Valencia, Calif., convicted in 1995 of false statement to a federally insured financial institution.
John Fornaby, of Boynton Beach, Fla., convicted in 1991 of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.
Daniel Ray Freeman, of Douglas, Ga., convicted in 1963 of violation of Internal Revenue liquor laws.
Thomas Dee Gandy, of Wichita, Kan., convicted in 1996 of mail fraud affecting a financial institution.
Melton Harrell, of Cairo, Ga., convicted in 1976 of theft of government property and receiving stolen government property.
Paul Dwight Hawkins, of Lafayette, La., convicted in 1990 of conspiracy to import marijuana.h
Roger Paul Ingram, of Round Rock, Texas, convicted in 1987 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute an analogue of a Schedule I controlled substance, Ecstasy.
William Lucius Jones Jr., of Birmingham, Ala., convicted in 1972 of illegal possession of an unregistered firearm.
William Charles Jordan, Jr., of Dover, Pa., convicted in 2000 of managing and conducting an illegal gambling business.
Saul Kaplan, of Scranton, Pa., convicted in 1992 of violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act.
Billy Joe LaForce, of San Antonio, convicted in 1991 of conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute.
Rudolph J. Macejak, of Morton Grove, Ill., convicted in 1986 of possession of an unregistered firearm.
John F. McDermott, of Moretown, Vt., convicted in 1995 of receiving kickbacks in defense procurement contracts.
William James Norman, of Tallahassee, Fla., convicted in 1970 of possession of an unregistered distillery, carrying on the business of a distiller without giving the required bond, possession and custody of a still without the required sign outside the premises, working at a distillery without the required sign outside the premises and unlawfully producing distilled spirits from mash and similar material.
Glanus Terrell Osborne, of Dallas, Ga., convicted in 1990 of possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
John Gordon Smith, of Littleton, Colo., convicted in 1988 of false statement to a federal agency.
Walter J. Sweeney, III, of Cincinnati, Ohio, convicted in 1993 of attempting to evade income taxes.
Nancy Lynn Thompson, of Bainbridge, Ga., convicted in 1997 of embezzlement by a bank employee.
Daryl Toney, of Montgomery, Ala., convicted in 1993 of misdemeanor theft within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
Charles Eddie Trobaugh, of Whitleyville, Tenn., convicted in 1965 of liquor law violations.
Samuel Lewis Whisel, of Boiling Springs, Pa., convicted in 1989 of aiding and abetting the interstate transportation of stolen goods.
Steven Wayne Whitlock, of Sarasota, Fla., convicted in 1990 of conspiracy to import marijuana.
Commuted sentence
Michael Dwayne Short, of Hyattsville, Md., convicted in 1992 of aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine base.
That's Republican justice...you get a BJ in office and they will do everything to prosecute you. You get raped while working with a faceless corporation and they won't even care enough to hear your case.
that's another good example that republicans have no morals and no values. zero...not one. Which makes it even more insane that these dipshits would claim the name of Christ and their dumb ass followers just bobblehead along. Yup, yup yup! Liberals are bad, yup, yup yup.
This continual shit stream is wearing me out. In the words of KO, "I'm bushed!"
Gray H. Miller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A United States District Court judge presiding in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division. Court Website.
Judge Miller was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006 and received a unanimous confirmation vote by the United States Senate. He attended the United States Marine Academy from 1967 to 1969. Judge Miller received a B.A. in 1974 and a J.D. in 1978 from the University of Houston Law Center.
Judge Miller served as a Police Officer of the Houston Police Department from 1969 to 1978. Upon graduating from law school, he joined Houston's Fulbright & Jaworski, where he later became partner in 1986. Judge Miller remained at Fulbright until his appointment to the judicial post.
'Nuff said
Did she at least get stock options? I'll bet every Blackwater member already has her phone number.
Sick, sick, sick....a sickness and sickness of justice that is a disease spreading and spreading ever more rapidly, in this "American democracy."
Snowball @ 6:
No need to trash the judge. The case is clearly outside the jurisdiction of the US court. Everything about the situation sucks, but what's the judge supposed to do? Bush, Addington, and Bremer set up Halliburton and other contractors as outside the law. Congress should have done something about it a long time ago.
All the more reason that Democrats have to take the White House, no matter who the nominee. Any more right wing judicial appointments like this and our system of law and order will become a Kafkaesque nightmare (maybe we're already there) making the Soviet show trials look like paragons of judicial temperament in comparison.
Logan: make sure people recognize these are two distinct investigations so that it is 'cases' not just "case". Besides Tracy Barker is also still 'fighting for her day in court'.
Old Billy @ 9:
Thanks for the mendacity, I'll pass.
where are all those loud mouthed, appalled, self-righteous hypocrites that were so taken back by Bill getting a blow job??? WHere is newt and limpballs on the injustice regarding this bush-created monster that has been raping it's own and laughing it off as "just part of the job". This same evil monster that makes the axis of evil look like the good fairy god mother when exposed to it's ruthless and shameless destruction of civilian life in Iraq and elsewhere.
We'll just turn a deaf ear to the cries of crimes committed by this cyst on the ass of this administration. We'll turn our eyes away from those crimes that make Mai Lai look like a tea party in comparison.
halliburton needs to burn in hell. It needs to self destruct and take down every one of the evil sons of bitches that work for that cyst. But no.....we turn our eyes away and simply ignore the cries. F*cked up!!.....yes we are.
[deleted - off topic]
NWonitsway @ 14:
Take it over to redstate.com. Your on the wrong blog.
Pinkyleftbrain @ 3:
Every Prez pardons criminals, and usually alot of them. Even Clinton did it, and Carter, and Bush1 and Reagan, and FDR, and............
[deleted - please read the commenting policy]
We need a law banning government funds from going to companies which make employees sign away their right to sue (mandatory arbitration.)
Team Angle @ 17:
Troll alert
That's what you get when Senators from New York vote against any Congressional oversight of Bush’s war ~~ Dubya and his cronies were given license to do anything they pleased, without accountability.
Hopefully once we are rid of bush we can get some justice about things like this.
Old Billy -
The case would be the same if the harrassment took place in the US.
Halliburton makes employees sign a mandatory arbitration agreement.
[deleted - still off topic]
I'm already speaking out for truth. An RP add is just an RP add. Not to say we don't agree on some things, but from a radically different perspective. My point is, if you want to pimp for RP take it over to the Republican wing nutsosphere. We're not voting for him.
Let's hope that at least the arbitrator will be halfway fair.
Eric Jaffa @ 22:
Well, then such an agreement should be illegal to even make.
Bitter Scribe @ 26:
Arbitrators are generally picked from retired judges on the corporations list.
The question should be, is forcing someone to sign a mandatory arbitration agreement even Constitutional? Should corporations be allowed to deprive you of your civil liberties as a condition of employment? I don't see that anywhere in the Constitution.
NWonitsway@29
OK, I'll get past the add and check it out.
Under MEJA, she has other rights. That BW contract clause CAN be broken, and this is just the first step in that fight.
BW is in for a bad year. The other question:
Why is Eric Prince not in prison for his massive tax fraud?
I'm playing it now. Typical of Dick Cheney's Halliburten to make our troops wash unknowingly in filthy disease infected water. It's not a corporation, it's a criminal front.
Snowball @ 28:
Sure it's legal. But how is criminal rape and kidnapping covered by contract law?
NO contract protects criminals. This is not an employment dispute -- it's criminal law 101. This particular judge will, with sufficient attention from the public and from Chairman Conyers (et al.), be reversed on appeal.
Paul in LA @ 30:
Cuz he's buddies with Nancy, Harry, Cheney and Bush. Gotta have friends when you are rich.
NWonitsway @ 14:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuPUFRusOBo
Just look at the video, it has nothing to do with Ron Paul and everything to do with Helli-aburton!!!!!!!
Hey moderator, I think you can stop deleting NWonitsway. It wasn't a Ron Paul add like I thought. It's a news documentary about Halliburton and KBR corruption in Iraq. The RP stuff is just a short blurb in the beginning.
ConcernedCanuck @ 33:
Another typical FALSE posting from you. How is the prosecution of IRS fraud the job of the Congressional Dems? You are SUCH a liar.
Beware, folks, for just about every contract you sign with a giant company these days will have an arbitration clause. The Supreme Court has upheld them in just about every instance.
It will say that you forfeit your right to go to court, and must settle any and all disputes with the company in arbitration. And you can bet that the forum will be designed to be in their favor.
This is an issue that our legislatures -- federal and state -- should tackle. People should not have to choose between employment with the only available companies in their towns and their right to their day in court.
"Sadly," wrote Judge Miller, "sexual harassment, up to and including sexual assault, is a reality in today's workplace."
Really? That's just a 'reality' in today's workplace?? You must be joking. Maybe that was a 'reality' in factories and coal mines in the 70's. Didn't we work to change that? Weren't there law suits and laws passed to make that 'reality' illegal?
Fanon @ 38:
In context the judge is upholding the arbitration clause. The judge is saying that because sexual harassment is a reality in the workplace, it is reasonably within the lawsuits contemplated by the arbitration clause. Thus, no suit in a court of law. Arbitration only.
Snowball @ 15:
i dissagree ron paul is not the issue showing the dirty thieves at haliburton is,ive worked in construction for 20 yrs and worked on several new power plants constructed here where i live , and kellog got the contracts, they were cost plus jobs and the construction bill was passed on to the citizens of this area , they hired twice as much labor building them , and many times we had to just look busy because we had nothing to do, then thier was the waste they bought twice as much materials as they needed then after the plant was build and knowing a second unit was soon to start they sent thousads of dollars worth of lumber and tons of unused rebar and other stuff to the dump, what a waste !
bush justice---FUCK EVERYBODY--who is not one of his corporate buddies.
Karen @ 39:
Karen,
You seem like you know what you are talking about. So, let me ask, "up to and including sexual assault'? Isn't sexual assault an actual crime? Or is that the part of the case that got severed?
BushCo told this woman (and everyone else) after 9/11 to stock up on duct tape and plastic. The purpose was not to protect against foreign terrorism but rather to shore up one's defenses against the anal raping that Halliburton was going to engage in. Bush is a man of his word and she obviously failed to take him seriously. Why should he help her now?
Fanon @ 42:
Assault, sexual or otherwise, is both a tort and a crime. If you are the victim of an assault, you may press criminal charges, or you may sue in civil court for damages. Criminal charges would involve a state prosecution in a state or federal court with jurisdiction over the matter.
Here, although I have not read the details of this case, it is clear that we're talking about a civil lawsuit. It is an unfortunate reality these days that the way large companies are legally avoiding liability is by having people sign contracts with arbitration clauses. The clause will specify that if you have any sort of dispute with the company based on your employment, that you forfeit your right to sue in a court of law, and must instead submit your claim to private arbitration.
Most people have no idea that they're signing their rights away like this. The clauses have been challenged themselves, but the Supreme Court has always upheld them.
Here, Barker tried to argue that sexual assault could not possibly come within the purview of the arbitration clause she signed -- that the clause should not be interpreted to encompass these kinds of lawsuits. The judge, unsurprisingly given the state of the law as defined by conservative judges, disagreed.
I'm just waiting for congress to do NOTHING about this. Don't give up hope! They will do nothing soon enough!
Last I checked these were inalienable, God-given rights; meaning they can't be forfeited or taken away (justly).
Thanks Karen, what a great post.
It is shameful that anyone, let alone a judge (and a woman, at that) could consider sexual assault to be in the same category for arbitration as, say, getting passed over for a promotion. Depressing, really.
tyree @ 40:
forgot to mention kellogs part of haliburton
What I was referring to was that most were drug dealers...
Cocaine dealers...
How many skeletons in the Bush families expansive closet does 'judge' Miller know?
So let me see if I got this straight... Female civilian employee of a private contractor in a war zone is sexually assaulted, raped by fellow employees of said private entity operating in a war zone as a contractor to the U.S. gub-mint, and she has no recourse legally? Because of this 'ar-bee-tra-shun' scam ehh?
.....And the war-crimes just keep on a rollin along...........
I just bet if she picked up a glock and blew their punk asses away over it, there'd be 'legal' recourse... I just bet noone would be talking arbitration then!!!! I ain't advocatin violence, but I'm thinkin, it's gonna take some kind of over the top response like that to wake the friggin judicial/legal community up to the basic lack of fairness this arbitration shit is fostering.....thruout the employment/business community...This notion might have looked pretty good on paper to someone... But it's being misused and abused in practice and real people are being hurt by it.....financially, emotionally, psychologically..............JD
Bush will pardon them all. In fact his arm will be so worn out from signing pardons, that it will fall off into a trash can while he is doing the dirty dead(s).
Karen @ 44:
This is fascism in its truest form -- a merger of state and corporate power.
The same fascist judge would have dismissed Nicole Brown's father's suit against OJ Simpson due to a clause in the prenup.
Since when does a criminal court recognize the exclusive jurisdiction of a private civil employment contract in matters of criminal misconduct? Rape is subject to private arbitration under an employment agreement? How about murder? Is this pinhead judge giving corporations the right to murder their employees?
That's just wrong. Criminal offenses belong in criminal courts. Civil actions resulting from criminal offenses also belong in the courts - not private arbitration. No person or corporation has the right to exempt their criminal acts from the legal jurisdiction of the courts. Crimes committed against US persons anywhere in the world fall under the jurisdiction of US Courts - ask Noriega.
Judge Gray Miller needs to be sent back to school.
A culture comes from its leadership.
If Bush thinks it's okay to rape the middle class of any leverage to empower his corporate buddies and he won't face justice, what makes people think that an actual rape by a bunch of Bush's crusaders is going to be different?
I suppose I never got the Halliburton Rape Loophole memo. Now if she was gang raped by those Islamofascists there'd be hell to pay. Unfortunately for her, she fell on the wrong side of a technicality (sorry, we'd like to help, but it's out of our hands excuse). This is absolutely disgraceful, the saddest part is nothing surprises me with this administration anymore. We are all collateral damage waiting to happen with little or no recourse. With the exception of a few (Russ Feingold being one), no one in government has our backs and are willing to sell us out for power and greed.
District Judge Gray Miller, however, wrote in his order that "whether it is wise to send this type of claim to arbitration is not a question for this court to decide."
WTF! What the Hell is your court good for then, Your Honor!
The judge is wrong (and protecting the criminals). Criminal charges, sexual assualt, etc., should not be going to a closed arbitration process. That is for payroll and benefit disputes, etc. That should be clear to even the most stupid judge in the world.
Your comments are most preceptive and very original. This was certainly caused by the stoopid/evil George W Bush. I sense the evil hand of Karl Rove behind this. Ah, if only Jimmah Carter were still the president -- or even Bill Clinton, the First Black President! Yay!
Speak Truth to Power! Free Dan Rather! No Blood for Oil! Free Ward Churchill!
So this is what passes for a company that performs vital operations for our country? The bought and paid for process that Halliburton enjoys here is fascism at its finest and any company that makes you sign such documents is also a fascist organization. If these U.S. companies cannot operate under the courts of this country, then this country doesn't need them. In fact, american companies that operate above the law in international arenas are more dangerous to the security of the U.S. than Al Quida could ever be. Although it is unknown if this is an isolated incident, this type of ruling is unacceptable for organizations that operate without oversight. Any person that would sign their rights away to work for a company, for any amount, has no honor or sense of duty as a US citizen. I would rather die like a dog in the street than sign my god given rights away to a fascist company. She will be paid off, this story will go away, and she will send her children to college with tainted money from a company that stole her dignity and buried the sense of fairplay that we as a country used to leverage throughout the world.
Congress should pass a law stating that government contractors cannot require employees to sign arbitration contracts.
Karen @ 37: Good to know. Very troubling, too.
There are times I read stories like this and my dismay just overpowers my outrage.
Eric Jaffa @ 18:
how about a law right to work without binding arbitration?
Don't you understand? By allowing US soldiers and contractors to rape American women with impunity, it prevents them from committing rape against Iraqi women that might lead to a war crimes trial!
Oh wait, the US government protects them from prosecution for that, too....
This incident is really so disgusting that it goes beyond anything a group of civilized human beings would do, or be part of. At least someone gave her a cell phone (I wonder what happened to him?). And for the Bushocracy to condone it by continuing the coverup is just pure evil, but sadly typical of an Administration that holds friendship higher than human life and words that aren't in their vocabulary.
Once again evil triumphs. When you consider that this current administration and its cronies see the world through a rapist's point of view and behaves accordingly, what other outcome COULD be possible. No doubt they will sue this woman for court costs win or lose.
King of Kings @ 46:
Your rights don't come from a god. They emanate from the fact that you exist. They are universal.
And this is the first instance I've heard of where criminal charges were sent to arbitration. Or did I miss something? If this is about the civil case, then what Bush drone is prosecuting the criminal charges? Or are they?
Blackwater and the other security companies are the future private armies of the elite. Therefore, they cannot be challenged in open court otherwise the enemy (the American people) will know their secrets.
Old Billy @ 9:
Wrong.
Even if criminal prosecution can't/won't be pursued thanks to Bremmer's Edicts in Iraq, civil claims can. The EEOC written policy on arbitration clearly states that civil rights cannot be waived in an arbitration agreement; consequently, even if it has to go to arbitration, after she exhausts the internal grievance process, she still has nearly a year to file an EEOC complaint, and it is valid, and it must be dealt with. The EEOC also leaves it to the courts to interpret and enforce the law -- therefore, this ruling really is the OPINION of THIS judge.
Who blows chunks IMHO.
Bush will only intervene, of course, in cases like Scooter Libby's.
There must be more than "69" comments.
I'm sure she signed an arbitration statement when she applied for the job or was hired for the job. This occurs every day in the anti-union, anti-worker, employer as GOD favored world.
Even YOUR OWN credit card companies have put you into an arbitration scenario, simply because you did not object when they sent you that update in 3 point font about new terms and conditions.
What do you expect when a company isn't in the bounds of the law?
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