Parallel Justice National Center for Victims of Crime

In this episode, Renee Williams interviews Michael Haggard,
managing partner of Haggard Law Firm out
of Florida, in person. Michael Haggard and his firm have been representing
crime victims for the last 20 years and played a major role in the cases
surrounding the 2018 shooting that occurred at Stoneman Douglas High School in
Parkland, Florida, where 17 people lost their lives and 17 more were injured.
Michael Haggard represented three victims from the Parkland
shooting: student Joaquin Oliver, cross-country coach Scott Beigel, and teacher
Stacey Lippel. Multiple civil cases resulted from the shooting. The FBI was
targeted in one for failing to act when they were given a tip about the shooter
announcing he was going to open fire on the high school the night before it
happened. Other lawsuits were filed against the school board and the local
police departments.

Tune in to learn more about the ongoing cases and the
lessons that we, as a nation, can learn from what happened in the aftermath of
this tragic shooting.

Between 1987 and 2014 countless students were abused at Miracle Meadows, a boarding school in West Virginia. These students often complained, but their complaints were repeatedly dismissed. Join Guy D’Andrea, W. Jesse Forbes, and Scott Long, the attorneys who broke this case, as they discuss what they learned through the course of this case and how it fits in with the larger trend of the “Troubled Teen Industry.”
More information on Mr. Forbes is available at: https://www.forbeslawwv.com/.
More information about Mr. D’Andrea is available at: https://laffeybuccikent.com.
More information about Mr. Long is available at: https://www.handl.com

Not many religions are as shrouded in secrecy as the Church
of Latter Day Saints (LDS) and its progeny. This secrecy cultivates a culture
that is ripe for abuse to occur. Attorney Peter Janci of Crew Janci LLP represents sexual abuse
survivors including those abused by LDS and FDLS clergy and rejoins us for this
episode of the podcast to discuss how the abuse occurs and how we can combat
it. 
Sexual violence cases involving LDS churches and others
associated with Mormonism tend to be discussed less often than similar cases
against Catholic churches because these crimes are reported less often. The
extent of abuse that occurs is significant, however. Victims of abuse are
deterred from reporting sexual crimes due to the insular structure of LDS
churches and those related as well as the fact that these churches are often
based in states where court statutes stop victims from being able to take legal
action.

Tune in to learn more about the history of sexual violence
in LDS churches and how abuse is often hidden.

The Catholic church has a go-to playbook to avoid liability
in child sex abuse cases. Last time, we talked to Jeff Anderson and Mike
Finnegan, attorneys from Jeff
Anderson & Associates who represent victims of childhood sexual crimes,
about how the Catholic church utilizes bankruptcy to avoid helping victims.
This time, we speak with them again to discuss one other way the Church has
historically escaped liability—by abusing statutes of limitations.
Statutes of limitations are time limits that legal claims
must be filed during in order to become viable cases. They can differ from
state to state. Statutes of limitations make sense in most personal injury
cases, but for cases involving child sex abuse, a deadline of a couple of years
is simply not enough time for many victims to come forward—especially when the
crime is committed by someone the child thinks they can trust, like a member of
the clergy. The Catholic church has been known to groom or coerce victims into
silence until the statute passes, escaping liability completely.

The Catholic church has a go-to playbook to avoid liability in child sex abuse cases. Join Renee Williams as she interviews Attorney Jeff Anderson and Attorney Mike Finnegan from Jeff Anderson & Associates, one of the most recognized law firms in the nation that represents victims of childhood sexual abuse, as they discuss how and why the Church uses bankruptcy to avoid helping their victims.
By filing for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Catholic church is able to hide its assets and pay less to abuse survivors while halting all abuse litigation. Consequently, by putting bankruptcy rules and deadlines into place, the organization is even protected from future litigation if more victims were to come forward after the deadline has passed.
Tune in to listen to Jeff Anderson and Mike Finnegan as they discuss how the Church gets away with this and what’s being done to fight back on behalf of survivors.

Jerry Sandusky. Larry Nasser. Richard Strauss.  These names are synonymous with abuse.  Less attention is paid to the institutions that protect these predators, and even less to the individuals who knew of abuse every day and choose to not report.  Join law professor Amos Guiora as he explains the harms perpetrated by those who enable abusers.  More information on Professor Guiora is available at: https://faculty.utah.edu/u0586620-AMOS_GUIORA/hm/index.hml.  His book is available at: https://armiesofenablers.com/