Complaint Review: Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham - Maryville Tennessee

Officials turn out in support of Judge Young

By Mark Boxley

of The Daily Times Staff

*NOTE* The Daily Times Website has audio of this foolish spectacle.

http://www.thedailytimes.com/article/20071128/NEWS/71127019

Please, Please, Please listen to the audio! What a freak!

A whos who of Blount County politics showed up Tuesday to show support for Blount County Circuit Court Judge W. Dale Young, who is currently the subject of a judicial review by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary.

The rally of support was attended by more than 125 people, including Blount County Sheriff James Berrong, Maryville City Manager Greg McClain, state Rep. Doug Overbey and Blount County Mayor Jerry Cunningham, who gave the keynote address at the meeting.

Young was not in attendance.

Before the gathering was called to order, Blount County Republican Party Chairman Dave Bennett who is also the Blount County finance director said the meeting was called so that Young could know people in the community supported him.

I think hes doing an absolutely wonderful job and Im here in support of him, Bennett said.

According to Bennett, the room at the Blount County Library where the meeting took place was paid for by the Blount County Republican Party, but that beyond that the two groups had nothing to do with each other. Bennett, as most others did, said he was attending the meeting not as an official, but as a private citizen.

The message is we want Judge Young to know that hes doing a tremendous job, Bennett said.

Young has been in the news several times recently concerning cases before him in court the first stemming from a hearing on Sept. 7 where a woman accused him of denying her an order of protection because she is an immigrant. She said Young also told her to go back to her home country and that Americans here could take care of her children, who are U.S. citizens.

It is for his alleged actions during the hearing that Young is currently the subject of a judicial conduct review by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary.

Also speaking before the event started, McClain spoke out in support of Young.

Ive been a friend of Judge Young for many years, he said. There are few people who have the kind of character Judge Young has.

This community has a lot of respect for him.

Overbey was equally supportive of Young, saying he is a good judge who has served so well for so many years.

Overbey said he has practiced law in Youngs court and he has respect for him as a jurist.

Looking over the growing crowd walking into the room, Overbey said he felt Young would be happy to see how many people are supporting him.

I think, if I were in his shoes, it would certainly warm my heart, he said.

While he would not say if he agreed with the assertion of some at the gathering Tuesday, that recent coverage in The Daily Times was unfair, Overbey said the stories in the paper and the man he knows just dont jive.

What Ive read has not been consistent with the judge I have appeared before, he said, saying Young was always courteous and respectful to those appearing before him.

In his address to the group, Cunningham was blunt about the immigrant situation, saying the woman, Ana Calixto, did not meet the requirements of receiving a protective order to begin with.

And these are facts that could have been garnished, had anybody done the legwork, he said, alluding to what he called an unfair attack by The Daily Times Sept. 12 article, and articles following on the original Calixto story. Im not a reporter, but I went to the courthouse and I found out things in just a snap that anybody could have found out if they had bothered to look.

Because Calixto did not claim she had been physically abused, or been subject to threats of physical abuse by her husband, she did not meet the criteria to receive a protective order, and thats why Young dismissed the request, Cunningham said.

So those elements werent there, and as the judge, he had no alternative but to dismiss that petition, he said. And he did.

Cunningham went on to reiterate a response to an appeal by Calixto released by Young, which said the woman was in the U.S. illegally and that there were in the courts mind, serious legal questions to be answered before the case proceeds further.

Immigrants

Cunningham spoke for several minutes on Calixtos status as an immigrant.

But folks, if youre here illegally, youre here illegally, he said. And when the judge looked at Mrs. Calixto, she walked up with a green card and handed it to him, and it had expired.

Now if my drivers license expires Oct. 29 ... and Im out driving Nov. 1, Im illegal, he continued. Same thing with a green card, if it expires in June, which hers did, shes illegal.

And the way to handle those kinds of things, is to get legal, he said. If your green cards bad, get another, but until you do, you are illegal. And I dont care what you call it, youre illegal.

Now the liberal left, they dont like you using those words, the former U.S. Attorney added. Its supposed to be undocumented, or whatever the devil is politically correct, but if they aint legal, they aint legal.

Calixtos employment authorization card from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department of which The Daily Times has obtained a copy indicates it is good through Jan. 5, 2009, making her currently a legal immigrant.

Legal experts contacted by The Daily Times for previous stories, such as Vanderbilt adjunct law professor Linda Rose, assert that legal, or illegal, status of a person has no bearing on their right to fundamental due process if they are on U.S. soil.

Speaking of a different story in The Daily Times about Young, Cunningham said the facts werent all there. He cited the assertion of a woman seeking a divorce in front of Young that she had to burn furniture to stay warm because, she claimed, her husband was not paying an adequate amount of support.

You know the furniture that was burned to stay warm, that was furniture awarded to that man by the court it was his mommas antique furniture and his ex-wife set it on fire, Cunningham said, though not citing the source of his information. Why the devil isnt that in the paper? Wouldnt that have been newsworthy?

I didnt read that, did yall read that? he asked, as those in the audience said a collective no. And youre not going to.

Blog attacks

Cunningham said he was troubled by the negative press given to his friend, whom he has known since high school.

To see him ambushed, Shanghaied, sidewinded, and everything thats been done to him angers me, he said, adding Young has had 23 years of unblemished service to Blount County. And its not just coming from traditional media, he added.

Judge Youngs not only been attacked by the unfair reporting, hes been attacked by some of these bloggers, he said. And the bloggers that do the attacking if you ever have time to look at that trash are always anonymous.

If youre going to do that, at least have ... the testicular fortitude to say it to my face, he said.

How many people in here have been the recipient of a kindness from Dale Young? Raise your hand, he asked, as a roomful of hands shot up.

Speaking after the meeting, Cunningham said he was simply not happy with Youngs portrayal in The Daily Times.

It disappoints me, he said. Because its not The Daily Times I grew up with.

I have not met anybody who is not upset or troubled by the unfairness of the reporting.

Also speaking after the meeting, Berrong said he supports Young completely.

I cant say enough positive things about Judge Young, he said.

I wholeheartedly agree with Mayor Cunninghams statements, he added.

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MY TAKE ON THIS LITTLE WEENIE ROAST:

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This little get-together of who's who in local corrupt politics wasn't about supporting Judge Young, but was a very futile attempt at attacking the truth about what people know concerning Judge Dale "Light-in-the loafers" Young.

While boss hog cunningham did take a few jabs at the Daily Times, it's not the daily times who are investingating Judge Young. It's the feds.

Judging from the news coverage on TV, there wasn't 125 people. There wasn't even a 100 folks. Maybe 65 or 70 of Blount County's most notorious crooks like Sheriff Jimbo and Dave Bennett. I'm sure that the crowd had a few Lamberts there, too. What's a corrupt government hootenanny with a few Lamberts, right?

Mrs. Calixto needs to sue Jerry Cunningham's a*s off for saying that she was illegal when in fact her green card is good through 1999.

Funny that Jerry would make the statement that "I went to the courthouse and I found out things in just a snap that anybody could have found out if they had bothered to look. Obviously, Jerry has never read the Constitution of the state of Tenn. or he would realize that his little "testicular fortitude" party for Judge Young is in violation of several amendments in the Constitution.

We don't need a Judge who only tries 3 cases a year. We don't need a county mayor who doesn't get the point of having seperate Judicial and Executive branches of government. We don't need a county mayor who isn't interested in what the state constitution says.

I'm telling you guys that this fruitcake is a real criminal. Always has been. he's just an over-publicized and over-rated divorce attorney who made his money on the backs of other people's heartaches. As far as I know, Prissy Jerry Cunningham never tried a case as a US attorney. I'd say his service to his country in Vietnam was equally as over-rated. he was probably just a potato peeler back at base camp. Smoke any good stuff over there, Jerry?

To not mention Mike Flynn and Robert Headrick in our local DA's office would be an extreme injustice to this thread. Ultimately, these are the two stooges who allow this kind of behavior from County Mayors, Sheriffs, Judges, etc.

These two deralicts are the ones who could actually hold people like Jerry "fancy-pants" Cunningham accountable for his actions but there ties to the local Crooked republican party is just enough to keep them on track with the fodder that they bring to court on a regular basis. That way they don't have to ever go after any of their "special buddies."

The community that I come from has absolutley no respect for Judge Young and I am very disappointed in Doug Overbey for making this false claim. I'm real disappointed in Raymond Finney, too. Both have just lost my vote because of their support for known criminals like Judge Young and Mayor Jerry "Silly-a*s" Cunningham.

I just didn't realize that it was possible to make that big of a fool of yourself as BC Mayor Jerry Cunningham did when he opened his ignorant mouth.

As far as saying this to his face goes......................ANY PLACE, ANY TIME! There's no anonymity here; everybody knows who I am at this point and I'm sure little silly Jerry does too.

THAT's ANY PLACE, ANY TIME, JERRY CUNNINGHAM, YOU d**n CRIMINAL! WHY DON't YOU Cowards SEND SOMEONE FROM THE BCSO to threaten me...........that would be great! I would welcome it! From any of you pansies! What's the matter, you only do that to female journalists?

Did I mention that BC Sheriff James "Jimbo" Berrong was there at the pep rally for Judge Young? Yeah.............he's actually a Lambert by the way.......LOL

By all means, if this is the type of government that you long for, then Blount County is the place for you. I've got 9acres in beautiful Townsend that I'll sell ya. You'll be able to live around a bunch of Yankees and Floridians and the government up there is even more corrupt and ignorant than the Blount County Government. Check out the thread on Townsend Police Chief Ron "Spanky" Suttles.

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS and DOWN WITH THE LAMBERT HOARD!

Aaron

Townsend, Tennessee

U.S.A.