THE ACCUSED
By Johnny Rooster
Former Sparta Mayor Jenni Davis filled out a complaint against me in May. Click here for a previous article. The City Prosecutor, J. Randal Howell, II, filed four counts of harassment against me in a case heard by Judge Doug Bacon in September, after being moved from its original July date. Click here for the follow-up article.
My case
In the first hearing in September, Judge Doug Bacon heard the case. I was represented by an attorney. The judge ruled that I should pay $150 per count, for all four counts of harassment, because the city ordinance reads no repeated contacted after being told to stop.
My attorney filed an appeal. I chose not to retain him on my appeal case, which is actually the first case on the record. The case heard in September wasn’t on the official record.
This time, my case was moved from November to 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 9 in front of Judge Steven Ward in Ozark.
This time, I will represent myself. No need to spend money on attorneys. I watched how the process works, and my former attorney gave me pointers.
THE ACCUSER
The Facts
The City of Sparta brought up four charges of harassment against me for four separate text messages sent to former Mayor Jenni Davis on her personal Facebook account.
The details of the messages are in the articles referenced above.
MY STATEMENT, FOR THE RECORD:
In April, I contacted Mayor Jenni Davis regarding monies received by the City of Sparta by the federal government for Covid relief. Mayor Davis had opted to buy a former bank building for area businesses to rent from the city. I questioned the validity of the decision, because only two other city aldermen were involved in the decision, in a special private meeting, according to my sources.
Because I am a journalist, with a journalism degree, and a former newspaper editor in Ozark, I began a news and entertainment blog in August 2022 to comment on issues relative to taxpayers and voters in Christian County. The name of the blog is Christian County Trumpet. In the blog, I address issues relating to Sparta, Ozark, Nixa, and other communities in Christian County.
In the capacity of journalist, I asked Mayor Davis a series of questions on her official mayor Facebook page about her decision to buy the old bank building. She did not reply. Therefore, I contacted her on her personal Facebook page with the same questions. Again, the above articles detail screenshots of the messages.
Retaliation
Davis responded harshly and accused me of lying about her campaign. I asked “What lies?” She replied for me not to contact her again. That was in April, the day after she lost the election.
Count 1:
I sent her an apology for inadvertently offending her. (I have never spoken with her in person. I don’t know her.)
Count 2:
Later in April, I sent her a copy of an article I republished from another source honoring her friend, Jim Mezel, who was openly antagonistic towards me on a public Facebook page. The reason I republished the article was to show appropriate respect and consideration for Mezel’s accomplishments as a resident of Sparta. The secondary purpose was to demonstrate to Davis I wasn’t against her or her friends and supporters; I am fair and honest as a journalist.
Count 3
On May 11, I copied and pasted a positive, encouraging message to multiple people, including Davis, again to let her know I intend to maintain positive connections. Davis is reported to be interested in seeking re-election as Sparta mayor, and if that should happen, I intend to maintain a good communication with her, as with any other elected official in the county I represent in my news blog.
Count 4
A second positive, encouraging message copied and pasted to multiple people on May 15, including Davis.
Misuse of Power
Davis used her influence to contact the police chief of Sparta to follow up her harassment claims against me. An officer appeared at my residence in Oldfield on a Sunday evening when I wasn’t home, and left multiple business cards at my front door, back door, and garage. The officer contacted me numerous times. (I didn’t recognize the number, it came up with a name I don’t know, so I didn’t respond.)
In June, I checked my voice mail (I check it about once a month) and discovered numerous calls from the officer, including a message threatening a lawsuit. That’s when I looked it up on case.net and learned of a July court hearing, which was later moved to September.
Why I DIDN’T Break the law…according to the law!
I did contact Davis after she said to never contact her again.
This would normally be considered harassment. But I will explain why it ISN’T, according to the law.
- The ordinance reads very specific language that was ignored by Judge Doug Bacon and the City Prosecutor. The language says the following:
“If, FOR THE PURPOSE OF FRIGHTENING or DISTURBING THE PEACE OF ANOTHER PERSON”
I didn’t disturb her peace legally. Disturbing the peace is defined as:
Th truth is, she doesn’t want to be unfavorably represented in the public. To protect herself, she wants to silence my voice as a journalist. She is pretending to be frightened by my text messages, because that’s the only legal leg she can stand on.
I understand what she intends to accomplish. Silence me, embarrass me, discredit my publication, challenge my credibility as a journalist, and force me to pay a fine so I won’t want to contact her again.
No one goes to court and files paperwork if they don’t want something. City Prosecutor Howell wants some sort of payment from a fine imposed upon me. He mostly wants to satisfy a friend and colleague by defending her against a perceived bully.
Again, repeated contact without permission is in the ordinance against harassment.
But, here is why this isn’t harassment:
- I didn’t contact her for the purpose of frightening her.
- This is easily explained by how many people received the same messages.
- It is further confirmed because the messages are polite and encouraging.
Now it’s a matter of intent vs. letter of the law. By the letter of the law, I contacted her after being told to stop.
But the harassment law was written (and should be enforced) when someone knowingly tries to frighten or disturb the peace of another. Not when you are sent a pleasant well wish from someone whom you don’t know and have never met.
The context is clear.
I rest my case.
See you in court on Tuesday!