Courthouse doors open to all

By Ted Streuli The Daily Record Newswire The beauty of the pro se lawsuit is that anyone, anyone at all, can march into the courthouse and demand justice. No lawyer needed, just find a template on the Internet, format your petition, pay your filing fee and poof! Instant litigant. That's what Raymond Gather of Burns Flat did in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Oklahoma. Gather, upset with the Oklahoma National Guard, is seeking damages of $220 million and a number of nonmonetary reparations. Gather also has a quarrel with the Oklahoma Bar Association. He contends that he contacted more than 100 attorneys, none of whom would represent him, and he'd like the bar association to help him find competent counsel. His 12-page petition lays out his points in a rational order that lay the foundation for his prayer for relief. Also recently drafted for the Western District is a pro se lawsuit from plaintiff Phil Hughes, a Norman resident who has long taken issue with the realignment of Interstate 40 and its effect on rail transportation. He contends the new I-40 should have been built in a way that would increase the likelihood of greater passenger rail service. Hughes is suing the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, the city of Oklahoma City and the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments, asking for $90,000, an order to save the tracks, and a declaration that a number of public officials conspired to manipulate public transit studies. Hughes and Gather both have struggled against bureaucracy; both believe they have been harmed in one way or another; both believe no one will fairly listen to their concerns. Hughes, for example, claims in his petition "that Gary Ridley, acting Director of Oklahoma Department of Transportation, propounded false information, and also information which was out of context and hence irrelevant, regarding the structural integrity and maintenance financial data associated with the existing I-40 structure." Gather claims he was tortured and that he can get no help with his ongoing medical bills. The results have left him in such a state, he claims, that he has become estranged from his wife and children and forced to live with his aging mother. "By day, my thoughts are published to the state and nation," Gather wrote. "Every person, television or radio station, movie, commercial, soap opera, news channel, etc. I come in contact with returns a response to my thoughts. At night, they program my dreams leaving me emotionally tortured 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." Some might dispute Hughes' claim, considering that he's talking about a 46-year-old section of freeway that had to be shut down for emergency repairs at least twice in 2008 and twice more in 2009. Those folks would contend that suddenly appearing holes in a bridge and cracks in the pier beams indicate the structural integrity might not be up to holding a golf cart, much less a train. Some might also dispute Gather's claim. But Gather is sufficiently self-aware to know when he's up against an unscalable wall. He wrote: "It is unreasonable to assume I am capable of representing self (sic); required to learn Fed R. Civ. P.; required to learn everything about the law, depositions, motion, briefs, rulings, etc., when an all-out ambush is under way. The ability to present oneself Pro Se requires sleep, emotional peace of mind, the ability to read what is actually printed on the document, and the absence of interference of feelings and pain." Hughes, on the other hand, remains ready to slay the dragon single-handedly. I am glad our courthouse doors are open to all. And I feel great sorrow for Mr. Gather. Published: Thu, Mar 8, 2012