Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church by Lisa Pulitzer, Lauren Drain
Authors: Lisa Pulitzer, Lauren Drain
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ideas, like whom to picket, what signs we were going to use, or what slogans we were going to chant. He also wasn't allowed to approach the pastor when he was frustrated by a situation. But he was really trying. I could see that he was willing to do whatever it took to earn acceptance.
My father thought that going to law school might be the best path to gaining the Phelpses' respect and, from there, status in the church. Pastor Phelps and eleven of his thirteen children, including Shirley, had law degrees. Their law firm, Phelps Chartered, had been founded by the pastor in the 1960s. He had earned his law degree in 1964 from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, but his reputation for being volatile and confrontational on a weekly radio show made it hard to find a judge to vouch for his good character, which was a prerequisite for admission to the Kansas state bar.
The pastor supported his own case by presenting evidence that he had been an Eagle Scout in Mississippi, earned an American Legion honor, and received a letter from President Harry S. Truman. The proof was sufficient to allow him into the bar, and he was admitted that year.
Interestingly enough, the pastor said he had originally become a lawyer because he wanted to represent the disenfranchised, particularly the black population. He had been born and raised in Mississippi, and he believed it violated the Word of God to treat black people as poorly as he had seen them treated in the South. During his first years as a lawyer in Kansas, he took on mostly civil rights cases and won nice settlements for his clients. He liked to boast that he himself had systematically taken down the rigid Jim Crow discrimination laws in Topeka, winning discrimination cases against school districts and police forces.
In 1977, though, his right to practice law in Kansas was revoked. He had been preparing a case for trial and requested a transcript from a court reporter, Carolene Brady, which she delivered a day later, but a day late.
Even though the transcript did not play a part in the outcome of the case, he sued the woman for $22,000 in damages. He called her to the stand as a hostile witness during her jury trial, where he badgered and bullied her for a week, leaving her distraught. During the cross- examination, he challenged her about her income tax returns, her reputation, her competency, and her morality or lack thereof. He alleged to the court that she was a slut, and to prove his point, he subpoenaed ex-boyfriends of hers whom he wanted to testify about their deviant sexual practices. Eventually, the pastor's case was thrown out. He immediately filed an appeal, claiming under oath to be in possession of eight affidavits from supporting witnesses, but when Brady's lawyer contacted those witnesses, he learned none of them had provided the pastor with an affidavit. On the basis of that perjury, the pastor was disbarred in the state of Kansas, although he could still practice on the federal level.
Eight years later, nine federal judges filed a complaint against the pastor, five of his children, and a daughter-in-law, alleging the family had made false accusations against all nine of them. It took four years for a settlement to be reached. The pastor agreed to surrender his law license permanently in exchange for leniency for his children, so he could no longer take on any cases. Charges were thrown out against three of the children and the daughter-in-law, but his daughter Margie was suspended from practicing in federal and state courts for one year, and Fred Jr. lost his right to practice in both courts for six months.
Nevertheless, the Phelps Chartered law firm was highly regarded and was always very busy with clients from all over northeast Kansas. The clients knew about the Phelpses' religious convictions, but they also recognized them as some of the best lawyers in town with a winning record. The firm also rarely turned down clients, even those who might have
My father thought that going to law school might be the best path to gaining the Phelpses' respect and, from there, status in the church. Pastor Phelps and eleven of his thirteen children, including Shirley, had law degrees. Their law firm, Phelps Chartered, had been founded by the pastor in the 1960s. He had earned his law degree in 1964 from Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, but his reputation for being volatile and confrontational on a weekly radio show made it hard to find a judge to vouch for his good character, which was a prerequisite for admission to the Kansas state bar.
The pastor supported his own case by presenting evidence that he had been an Eagle Scout in Mississippi, earned an American Legion honor, and received a letter from President Harry S. Truman. The proof was sufficient to allow him into the bar, and he was admitted that year.
Interestingly enough, the pastor said he had originally become a lawyer because he wanted to represent the disenfranchised, particularly the black population. He had been born and raised in Mississippi, and he believed it violated the Word of God to treat black people as poorly as he had seen them treated in the South. During his first years as a lawyer in Kansas, he took on mostly civil rights cases and won nice settlements for his clients. He liked to boast that he himself had systematically taken down the rigid Jim Crow discrimination laws in Topeka, winning discrimination cases against school districts and police forces.
In 1977, though, his right to practice law in Kansas was revoked. He had been preparing a case for trial and requested a transcript from a court reporter, Carolene Brady, which she delivered a day later, but a day late.
Even though the transcript did not play a part in the outcome of the case, he sued the woman for $22,000 in damages. He called her to the stand as a hostile witness during her jury trial, where he badgered and bullied her for a week, leaving her distraught. During the cross- examination, he challenged her about her income tax returns, her reputation, her competency, and her morality or lack thereof. He alleged to the court that she was a slut, and to prove his point, he subpoenaed ex-boyfriends of hers whom he wanted to testify about their deviant sexual practices. Eventually, the pastor's case was thrown out. He immediately filed an appeal, claiming under oath to be in possession of eight affidavits from supporting witnesses, but when Brady's lawyer contacted those witnesses, he learned none of them had provided the pastor with an affidavit. On the basis of that perjury, the pastor was disbarred in the state of Kansas, although he could still practice on the federal level.
Eight years later, nine federal judges filed a complaint against the pastor, five of his children, and a daughter-in-law, alleging the family had made false accusations against all nine of them. It took four years for a settlement to be reached. The pastor agreed to surrender his law license permanently in exchange for leniency for his children, so he could no longer take on any cases. Charges were thrown out against three of the children and the daughter-in-law, but his daughter Margie was suspended from practicing in federal and state courts for one year, and Fred Jr. lost his right to practice in both courts for six months.
Nevertheless, the Phelps Chartered law firm was highly regarded and was always very busy with clients from all over northeast Kansas. The clients knew about the Phelpses' religious convictions, but they also recognized them as some of the best lawyers in town with a winning record. The firm also rarely turned down clients, even those who might have
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