I am Paul Trummel an investigative reporter. I reside at Council House, 1501 17th Avenue, Seattle.

This afternoon I will show that the respondent has consistently and unlawfully exceeded his authority by trying to intimidate and control me and other residents of a HUD financially-assisted residence for senior citizens. When I reported these incidents the respondent commenced the unlawful retaliatory behavior that I have set out in my petition that you have before you.

My purpose here today is not to stop the Respondent from doing his job or punish him for his unlawful activities as he will have you believe but to establish my rights as both journalist and resident and as a precedent for my fellow residents. I leave further investigation and punishment to the government and another court.

If the public want the benefit of what journalists do when the three branches of government fail them then they must suffer the sometimes altruistic and annoying inquisitiveness of the Fourth Estate and not try to abrogate their rights. I do not make the news I only report it after verifying and validating fact.

I will show today how the Respondent consistently violates the law as an administrator then compounds those violations by retaliating against the journalist who dared to report his illegal and inhumane activities.

The Respondent treats all senior citizens as senile. He does not realize that some who may have physical handicaps have no psychological problems and have mellowed with age.

The Respondent has frequently choreographed police arrests to intimidate and control residents. He boasts about how his military training taught him how to enforce his rules and discipline residents. He boasts about this policy publicly to place other residents on notice of what may happen to them if they speak out. They fear eviction and will not express their views. Some of them have had the courage to swear affidavits and attend court today.

Erwin Roos immigrated to the United States from Germany in1935. He fought as an intelligence officer under General Patton during World War II. He celebrated his eighty-eighth birthday last Saturday. If called, he will testify about the alleged search and seizure of possessions from his apartment by Council House staff members and unfounded statements to police that he is a thief.

Two weeks ago I witnessed the Respondent call police to have Mr. Roos removed to Harborview on psychiatric grounds. The Respondent unlawfully hounded him for complaining about the food service until he moved out of his apartment at the beginning of this month. I have interviewed Mr. Roos at least ten times during the past three months. I have found him gentle, astute and highly intelligent. With his permission, I obtained his Harborview psychiatric report. It shows no mental impairment.

Another resident, Ralph Schwartz. celebrated his eighty-third birthday last Friday. He also fought under Patton. If called, Mr. Schwartz will give evidence about invasion of his privacy. The Respondent also removed him to Harborview for mental evaluation without probable cause or representation. The Respondent has also stated publicly that I suffer from mental problems.

Several of us here today survived the European holocaust in the 1930s and 40s after witnessing the death of relatives and friends. We know the horrors of absolutist rule. Many of us also worked for civil rights in the 1960s. Like Roos and Schwartz. I continue to fight today for individual human rights especially those of senior citizens. [Apologia]

The Court has before it affidavits of witnesses who have presented themselves here for questioning. I ask the Court to grant relief from this abuse to the Petitioner and by extension to a community of senior citizens by signing this order for anti-harassment. Especially, in the light of the respondent’s admissions in his declaration and his lack of denial of most of the allegations in the petition.

Nmesis.

Judge James A. Doerty, Superior Court, State of Washington, issued two anti-harassment orders and contempt citations to censor this forum by prior restraint at the behest of Council House directors and their administrator. Mary Kay Becker, Washington Court of Appeals affirmed them. Washington Supreme Court reversed most of those decisions (30 Mar 06). [Washington Supreme Court - Decision] [Background Information] Using their financial power, the directors obtained SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation) court orders and contempt citations using perjured testimony against the author of valid exposé. They then had him jailed in solitary confinement. In this case, SLAPP consists of frivolous charges designed to bankrupt an opponent and create a prior restraint. The landlords have used this tactic on several occasions to try to cover up issues that affect all their tenants. Doerty thwarted an appeal of his findings for more than five years by withholding court documents and other manipulation. The author/publisher claims judicial bias and arbitrary censorship that deny him his rights under the First Amendment to the US Constitution and Washington State Constitution. Doerty has challenged a principle journalism ethic - seek truth and report it - by denying a reporter’s First Amendment rights. Doerty then wrote biased decisions all without due process of law. His findings enabled Council House directors to cover up crimes that they and their administrators allegedly committed. A Washington Supreme Court review has allowed the public to know the names of people involved in elder abuse. It will also give an ethical prosecutor an opportunity to consider felony charges of homicide by abuse against Council House directors and their staff. [Homicide by Abuse] Homicide ranks as a class A felony punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment in a state correctional institution or by a fine of fifty thousand dollars or both. Both the victim’s family and a Council House administrator benefitted financially by allegedly defrauding federal and state agencies prior to death of a resident. [Who Killed Jackie Nations?] Doerty’s order precluded naming the people involved which forced redaction of copy pending review. Washington Supreme Court reversed the trial court decision which relieves restrictions on publishing details regarding resident deaths and other abuse. Washington Supreme Court Council House, Seattle - Summary Supreme Court Decision #1 Supreme Court Decision #2 Civil Issues Appellant [Trummel] Respondents [Mitchell and Council House Inc.] Appellant Reply [Trummel] Contempt Issues Appellant [Trummel] Respondents [Mitchell and Council House Inc.] Appellant Reply [Trummel] Amicus Curiae American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) National Union of Journalists/London Freelance Branch (NUJ) Seattle Weekly