John Marshall - Atlanta v. South Texas

[MelissaM]

I am a former Tampa resident, now attending STCL.  There are large alumni associations in the Tampa and Miami areas.  We have a Florida Law Students Association here at STCL, and we stay very involved with the alumni in Florida.

STCL does not feel like a large school, at least not compared to undergrad. I am friends with the majority of people in my section, but I also know 3Ls from upper level classes, and 1Ls from being involved in extra-curricular activities. 

I encourage you to take a tour when you come visit.  STCL has a lot to offer!

Do you feel as though the faculty are very accessible to you? Also what is your take on the parking situation?? I noticed when I toured the school on this past Monday the parking situation looked bleak??

[Silvermtn]

Don't forget to mention that John Marshall won the regional mock trial competition last year and will have a law review next year.

Sorry, I meant the Client Counseling Competition.
Huh, not even I knew about the Mock Trial thing... I haven't done much looking into it yet because it will be a year or so before I'm eligible to participate.  However, I did know that we won the regional championship for the ABA Client Counseling Competition last year.  The winner always hosts the following year's regional championships, and I volunteered to help out.  I was only supposed to be a door greeter or something like that.  However, the attorney set to be the mock "client" in the championship round ended up being ineligible due to how the brackets played out (I believe that he had already judged one of the finalists in an earlier round).  As a result, I got thrown into being the "client" for the 3-hour final round, which was probably almost as stressful for me as it was for the competitors.  I learned a hell of a lot, though.

[Gina Van Detta]

see www.johnmarshalllawschoolinc. info

JMLS (Atlanta) a “for-profit” law school, performed a "cost-benefit" analysis on the value of my degree by involving me in a lawsuit filed by a former employee.  JMLS legally and actually benefited from my assistance in that lawsuit (admitted in 05-CV-100897) but did not warn me of the potential adverse consequences that could, and did, arise when I applied for character and fitness certification to sit for the Georgia Bar Examination.  Prior to filing the first lawsuit in Fulton County Superior Court (05-CV-100897), on April 20, 2005 I sent an offer of settlement to John E. Ryan, Dean and CEO of John Marshall Law School grounded only in equity.

In response to my offer of settlement grounded only in equity, I received a letter from Brian Douglas, attorney for John Marshall Law School.  Brian Douglas’ letter to me dated May 10, 2005 (the attorney representing Dean Ryan), in which he stated:

1.   “Any such attempt to harm my clients will bring results far beyond your contemplation.” 
2.   “I am also curious as to why you would threaten such a frivolous lawsuit with our fitness certification unresolved.” Sent, after the Fitness Board’s release of its’ original Specifications, which had a “factual error” that was overwhelmingly against the weight of all the evidence in the record and against the weight of common sense; and
3.   “Your pursuit of any of these claims will guaranty a suit against you for abusive litigation and our employment of an extremely aggressive defense strategy.”

On May 10, 2005 I filed suit in Fulton County Superior Court.  Mr. Douglas followed with a similar letter May 19, 2005 in which he wrote:

1.   “Your pursuit of this case will guaranty an abusive litigation suit being brought against you.”
2.   Then, there’s always the “hints” that were dropped over the course of the past year by others:
3.   “Suing the school won’t get you certified….”

I filed suit, and those "results" were realized (see www.alpjusticepact.org).

After I filed suit in federal court against the Board to Determine Character and Fitness of Bar Applicants and the Office of Bar Admissions, I voluntarily dismissed the Fulton County Superior Court lawsuit and immediately re-filed the claims originally filed in Fulton County Superior Court in 1:06-CV-0052 to consolidate all claims and all Defendants. 

After I filed suit in 1:06-CV-0052, Jeff Van Detta (my spouse and employee of John Marshall Law School) filed a “no-fault” Complaint for Divorce against me in Douglas County Superior Court after we had been separated for two years. The litigation in state and federal courts was used in his Complaint for a Divorce and the merits of the lawsuits were litigated in my custody trial. 

Table “A” (see www.johnmarshalllawschoolinc. info) was filed in various forums in support of the allegation that the Douglas County Juvenile Court was allowing Jeff Van Detta to litigate the merits of the federal lawsuits, while at the same time, denying evidence regarding his role in the conduct which resulted in the “tentative” denial of my fitness application.

Brian Douglas appeared at the first custody hearing April 10, 2006 and was allowed to remain the hearing as an “observer” over my objections.  Since that time, I filed an additional lawsuit against John Marshall Law School and others regarding their interference in the custody trial.  This was the “results far beyond my contemplation...”, so I filed the following lawsuit based on those “results” June 2006:  Van Detta v. Van Detta et al., 1:06-CV-1339.

[Eva Destruction]

You've got some serious sour grapes going on here.

I can understand you wanting to make people aware of problems with the school. And for that I'm appreciative. But it appears that you've just done a search for John Marshall-Atlanta and posted this to every single thread.

That comes across as more vindictive than informative.

[JMLS 2003 Graduate]

YES, I DO. 

HOWEVER, THE WEBSITE ALSO CONTAINS MORE INFORMATION ON CHARACTER AND FITNESS REVIEWS AND APPEALS USUALLY NOT AVAILABLE B/C OF MY PRE-APPEAL CHALLENGES. 

IF YOU AGREE W/INFORMATION, WHY DID YOU REPORT A NEGATIVE REFERENCE?

COULDN'T FIND MY ORIGINAL PROFILE SO CREATED A NEW ONE. 

YES, THE WEBSITE DOES SPEAK FOR ITSELF---SO DOES THE "INSTITUTION'S" CONDUCT....

You've got some serious sour grapes going on here.

I can understand you wanting to make people aware of problems with the school. And for that I'm appreciative. But it appears that you've just done a search for John Marshall-Atlanta and posted this to every single thread.

That comes across as more vindictive than informative.

[MelissaM]

YES, I DO. 

HOWEVER, THE WEBSITE ALSO CONTAINS MORE INFORMATION ON CHARACTER AND FITNESS REVIEWS AND APPEALS USUALLY NOT AVAILABLE B/C OF MY PRE-APPEAL CHALLENGES. 

I've met Professor Van Detta and he was pretty informative as to JMLS-Atl. I don't know what kind of problems you two have with each other but your website is pretty scattered, broad and offers nothing about the school's programs, progress, etc(which is what I was inquiring about). If you want to plug your poor website do it somewhere else because I'm not interested.

[Eva Destruction]

TITCR, as the kids say.

[JMLS 2003 Graduate]

TITCR?  This is a very serious issue.  Your login ID and no profile suggests that perhaps, you are JMLS attorney Brian Douglas?  This is NOT an issue regarding "kids" except if you want to discuss the impact of the letter from Brian Douglas threatening "results far beyond my contemplation" May 2005 when I sent merely a draft complaint grounded ONLY in equit, and those "results" realized in my custody trial, which Brian Douglas, attorney for JMLS attended the very FIRST custody hearing in  ???a "show of support".  What was HE doing in my first custody hearing?  I objected but the judge allowed him to stay as an "observer".

Are you that "observer"? 

Who are you?

I'd suggest you "put up or shut up" unless you want to disclose your identy, like I've done and most members also do.

[JMLS 2003 Graduate]

YES, I DO. 

HOWEVER, THE WEBSITE ALSO CONTAINS MORE INFORMATION ON CHARACTER AND FITNESS REVIEWS AND APPEALS USUALLY NOT AVAILABLE B/C OF MY PRE-APPEAL CHALLENGES. 

I've met Professor Van Detta and he was pretty informative as to JMLS-Atl. I don't know what kind of problems you two have with each other but your website is pretty scattered, broad and offers nothing about the school's programs, progress, etc(which is what I was inquiring about). If you want to plug your poor website do it somewhere else because I'm not interested.

I'm sorry it took so long to respond.  Yes, I have problems w/Prof Van Detta, but those are personal ones. 

Jeff resigned in December 2000 only b/c law school went "for-profit".  He was very idealistic then.

I actually convinced him to go back to JMLS.  He is an excellent professor and teacher. 

The problem I have is that he's placed our child’s interest above his career and placed him in the middle of the WORST custody battle so far - bar NONE....for the best interests of the law school and not our child. 

Prior to filing suit against JMLS in May 2005, I sent a settlement letter grounded only in equity.  The "institution's" lawyer responded that if I did, it would result in "consequences far beyond my contemplation".  Prior to filing suit, I naively thought I had made my peace with Jeff and that he of all people understood why I had to protect the degree I worked so hard on, which I did for more than 50% of the semester hours prior to marrying Jeff.  After that, I got a tuition remission but that does not justify what JMLS did to me when it involved me in the other lawsuit w/out informing me of any potential risks to my character and fitness evaluation. 

It's clear now that since Jeff and Dean Ryan knew about the Fitness Board's inquiry into my involvement in Meltz v. John Marshall (probably around April / May based on an email from Jeff to me), the events that happened over the next two years were simply playing out in anticipation of litigation.  In order to bootstrap Board’s tentative denial ONLY for my involvement in Meltz v. John Marshall, JMLS had to destroy my reputation and use "after the fact" information to bootstrap the Board's denial b/c they don't want denial based on my assistance to JMLS....just like they used information I gave to Ryan to bootstrap firing of Dean Meltz using "after the fact" information.

I agree with you that Jeff is an EXCELLENT professor and teacher.  In my opinion Jeff is too good to be at JMLS and should be teaching at a better law school.  He was accepted at Yale LLM's program, one of a handful each year are accepted.  But as he said later, my lawsuit was not a "slip and fall", it challenged the "institution" on ethical grounds, which was far worse.  I never thought that it would end up this way and interfere in our child life the way it has.  But, I was naive and believed the lawsuit would be litigated on the elements of the claims, not the politics of suing a law school and challenging the Gods who determine whether one is "fit and moral" enough to sit for the Bar.  My lawsuit against the Fitness Board and the Supreme Court of Georgia is the lack of procedural safeguards in the evaluation of a fitness application---it has NEVER been about “making” the Board certify me…not in ANY pleading, not in ANY forum…only the process itself b/c the Rules are so subjective and elusive, and an application must go through the administrative appeal process simply to learn the reason for a “tentative denial”.  ALL of the applicants that have filed administrative appeals have lost.  Even when the “independent” hearing officer’s recommendation was to certify, the Board still denied and the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld.  Even when the “independent” hearing officer admitted he made many mistakes in the hearing, the Fitness Board still denied and the Supreme Court of Georgia upheld the denial.  All of this information is on www.jmlsatlanta.info.

Had I a chance to do things differently when I responded to the Board’s June 14, 2004 “inquiry” letter, I would have simply said “John Marshall Who?...”Dean Ryan Who?”… waited out my three–year “punishment” and went on with my life.  Just like their response to me was when I begged, really begged, for their assistance in clarifying the “institutions” involvement in the non-confidential, end-product filings – LETTERHEAD which showed Dean Meltz as “of counsel”, which is not refuted at all so that I could have at least sat for the academic portion that summer. 

Now, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to pass---my knowledge is simply gone…as is probably my desire to ever become a “professional”.

[baileypicks24]

Heh. What the hell happened to this thread?

So I wonder where the OP ended up going?