Andrew J. O'Connor

Infobox_Person
name = Andrew O'Connor

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alma_mater = Florida State University
Cumberland School of Law
occupation = Attorney
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nationality = American

Andrew James O'Connor is an American civil rights activist who lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Early life

Andrew O'Connor attended Jesuit High School in Tampa, Florida, where he graduated in 1979. He then attended Vanderbilt University before transferring to Florida State University, where he graduated with a B.A. in English in 1983. He graduated from Cumberland School of Law with a J.D. in 1987.

Arrest by the Secret Service

On February 13, 2003, Andrew J. O'Connor was arrested by the Secret Service and Santa Fe police at the St. John's College library in Santa Fe, New Mexico for allegedly making threatening remarks about President George W. Bush. He was released after five hours and no charges were ever filed, but his arrest sparked widespread debate about the extent of the Patriot Act. [ [http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2003/february2003/santafepolice.cfm Santa Fe Police Detain Library Patron over Chat-Room Visit] ] [ [http://libraries.uta.edu/actreact/privacy.asp Internet and Email Privacy] ] [ [http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0921-08.htm For Those Who Wish to Dissent: Speech, Silence, and Patriotism] ] [ [http://www.collegefreedom.org/03pc.htm Political Correctness: The War on Dissent] ]

On July 25, 2006, Mr. O'Connor filed a lawsuit under 42 USC §1983 in the District Court of New Mexico against St. John's College and other defendants claiming deprivations of his civil liberties because of a conspiracy between defendants for warrantless and surreptitious surveillance of his private email communications under the Patriot Act in violation of the Fourth Amendment. [Andrew J. O'Connor v. St. John's College, et al., Case No. 06-CV-0660, D.N.M.] The case was dismissed on August 9, 2007, but Mr. O'Connor appealed to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals where the case is still pending. [Andrew J. O'Connor v. St. John's College, et al., Case No. 07-2225, 10th Cir.]

Movie actor

Andrew O'Connor played himself in the documentary "Unconstitutional". [Imdb name|1752768|Andrew O'Connor (IV).] He was interviewed by Michael Moore for the documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11", but his story did not make the final cut. [Email dated 5/24/2004 from Tia Lessin, Supervising Producer of Fahrenheit 911] He was an extra in the 2005 TV mini-series "Into the West" and appears briefly on screen. [Imdb title|0409572|Into the West.]

Problems with the Florida Bar and Santa Fe Public Defender's Office

Andrew O'Connor was admitted to the Florida Bar on November 11, 1990. [http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc03-1738/op-sc03-1738.pdf Florida Bar v. Andrew James O'Connor, 945 So.2d 1113 (Fla. 2006)] ] He was involved in an automobile accident on April 30, 1992 which incapacitated him both mentally and physically, and he was placed on the inactive list.

He was hired at the Santa Fe Public Defender's Office in July 2002. In January 2003, he filed an application for a limited law license with the Supreme Court of New Mexico representing that he was in good standing with the Florida Bar and attaching a copy of his Florida Bar card which showed his status as "inactive". The Supreme Court of New Mexico initially issued him a limited license, but they revoked it when the discrepancy was discovered and they contacted the Florida Bar, which instituted proceedings against O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor was fired by the Santa Fe Public Defender's Office in January 2003 after the issue came to light. ["Fla. Justices Rule Man Misled N.M. Court", Albuquerque Journal, January 14, 2007, archived at [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1P2-11586564.html HighBeam Encyclopedia] ] [ [http://www.denverpost.com/ci_9305619 "Ex-lawyer's job past shady", Denver Post, May 18, 2008] ]

Mr. O'Connor brought a 42 USC §1983 suit against the Florida Bar in the District Court of New Mexico, but the suit was dismissed for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. He appealed, and the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, in a decision dated September 1, 2006, upheld the dismissal based on Eleventh Amendment immunity, because the Florida Bar is an arm of the Supreme Court of Florida. [ [http://ca10.washburnlaw.edu/cases/2006/09/06-2062.htm Andrew J. O'Connor v. The Florida Bar, 197 Fed.Appx. 741 (10th Cir. 2006)] ] The Supreme Court of Florida, in a decision dated October 19, 2006, decided not to disbar him, but imposed a one-year period of disqualification on his petition for reinstatement. [ [http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/sc03-1738/op-sc03-1738.pdf Florida Bar v. Andrew James O'Connor, 945 So.2d 1113 (Fla. 2006)] ] .

Vasquez lawsuit

Andrew J. O'Connor is currently working as a law clerk and is part of the legal team that brought suit for US$1.3 million against the City of Denver on behalf of Juan Vasquez, a Hispanic teenager who was injured by Denver police officers. [ [http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_9213862 Accused officer jumped on teen's back, police say, Denver Post, May 12, 2008] ] [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/may/15/lawsuit-looms-denver-police-beating-case/ Filing says boy unfairly targeted, seeks $1.3 million, Rocky Mountain News, May 15, 2008] ] . O'Connor was quoted as saying: "If this was a white kid in Boulder, it wouldn't have gone down the way it went down". Mr. O'Connor was interviewed about the case by Denver CBS 4 reporter Jodi Brooks on May 16, 2008. [ [http://cbs4denver.com/local/porter.denver.vasquez.2.725562.html Teen Files Lawsuit Against Denver Police Officers, CBS 4 Denver;] [http://kdka.com/topstories/police.beating.teen.2.726266.html KDKA-TV Pittsburgh] ] When the City of Denver in its response to the lawsuit stated that the police officer's actions were "reasonable force", Mr. O'Connor asked: "How is it self-defense when a kid is on the ground getting stomped on? And how does a kid lose a kidney with reasonable force?" [ [http://cw2.trb.com/news/kwgn-police-beating-answer,0,457727.story Denver city attorney apologizes for calling teen's beating "reasonable force", KWGN-TV Denver] ]

References