C. Vernon Mason

C. Vernon Mason (b. Tucker, Arkansas) is an African-American, ordained minister, former lawyer and current executive with a non-profit organization. Mason was notable for his role as attorney for the family of Michael Griffith, a victim in the Howard Beach incident, and as an advisor to Tawana Brawley following her accusation (later determined to be false by a Grand Jury) that she was raped and assaulted by six white men.

Education

Mason graduated from Morehouse College and earned a Master's in Business Administration from Indiana University. He then graduated from Columbia Law School earning a Juris Doctor and, later, earned a Master of Divinity from New York Theological Seminary.

Howard Beach incident

Mason was one of the lawyers retained by the family of Michael Griffith, manslaughter victim in the Howard Beach incident.

Tawana Brawley case

In 1987 Mason, along with Alton H. Maddox and Al Sharpton, were advisors to Tawana Brawley, an African-American teenager who claimed to have been abducted and sexually assaulted by at least three white men, including at least one police officer and assistant district attorney Steven Pagones. However, a Grand Jury investigation into Brawley's allegations determined that she "had not been abducted, assaulted, raped and sodomized as had been claimed"cite web |url=http://www.nycourts.gov/press/old_keep/brawley.htm |title=Steven Pagones vs. Tawana Brawley et alia |accessdate=2007-08-26 |publisher=New York State ] and that "the 'unsworn public allegations against Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Steven Pagones' were false and had no basis in fact." Pagones filed a $385 million dollar lawsuit against Brawley and her advisors for twenty-two purported defamatory statements; Mason was found liable of making one defamatory statement and ordered to pay $185,000. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9405E3DE1731F936A25755C0A9679C8B63 Sharpton's Debt in Brawley Defamation Is Paid by Supporters - New York Times ] ]

Disbarment

Mason was disbarred by the New York State Appellate Court in 1995. [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5DF113BF934A15752C0A963958260|title=State Appellate Court Disbars An Advocate of Civil Rights |date=1995-01-27|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2008-02-08] The court cited 66 instances of professional misconduct with 20 clients over the course of 6 years as its rationale for the action, including "repeated neglect of client matters, many of which concerned criminal cases where a client's liberty was at stake; misrepresentations to clients [and] refusal to refund the unearned portion of fees". [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE5DF113BF934A15752C0A963958260] This rulling prohibited Mason from practicing law for three years. Though Mason's involvement in the Brawley case was not specifically cited, Mason would allege that the ruling was intended to punish him for the Brawley case. [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805E7D8153CF933A25751C1A961958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all|title=Defendant Becomes an Issue in Slander Case|publisher= New York Times]

Christian ministry

The former attorney, is now known as Rev. C. Vernon Mason. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer for the Uth Turn initiative, which provides mentoring, leadership training, educational and job preparation, employment and social services referrals, counseling and substance support to at risk youth.

References

External links

* [http://www.courttv.com/archive/legaldocs/newsmakers/tawana/part1.html#events The grand jury report on the Brawley case]
* [http://www.cnn.com/US/9807/13/brawley.verdict.02/ A CNN story on the Pagones suit]
* [http://www.uth-turn.org/home.htm Uth Turn Initiative ]