Ellis Rubin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchEllis S. Rubin (June 20, 1925 – December 12, 2006) was an American attorney in Miami, Florida who gained national fame for handling a variety of highly publicized cases in a legal career that spanned 53 years. He was famous for his innovative defenses and his propensity for handling lost causes. Rubin won the first case in Florida using the “battered woman” defense. He also worked to free a man, James Richardson, who had been imprisoned for 21 years for fatally poisoning his seven children,[1] and created the nymphomania defense in a case involving prostitution.[2]
The Washington Post characterized Rubin as "a Miami lawyer with an affection for the disenfranchised and an outsized knack for publicity in the tradition of P. T. Barnum [... who] capitalized on the flamboyant characters and outrageous crimes endemic to South Florida to present innovative and often unprecedented legal defenses".[3] Some fellow lawyers believed he lowered the image of the profession, and Judge Wayne L. Cobb, who handled the case of a confessed serial killer whom Rubin was defending in 1993, said Rubin was “famous for his psychobabble defenses.”[2] Some thought he defended too many lost causes. Throughout his career he took on over 5,000 civil and criminal cases.[4]
Contents
[show][edit] Biography
Rubin was born in Syracuse, New York, served in the Navy in World War II, graduated from Holy Cross College, and then received a law degree in 1951 from the University of Miami School of Law. He was admitted to the bar to practice law in Florida and before the United States Supreme Court.[5]
During the 1950s, he worked for the state attorney general's office as a special Assistant Attorney General investigating communism, and was asked to establish a policy for dealing with "subversive activities" in Florida[6]. In 1955, he published a "red book" on the communist movement in Florida, which provoked a bill in the Florida Legislature giving investigators of subversive activities wide subpoena powers, the right to hold secret hearings, and to offer witnesses immunity[7].In the 1960s he argued against racial discrimination in religious schools before the United States Supreme Court. In the 1970s he led protests against the use of school busing as a solution for desegregation.[3]
His first widely publicized case was the nationally televised Ronny Zamora trial in which he used the innovative "TV Intoxication" defense. He continued trying variety of cases with eye-catching headlines. However, he also handled low keyed cases, many pro bono, making it clear that money-making was not his goal. His politics changed with the times. For example, he supported Anita Bryant's anti-gay rights crusade in the 1970s, but later became a strong advocate for gay rights, having decided he was wrong, filing six lawsuits by 2004 challenging Florida's ban on gay marriage.[4]
Rubin ran unsuccessfully for public offices such as governor, mayor, judge, congressman, and senator more than a dozen times but was not taken seriously as a contender and never won.[3]
[edit] Notorious cases
[edit] Ronny Zamora
When Rubin defended 15-year-old Ronny Zamora in 1977, for the murder of his 83-year-old neighbor in her Miami Beach home in a robbery, the trial was one of the first ever nationally televised. Zamora's defense was that he was intoxicated by violence on television. The defense became known as the "TV Intoxication" defense; Zamora claimed he could not tell the difference between fantasy and reality because of his obsession with Kojak and other violent shows since the age of five.[8][9]
Rubin tried unsuccessfully to provide evidence of the damaging effect of TV on young minds by issuing subpoenas to the TV star of Kojak, Telly Savalas, and to nationally known experts on the relationship between violence and TV. When Zamora was convicted and sentenced to life, he unsuccessfully appealed his sentence, blaming Rubin for the TV intoxication defense which he claimed made a joke of his trial. The federal appeals court ruled that evidence against Zamora was overwhelming and that Rubin had made the best of a weak case; the defense had in fact helped Zamora by focusing attention on Zamora's deprived background.[2]
Zamora was released from prison in 2004 after having served 27 years in prison.[9]
[edit] Bobby Joe Long
In July 1986, serial killer Bobbie Joe Long announced that Rubin had agreed to become his new court-appointed attorney for the sentencing hearing for Long's conviction for the Simms murder. At the hearing, Rubin shocked the courtroom by introducing Long's confession to a tenth murder in March 1984. Rubin's tactic was to portray Long as a mentally ill man who needed help rather than the death penalty. Rubin also introduced new evidence of Long's childhood exposure to pornography, sleeping with his mother until he was thirteen and seeing her have sex with other men. These experiences, Rubin said, were responsible for Long's perverted adult sexuality. Rubin also presented evidence of Long's head injuries as a child and young adult to support his defense that Long was predisposed to murder due to irresistible impulses. However, the jury voted eleven to one in favor of the death penalty.[10]
Rubin handled some of the numerous appeals for Bobbie Joe Long, who was arrested in 1985 but who has engaged in a series of appeals involving numerous jurisdictions and agencies.[11][12][13]
[edit] Contempt of court
In 1984–1985, Russell Sanborn was charged with first degree murder. Sanborn was represented by three attorneys at different times, each of whom withdrew from the case. Ellis Rubin requested to represent Sanborn pro bono. However on the date of the trial, Rubin petitioned the court to withdraw, implying strongly that Sanborn was planning to give false testimony and he would not defend a client who would lie on the stand. His petition was denied, and Rubin sought certiorari by the Third District Court of Appeal, which also denied the petition. When the case was rescheduled, Rubin again sought to withdraw on the same grounds and again was denied and ordered to proceed to trial. When he again refused, the court issued a contempt order (affirmed on appeal in Rubin v. State) denying review of the district court decision and denying Rubin's petition for a writ of habeas corpus, Rubin was ordered to serve 37 days in jail for contempt of court.[4][14]
[edit] Jeff and Kathy Willets
His most infamous case was his defense of Jeff and Kathy Willets in 1991. The Willets were accused of operating a sex business out of their home. Rubin argued in their defense that Kathy Willets was driven to prostitution by nymphomania brought on by side-effects of the antidepressant, Prozac, forcing her to need sex with as many as eight men daily. Her husband, a deputy sheriff, was impotent and videotaped his wife's sex acts as a form of therapy. Despite this original defense, both were convicted.[3]
[edit] Lionel Tate
Rubin was hired as the fourth attorney for Lionel Tate, who at that time was on probation for the murder of a playmate, six-year-old Tiffany Eunick in 1999 when he was 12.[15] As Rubin portrayed the scenario, Tate, a 12-year-old professional wrestling fan, was only imitating the sport's body slams when he accidentally killed his playmate. Tate had been convicted of first-degree murder and received a life sentence in 2001 at the age of 14. His conviction received worldwide attention as the youngest American ever sentenced to life in prison. His conviction was overturned upon appeal and he entered a plea agreement that freed Tate in January 2004.
In 2005, Rubin agreed to defend Tate on charges of robbery of a pizza delivery man. Tate pleaded guilty to armed robbery in a deal that spared him a life sentence for violating probation.[16] Rubin threatened to resign from the case, after Tate, without informing Rubin, wrote a letter to the judge trying to retract a plea bargain, a bargain that would have removed the possibility of two life sentences. Simultaneously, Tate claimed his mother physically abused him and that he was now suffering flashbacks and posttraumatic stress disorder. This case was described as "like a soap opera" by a television reporter.[17]
On March 1, 2006, Rubin was the defense attorney in Tate's pizza robbery trial.[18] In April of the following year, Tate filed a motion to have his 30 year sentence vacated on the grounds that his former attorney (now deceased), Ellis Rubin, was incompetent.[19]
[edit] Gay rights
Rubin, who supported Anita Bryant's anti-gay crusade in the 1970s, later became a strong advocate for gay rights. He filed a lawsuit in Federal court under the Defense of Marriage Act to attain recognition of a lesbian couple's Canadian marriage.[20] By 2004, Rubin had filed six same-sex-couple lawsuits, four in Florida state courts, and two challenging federal same-sex marriage laws. Since Florida is one of the least tolerant states toward same-sex marriages, Rubin has been criticized by activists for his aggressive, "scorched-earth" tactics by frustrated gay rights advocates.[21]
[edit] Other cases
Sample of other cases:[22]
- Ellis Rubin vs. Joseph Robbie (1975) – Rubin brought suit to lift NFL sanctioned TV blackouts of Super Bowl Games and allow regular season games to be viewed when all the tickets were sold.
- Lisa Faye Keller vs. State of Florida (1986) – Defendant bludgeoned her 70-year-old father to death outside his condominium, September 1986.
- Virginia Barrett vs. Port St. Lucie Sheriff Office (1997) – Mother's suit against Port St. Lucie Sheriff's Office for the death of her son Anderson Tate Jr. on December 4, 1996 while he was in custody at the St. Lucie County jail.
- Amiee Lee Weiss vs. State of Florida (2002) – Teenager tried on charges that she killed her newborn son, stuffed him in a backpack, and dumped him in a can.
- Gorman Roberts vs. State of Florida (2002) – Charged with pushing 5-year-old boy into a canal after the boy slipped out of his home in February 2002.
- Rubin represented the parents in the so-called "Vegan Baby Death" who were accused of aggravated manslaughter. Their five month old infant allegedly died of malnutrition, being fed only wheat grass, coconut water, and almond milk.[23] They were acquitted of those charges but convicted of four counts of child neglect.[24]
- Rubin represented the family of Frank Valdez, a Florida inmate who was beaten to death in prison.[25]
- Rubin represented Kendall Truitt, a United States Navy sailor investigated by the Navy in connection with the USS Iowa turret explosion. Leaks to the media by the Navy and the Navy's Naval Investigative Service implied that Truitt had a homosexual relationship with another sailor, Clayton Hartwig, and may have assisted in or caused the intentional detonation of the battleship's gun turret. After Rubin began representing Truitt, the Navy backed off of its insinuations against Truitt.[26]
[edit] Famous clients
- Frank Sturgis
- Miriam Oliphant
- E. Howard Hunt
- Mercury Morris
- Hedy Lamarr
- Connie Francis
- Jackie Mason
- Guardian Angels
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Groundbreaking attorney Ellis Rubin dies at 81". http://womansexualsecrets.com/free-porn-news2088.html. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ a b c "Ellis Rubin, 81, Lawyer Known for ‘TV Intoxication’ Defense, Dies". The New York Times. December 13 2006. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/13/us/13rubin.html?_r=1&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/D/Deaths%20(Obituaries)&oref=slogin. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ a b c d Sullivan, Patricia (December 14 2006). "Outspoken Lawyer Ellis Rubin, 81". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/13/AR2006121302118.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ a b c "Psychobabble’ lawyer Ellis Rubin dies at 81". MSNBC. December 12 2006. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16176492/. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "Ellis Rubin - Bio". http://www.ellisrubin.com/. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ Report on Investigation of Subversive Activities in Florida by the Special Assistant Attorney General, State of Florida, in cooperation with the American Legion Department of Florida. March, 1955. p. 6.
- ^ "Fireworks Loom at Hearing for Florida Red Probe Bill", Orlando Sentinel, May 16, 1955, p.1.
- ^ "Unconventional Lawyer Ellis Rubin Dies". CBS News. December 13 2006. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/12/13/national/main2255277.shtml?source=RSSattr=U.S._2255277. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ a b "Zamora to go free today, 27 years after 'TV intoxication' murder trial". June 1 2004. Archived from the original on 2008-01-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20080120201650/http://www.prisonpotpourri.com/PAROLED/Zamora+to+go+free+today,+27+years+after+'TV+intoxication'+murder+trial+South+Florida+Sun-Sentinel.html. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Bobby Jo Long - The Classified Ad Rapist". http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/serialkillers/long.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Summary of offense and trial". The Commission on Capital Cases. http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us/case_updates/494041.doc. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "Robert Joe Long a/k/a Bobby Long, Appellant, vs. State of Florida, Appellee". Florida State University Law School. June 30 1988. http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/69259/op-69259.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "Robert Joe Long a/k/a/ Bobby Long v. State of Florida". http://law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/69259/69259rep.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "THE FLORIDA BAR, Complainant, v. ELLIS S. RUBIN, Respondent". Florida State University Law School. http://law.fsu.edu/library/flsupct/72255/op-72255.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "Lionel Tate Gets Ellis Rubin As New Defense Attorney". NBC6.net - South Florida. December 8 2005. http://www.nbc6.net/news/5491213/detail.html?rss=ami&psp=news. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
- ^ Aguayo, Terry (March 3 2006). "Youth Who Killed at 12 Will Return to Prison, but Not for Life". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/02/national/02tate.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "Ellis Rubin Resigns & Lionel Tate Claims Mom Abused Him". WFOR - South Florida. April 4- 2006. http://video.aol.com/video-detail/ellis-rubin-resigns-and-lionel-tate-claims-mom-abused-him/3214560838. Retrieved 2007-11-08. [dead link]
- ^ "Lionel Tate Faces Robbery Trial". ABC News. April 16 2006. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=3044525. Retrieved 2007-11-08. [dead link]
- ^ "Lionel Tate attorneys say previous lawyer wasn't competent". Channel 7 Fox News. April 13 2007. http://www1.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI44343/. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "Ellis Rubin to File First Federal Lawsuit to Recognize Lesbian Couples' Canadian Marriage". Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies in Religion and the Ministry. August 11 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. http://web.archive.org/web/20071022104648/http://www.clgs.org/marriage/press_release_081004.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "Florida suit challenges federal marriage law". July 21 2004. http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?date=2004/07/21/1. Retrieved 2007-11-09. [dead link]
- ^ "Ellis Rubin, Past Cases". http://www.ellisrubin.com/pcases.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-08.
- ^ "New Defense In Vegan Baby Death - Parents Accused Of Malnutrition Say Birth Defect Killed Their Child". CBS News. January 20 2005. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/01/20/national/main668225.shtml. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ "Vegan couple cleared in baby's death but guilty of child neglect". CourtTVNews. November 9. http://www.courttv.com/trials/andressohn/110705_ctv.html. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ Bragg, Rick (July 29 1999). "F.B.I. Joins Investigation Into Florida Inmate's Death". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DE7D61731F93AA15754C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
- ^ Thompson, Charles C., II, A Glimpse of Hell: The Explosion on the USS Iowa and Its Cover-up", W.W. Norton, 1999, p. 257–260.
[edit] External links
- Video of Rubin on Lionel Tate
- Articles Referencing Both Ellis Rubin & Lionel Tate
- F.B.I. Joins Investigation Into Florida Inmate's Death
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Friday, December 25, 2009
Ellis Rubin- Guardian Angels
Guardian Angels
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the spirit who is believed to protect and to guide a particular person see Guardian angel.
Guardian Angels | |
Founders | Curtis Sliwa |
Founded | 1979 |
Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
Area served | Global |
Focus | public safety |
Website | http://www.guardianangels.org/ |
The Guardian Angels is a non-profit, international, volunteer organization of unarmed citizen crime patrollers. The Guardian Angels organization was founded February 13, 1979 in New York City by Curtis Sliwa and has chapters in 13 countries (in 140 cities) around the world[1].
Sliwa originally created the organization to combat widespread violence and crime on the New York City subways. The organization originally trained members to make citizen's arrests for violent crimes. The organization patrols the streets and neighborhoods but also provides education programs and workshops for schools and businesses.
In the beginning, New York City Mayor Ed Koch publicly opposed the group. Many government officials also opposed the group whenever they attempted to open a chapter in their cities. Over the years, however, as the novelty of the organization and controversy has died down, and as citizen involvement and outreach has increased, there has been less public opposition to the group by government officials. Former Mayor Ed Koch later reversed his stance on the organization,[2] and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and current New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have publicly supported the group, although Toronto Mayor David Miller and Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair publicly oppose the group.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Casualties
Frank Melvin was shot and killed by a police officer in Newark, New Jersey on December 30, 1981. The officer alleged that Melvin was running toward his partner in a hostile manner. Members on patrol argued, Melvin was approaching the officer to ask if he could help him. The two officers were responding to a call about a commercial burglary. (According to author Marcus Gray, the song "Red Angel Dragnet" by the British rock band The Clash was inspired by this event.)[citation needed]
Juan Oliva was shot by a gang member in New York City on July 30, 1983. They were the only two to die while in uniform and on patrol.
Malcolm Brown, a former member, was shot and killed in New York City on July 3, 1980 while trying to help two senior citizens being mugged. Sherman Geiger, a member, was stabbed and died in New York City on August 24, 1987, while pursuing a burglar. He was not in uniform or on patrol. Glenn Doser was shot and killed in Los Angeles in March 1993 trying to help a woman who was being mugged. He was not in uniform or on patrol either. [1]
James Richards, a former member and anti-gang activist, was shot numerous times and killed near his driveway in Venice, California in October 2000. [2]
[edit] Chapters
The Guardian Angels have established chapters in Washington, D. C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, London, Toronto, Dallas, Tokyo, Houston, Cape Town, Auckland, and York, (Pennsylvania). Recently, the organization has established chapters in smaller cities such as the Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Brockton. The York Chapter is also the only chapter in the world that not only works with, but provides foot patrols with official law enforcement officers and agencies.[citation needed] The Guardian Angels have also begun to include youth programs, teacher programs, disaster response, an Internet safety program called the CyberAngels, self-defense courses, as well as community outreach addressing issues beyond crime.
[edit] Los Angeles Chapter
The Guardian Angels Safety Patrol Organization made it to the West coast in 1981 by establishing a Chapter in Los Angeles California. The Los Angeles Chapter grew and reached its zenith in membership in the mid-1980s with over 6 Chapters and over 250 members. Although the Chapter was active in 1990s its membership was on the decline. By the late 1990s there was only a single Venice Beach Chapter remaining in Los Angeles. Between the late 1990s and 2006, there was virtually no Los Angeles Chapter of the Guardian Angels. Except for a few attempts to restart the Los Angeles Chapter in 2003 and 2004 the Angels were not patrolling the streets of LA.[citation needed]
In 2006 there was a successful effort to restart the Los Angeles Chapter. This effort was lead by Alex Makarczyk, a Guardian Angel who previously served in the Los Angeles Chapter in the Mid-1980s. His return to the Guardian Angeles was prompted by the death of a fellow Guardian Angel who was shot to death out side his home on October 18, 2000. James Richards was not on patrol when he was gunned down in the early morning hours, but he was assisting local law enforcement with information about crime and drug dealing in his neighborhood.
Today, the Los Angeles Chapter is strong and growing. The Chapter has a good working relationship with local law enforcement. The Chapter works closely with Curtis Sliwa and has a goal of implementing, innovative, and proven training methods to promote a higher standard of Guardian Angel.[citation needed]
[edit] Activities
The original and main Guardian Angels activity is "Safety Patrol" in which members walk the streets or ride transit. Guardian Angels must be in uniform to represent the organization. They can be identified by their red berets and red jackets or white t-shirts with the Guardian Angels logo of an eye inside a shield with wings. Chapters operate similar to franchise networks supporting one another regionally under standard rules, regulations, and training. The Guardian Angels state that they are an equal opportunity organization that encourages diversity.
The organization accepts volunteers who do not have a recent or serious criminal record and are not members of a gang or racial hate group. In order to join the Safety Patrol program, members must be at least 16 years old. Younger members are allowed to participate in youth programs. Safety Patrol members are prohibited from carrying weapons and are physically searched before patrolling. They are trained in basic first aid, CPR, law, conflict resolution, communication, and basic martial arts. Members are paired up and follow the directions of a Patrol Leader. Members, however, are allowed to do whatever they feel is lawful and necessary in case their lives, or the lives of other citizens, are endangered or fear serious personal injury.
As of 2006, the Guardian Angels have been active in Orlando, Florida due to the increase in murder and crime rates.[3]
Boston, Massachusetts followed suit in 2007, at first to the opposition of Mayor Tom Menino who eventually supported the group due to the welcoming the Angels received from the people. Residents of Brockton, Massachusetts followed Boston's lead in March 2008 by launching a new chapter in response to a rise in street violence. Unlike other cities, in Brockton, the chapter has been able to quickly build a working relationship with the city's police chief.
Boston, Massachusetts followed suit in 2007, at first to the opposition of Mayor Tom Menino who eventually supported the group due to the welcoming the Angels received from the people. Residents of Brockton, Massachusetts followed Boston's lead in March 2008 by launching a new chapter in response to a rise in street violence. Unlike other cities, in Brockton, the chapter has been able to quickly build a working relationship with the city's police chief.
The Los Angeles Chapter of the Guardian Angels is one of the oldest, beginning in 1981, just two years after the group was founded back in 1979. The Los Angeles Chapter is still active today and it is recognized for its "state of the art" Guardian Angels training program.
[edit] CyberAngels
CyberAngels was founded in 1995 by Gabriel Hatcher as an online "neighborhood watch". Originally the group monitored chatrooms directly with the intent of apprehending sexual predators. Later the group took what it had learned and changed its focus to educating police, schools, and families about on-line abuse and cyber crime. In 1998, CyberAngels received a Presidential Service Award.
[edit] Controversy
In 1992 Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa issued a public apology for staging several subway rescues in the 1980s in order to get publicity for the group[4]. Since the statute of limitations on filing false police reports had expired, no charges were brought against him or the organization. Sliwa also admitted that the New York City Chapter primarily patrolled the Restaurant Row section of midtown Manhattan, except for occasional well-publicized patrols in other areas and subway patrols to recruit new members.[5]
[edit] Publicity
The 1981 CBS made-for-TV movie "We're Fighting Back," featuring Bronx-born Ellen Barkin, was based on the Guardian Angels. Angels members signed releases giving Warner Bros. permission to depict their lives. In some cases, their brand or identity is used by others. Notably, while performing in World Championship Wrestling, Ray Traylor wrestled under the alias "The Guardian Angel" for a short time, complete with an authentic Guardian Angels uniform.[citation needed] In 1998, the Angels authorized Casio to release a limited edition of G-Shock Guardian Angels Raysman watch (DW9300GA-4T, module 1584), dominated by Red with Black accent. Around metal bezel, it is printed "We Dare to Care", "Guardian Angels" & "Safety Patrol". The watch also features a titanium caseback with Guardian Angels logo.[citation needed]
[edit] Outside of the United States
In the years since their founding as thirteen people in the Bronx, the Angels have grown into a worldwide, multi-national group.
[edit] Japan
A local organization of the Guardian Angels was formed in Japan in 1996, which has a low violent crime rate compared to many other industrial countries. Recently, however, Japan is beginning to experience greater public disorder and criminal activity. The Guardian Angels Japan has chapters in most of the major cities and is second only to America in membership and activities. Keiji Oda, the founder and president of the Guardian Angels Japan, joined the Boston and New York City chapters in the 1980's. As with most American concepts, the Guardian Angels received both immediate acceptance and rejection in Japan. However, Oda succeeded in convincing Japanese officials that the organisation would be run by Japanese members for the Japanese people, and the principles of the organization were not just American but universal. Official acceptance culminated with a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2005. The Guardian Angels were the first community organization in Japan to ever be awarded non-profit status.[6][7]
Four members of the Japanese Guardian Angels appear in an episode of Insomniac with Dave Attell filmed in Tokyo. Dave interviews them before their attention is diverted to an (apparently) drunk and disorderly individual.[citation needed]
[edit] United Kingdom
In London the Guardian Angels have been active since 1989, however, by 2007 they have become a very small group of around 12 and with very little activity. In Britain, the law requires citizens acting in self-defence to use only "reasonable force" which is appropriate to the situation, which leads to Guardian Angel training to centre on using the minimum possible force and to only use force to prevent a dangerous situation from escalating. All violent crimes are reported to the police, and intervention leading to citizens' arrests (legal in Britain) or use of force is only employed in extreme cases.[8]
Their presence in London was highly controversial in the first decade of existence, press articles having likened their actions to vigilantism. In 1989, discussion in Parliament raised the possibility of American members of the Guardian Angels being deported owing to their presence being "not conducive to the public good" but this was rejected.[9]
[edit] South Africa
The Guardian Angels South African Chapter was started by Charl Viljoen in 2004 in Cape Town.[10][11] Other chapters are in Kuilsriver, Cape Town, Western Cape and Potchefstroom, North West Province.[12][13]
[edit] Canada
In Calgary, Alberta, on March 24, 2007, a group of Guardian Angel trainees did one last training patrol, the day before their expected graduation day. They toured the East side of the downtown.
A Toronto chapter was originally formed in 1982 and ran until 1984. A smaller chapter ran briefly in the Parkdale area of Toronto in 1992 but disbanded. The 2005 "Boxing Day shooting" resulted in the death of teenager Jane Creba on a busy downtown street, and provoked renewed attention to law-and-order issues in Canada, and Curtis Sliwa stated that he had been contacted by many Torontonians interested in having a local chapter. On July 13, 2006, a new chapter of the Guardian Angels Canada formed in Toronto, Ontario. However, both mayor
David Miller and police chief Bill Blair stated they were not interested in trying what had not worked twice before.[14] When Sliwa arrived with 3 other Angels, Miller declined to meet with them, stating that police work was best left to the police. Despite the opposition of the Mayor, community groups, and the police chief, the Toronto Chapter moved ahead. 2006 mayoral candidate Jane Pitfield expressed her support for the Guardian Angels as did former television anchor Peter Kent and former professional boxer (and now radio talk show host) Spider Jones. Toronto's first group of Guardian Angels hit the streets Thursday, July 13 for their inaugural patrol in the city's downtown core.The group's official launch in Toronto came just two days after members were forced to move their graduation ceremony from a seniors residence on Dundas Street.
David Miller and police chief Bill Blair stated they were not interested in trying what had not worked twice before.[14] When Sliwa arrived with 3 other Angels, Miller declined to meet with them, stating that police work was best left to the police. Despite the opposition of the Mayor, community groups, and the police chief, the Toronto Chapter moved ahead. 2006 mayoral candidate Jane Pitfield expressed her support for the Guardian Angels as did former television anchor Peter Kent and former professional boxer (and now radio talk show host) Spider Jones. Toronto's first group of Guardian Angels hit the streets Thursday, July 13 for their inaugural patrol in the city's downtown core.The group's official launch in Toronto came just two days after members were forced to move their graduation ceremony from a seniors residence on Dundas Street.
A Vancouver chapter was in operation as of November 2006. There was a chapter there in the early 1980s. Some of the alumni from that group are assisting with the new chapter.
A attempt to organise a chapter in Ottawa failed after the police and city refused to cooperate plus a negative reaction and lack of interest from the majority of its population
A Halifax chapter is in operation as of May 2008. Recent outbreaks of violent crime in Halifax had prompted citizens to contact the Guardian Angels, urging them to start a chapter.[16][17]
[edit] New Zealand
In January 2006, the Guardian Angels opened its New Zealand Headquarters in Henderson, a suburb of Waitakere City west of Auckland, New Zealand's fifth largest and largest cities respectively (to be amalgamated with others into a "super-city" in 2010). The NZ National Director is Andy "Chieftain" Cawston.
New Zealand's inaugural Guardian Angels Patrol was held on January 13, 2006. Since then, Guardian Angels have also been active in South Auckland; however the activities of that Chapter have been temporarily halted for logistical purposes.
On August 30, 2007 Curtis Sliwa graduated the Auckland CBD Chapter, led by Anna "Kimodo" Cruse. This Chapter's first official Patrol was on the following evening, August 31, 2007.[citation needed]
Members of the Wellington Chapter held their inaugural training and orientation Patrol on October 6, 2006 in the Auckland CBD.
Within New Zealand, The International Alliance of Guardian Angels is recognized and registered as a Charitable Trust for tax purposes. Their headquarters is the Henderson Returned Services Association Inc. offices on Railside Avenue, Henderson, NZ.
[edit] Mexico
[edit] Australia
A Guardian Angels Chapter actively patrolled in Sydney in the early nineties but disbanded after a short time. A Chapter was formed in Canberra, the Capital City, in 2008 but has yet to begin patrolling although some school and internet safety programs are being conducted.
[edit] In popular culture
- The Guardian Angels were spoofed in the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories as "The Avenging Angels" but instead with green bomber type jackets.
- In the "Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City" episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mac and Dee become vigilantes that mimic the Guardian Angels.
- In Trigger Happy TV, a hidden camera show, a man presenting himself as a commander of the Guardian Angels verbally abuses tube passengers while yelling "Everybody okay? Everybody is safe".
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1958
(1)
1960
(1)
1961
(1)
1962
(1)
1964
(6)
1965
(1)
1966
(2)
1967
(2)
1968
(1)
1969
(1)
1972
(1)
1973
(1)
1976
(1)
1977
(3)
1978
(2)
1979
(15)
1980
(2)
1981
(9)
1982
(3)
1984
(1)
1986
(1)
1989
(6)
1990
(17)
1991
(10)
1992
(4)
1993
(15)
1994
(4)
1997
(2)
1999
(3)
2001
(3)
2002
(4)
2003
(2)