Are fair trials are for Christians only?

Tamara Semiklose and her husband own a small stable in Florence, SC where she gives beginner riding lessons to middle and low income children. They have been married for 16 years and have 3 beautiful children who are honor students and have never been in trouble. Mr. Semiklose, a navy veteran with several Good Sailor Awards has worked for at the same company for the past 13 years.All in all they are a typical American family.

2 years ago, they entered into a property dispute over a horse with a neighbor and one time good friend. Mr. Semilkose decided to take this neighbor to court to regain their property or to be compensated appropriately for it. It should have been a simple civil trial in which the parties presented their evidence as it pertained to the case at hand. In the courtroom of Judge Eugene Cooper however, the “facts” of the case and the question of religion, if you are not a Christian anyway are apparently two different matters. The lawyer for the defendant, Attorney Gary Finklea apparently thinks that if you practice a religion other than Christianity, you are not entitled to the same protections under the law.

During the trial, it became known that Mrs. Semiklose is a Pagan and has been for over 25 years. (Note here that Mrs. Semiklose was not a plaintiff in this matter, only Mr. Semilkose who is NOT a pagan was a party to the lawsuit.) This information was presented to the jury in the form of questions to each witness for the prosecution. Questions such as, “Do you believe in God? Are you Wiccan? Do you have morals?” were repeatedly asked of anyone who was believed to be part of the circle of people that Mrs. Semilkose worshiped with. This line of questioning was objected to, but the Judge allowed the questions to be asked and insisted they be answered because it “established moral credibility”. These questions were not asked of the defense or of the witnesses who where known to be Christian or who identified as protestant when asked.

In the end, the case was settled in favor of Mr. Semiklose in spite of this public display of discrimination by the defense and the Judge however what exactly did they win? Mrs. Semiklose as well as her circle had been “outed” in a court, she lost three riding students as a result and her business has yet to recover. While at the time, they were outraged by the treatment they had received at the hands of the court, they decided to let things drop and try to pick up their lives at that point and go on.

However, early this year a damaged tree from the property of the same neighbor fell on one of their horses. It was a clear case of fault and they asked only that the vet bills be paid by the responsible party; however the case again ended up in the Florence county Magistrates Court to be settled.
This time, as the Semiklose’s interviewed lawyers to take their case; they were quoted outlandish retainer fees or told outright that the lawyer would not take their case because of Mrs. Semiklose’s religion. Mr. Semiklose decided that because the case appeared to be very straightforward he would represent himself. He was prepared to be questioned about his religion, but was sure that this time it would not be an issue because he was not Pagan.

Much to his surprise on April 10, 2007 in Judge Langley’s courtroom the defense attorney, Mr. Finklea, again began his barrage of questions regarding the prosecutions moral “rights” to be in court. The questions this time centered on his wife (who was not even present in the courtroom). “What religion is your wife? Is your wife Wiccan? Do you go to church? Do you go to your wife’s services?”. Again, this was allowed to “establish moral credibility”. However questions regarding the defendant’s drug record, her time spent at rehabilitation, her custody loss of her children and her husbands arrest record were all marked as off limits to the prosecution. Once more the jury found in favor of Mr. Semiklose and awarded him the amount he was requesting. This time however the Semiklose’s and their circle of friends decided that this could no longer continue to be the status quo of courtroom conduct in America.

The laws against discriminating because of race, religion or creed exist in this country for good reasons. American values are founded on the fact that you can receive a just and fair court ruling based on the facts of the case not the color of your skin or the book you worship from. This is fundamental to who we are as a country and how democracy works. It is easy to uphold these laws with people who are similar; however the very fabric of our society relies upon the laws being upheld for those who are completely different from us. Each and every one of us, no matter what our religious leaning, is responsible for making sure that those entrusted to uphold the law and speak for us in court are held to the highest standard of conduct. Please contact both of the Judges and the Attorney involved in this article (information provided in the link below...) and let them know that in the United States of America, We the People will not tolerate religious discrimination in our courts, in our laws or in our lives.

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