Christic Institute
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The Christic Institute was a public interest law firm founded in 1980 by Daniel Sheehan, his wife, Sara Nelson and their partner, William J. Davis, who was a Jesuit priest. Its headquarters were based in Washington, D.C. with several offices in other major United States cities, such as San Francisco, California.
The institute first gained national prominence in a successful lawsuit against the Kerr-McGee Nuclear Power Company, representing Karen Silkwood, a battle that was later made into the motion picture, Silkwood. The firm also won won a civil verdict against members of the Ku Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party, and the Greensboro, North Carolina Police Department for the 1979 murder of five anti-Klan demonstrators.
The law firm's most high-profile case was Avirgan v. Hull, filed on behalf of journalists Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey against more than two dozen individuals, some of whom were to emerge as figures in the Iran-Contra scandals. Avirgan and Honey were present at the La Penca bombing of a press conference being held by Nicaraguan Contra leader Eden Pastora. Three journalists were killed and Pastora and Avirgan were among the wounded. In 1985, Avirgan and Honey charged a reputed CIA contract employee, John Floyd Hull, of being involved in the La Penca bombing. Hull unsuccessfully sued the reporters for defamation, who had retained the Institute's Sheehan as counsel. Shortly afterward, Sheehan and the Institute brought a massive Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) suit, charging that the La Penca bombing was a result of a conspiracy carried out by a "secret team" that had operated since the 1950s outside the control of government oversight. Days before the trial was to begin, Judge James L. King dismissed the case, claiming Christic's attorneys had failed to present evidence against the man identified in the suit as the bomber. Following an unsuccessful appeal, Christic was ordered to pay over $1 million in court costs for the defendants, effectively bankrupting the firm.
In the wake of the dismissal, Christic attorneys and Honey and Avirgan traded accusations over who was to blame for the failure of the case. Avirgan and Honey eventually claimed that the bombing was carried out by an Argentinian working under the direction of the Sandinista government of Nicaragua.
Sheehan and Nelson currently serve as President and Executive Director of the New Paradigm Institute, an alternative public policy think tank.
The graphic novel Brought to Light used material from lawsuits filed by the Christic Institute.
[edit] References
- Greensboro Justice Fund. Justice and the Greensboro Massacre.
- Christic is charged with abusing tax-exempt status. National Catholic Reporter. 1992 vol. 28, no.28:6.
- Costa Rican investigation backs Christic charges. National Catholic Reporter. 1990 vol. 26, no.14:5.
- Guthley Eric. Pursuing the Shadow Government. Southern Changes. Vol. 10, No. 5, 1988:5-9.
- Corn, David. Is There Really a 'Secret Team'?", The Nation, July 2/9, 1988
- Bacher, John. For Lack of Evidence: It's Hard to Sue the Secret Team. Peace Magazine Aug/Sep 1988.
- Rev. William J. Davis, S.J. What is the Christic Institute? PeaceNet Archives
- Spartacus Education. Danieal Sheehan.
- Schou, Nick. Who Killed Col. James Sabow? Orange County Weekly. February 17, 2000.
- Berlet, Chip. Big Stories, Spooky Sources. Columbia Journalism Review, May-June 1993.
- La Penca and beyond - 1984 bombing in Nicaragua at a press conference held by Eden Pastora - Editorial. The Progressive, June, 1996.
- New Paradigm Institute. A Brief History.
