C. Vernon Mason

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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.

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[edit] 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.

[edit] Howard Beach incident

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

[edit] 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"[1] and that "the 'unsworn public allegations against Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Steven Pagones' were false and had no basis in fact."[1] Pagones filed a $385 million dollar lawsuit against Brawley and her advisors for twenty-two purported defamatory statments; Mason was found liable of making one defamatory statment and ordered to pay $185,000.[2]

[edit] Disbarment

Mason was disbarred by the New York State Appellate Court in 1995.[3] The court cited 66 instances of professional misconduct with 20 clients over the course of 6 years as its rationale for the action, which 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.[4]

[edit] 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.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Steven Pagones vs. Tawana Brawley et alia. New York State. Retrieved on 2007-08-26.
  2. ^ Sharpton's Debt in Brawley Defamation Is Paid by Supporters - New York Times
  3. ^ State Appellate Court Disbars An Advocate of Civil Rights. New York Times (1995-01-27). Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  4. ^ Defendant Becomes an Issue in Slander Case. New York Times.

[edit] External links

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