Confidential Facebook Records of Gibson’s Bakery Clerk Unsealed By Trial Court On Oberlin College-aligned Media Request
I assume we will hear the details in news reports or future court filings by Oberlin College, if there is anything prejudicial in the records.
In a strange ending to a long series of motions and appeals, trial court Judge John R. Miraldi has unsealed confidential Facebook records of Gibson’s Bakery store clerk Allyn D. Gibson, who was not a party or witness in the underlying trial that resulted in massive verdicts for the family bakery.
Allyn D.’s stop of a black Oberlin College student for shoplifting set off protests, boycotts, and allegations of racial profiling that led to the court case and trial. We still await the Ohio 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in which (1) Oberlin College is challenging the compensatory and punitive damage awards totalling, after reduction under Ohio tort reform law, $25 million, plus over $6 million in attorney’s fees, bringing the judgment to over $32 million, and (2) the cross-appeal by Gibson’s Bakery and two members of the Gibson family (including the widow of the late David Gibson) seeking to restore the full $33 million punitive damages award.
We detailed this very strange saga in our most recent post, Exclusive: Trial Judge Agrees To Release Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk Confidential Facebook Records. Please read that post for the background and how the local media came to Oberlin College’s assistance on the records.
As detailed in that post, despite questions as to whether Judge Miraldi had jurisdiction while the matter was pending in the Ohio Supreme Court, Judge Miraldi apparently, based on statements from his attorney, decided to unseal the records in exchange for the Writ of Mandamus filed against him being dropped.
On September 28, Judge Miraldi entered an order unsealing the record:
Today WEWS-TV filed to dismiss the action in the Ohio Supreme Court.
Pursuant to S.Ct.Prac.R. 4.05, Relator hereby applies for dismissal of this matter with prejudice. The basis for this application is that the court record at issue in this action has now been unsealed.
The records having been unsealed, I assume we will hear the details in news reports or future court filings by Oberlin College, if there is anything prejudicial in the records. The relentlessness with which the records were sought is curious at best.
This is all too strange. Judge Miraldi twice denied applications, first by the college then by the media, to unseal the records. The Writ in the Supreme Court was being opposed by Allyn D. on a motion to intervene. Why not just let it play out and allow the Ohio Supreme Court to rule?
I also wonder if the college will use this release in the pending appeal on the verdicts. That would be a tough sell because the records never even were offered at trial, but it could cause more delay
We will update this as more becomes known.
——————-
Our prior coverage of the Facebook issue:
- Cleveland Media Seek Access To Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk’s Sealed Facebook Records in Oberlin College Case, But Why?
- Gibson’s Bakery alleges Cleveland media collaborating with Oberlin College to unseal store clerk’s Facebook records
- Cleveland media fail to deny allegations of collusion with Oberlin College to unseal Gibson’s Bakery store clerk’s Facebook records
- To Dox The Store Clerk or Not, That Remains The Question In Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College
- We interrupt this pandemic to update you on Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College case
- Gibson’s Bakery v. Oberlin College – Court rejects attempt to unseal store clerk’s private Facebook records
- Cleveland Media appeal denial of access to Gibson’s Bakery store clerk Facebook records
- Update on Cleveland Media attempt to gain access to Gibson’s Bakery store clerk Facebook records
- Media Aligned With Oberlin College Take Quest To Unseal Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk’s Facebook Records To Ohio Supreme Court
- Oberlin College-aligned Media Effort To Unseal Gibson’s Bakery Clerk Facebook Records Goes To Briefing In Ohio Supreme Court
- Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk Intervenes Against Attempt By Oberlin College-aligned Media to Unseal His Facebook Records
- Exclusive: Trial Judge Agrees To Release Gibson’s Bakery Store Clerk Confidential Facebook Records.
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Comments
Sounds like Judge Miraldi was convinced to get his mind right.
Christine Blasie Ford showed up month ago at Miraldis house outta blue while wifey was mowing lawn.
Something’s fishy in Ohio.
His actions just set a new precedent and not in a good way. Now the door is open for anyone to challenge any court for access to sealed records in any case. I guess the term sealed has lost all meaning.
We are about to witness the emergence of “deep fakes” on social media.
I have been “cloned” and have both Instagram and Tik Tok accounts, even though I have never had an account with either platforms…..yet, there I am, picture of me grinning like a possum eating persimmons!
Torches and Pitchforks
Not if you really understand the enemy and how it operates.
Marxists will do anything and everything they can to hurt anyone perceived as an enemy. See the Soviet Gulag, for example.
Gibson’s Bakery is perceived as an enemy. And so are we.
Eventually they will come for Legal Insurrection and Prof. Jacobson.
They intend to crush any opposition.
The same way they went after opposition to Vaccine Shots. The science says a previously infected person does not need a vaccine. Bu it does not matter. Opposition will be crushed. And if that opposition speaks truth – all the more reason they will crush it.
This is an undeclared war.
I don’t think there’s any question that there will be a controversial statement on his Facebook page. The materials were provided to Oberlin’s team, but they couldn’t be released to the press because of the court seal, plus the fact that his Facebook posts were not used in the court case.
This ruling clears the way for Oberlin’s accessories in the media to crucify the Gibson family based on these posts.
From WEWS-
Bakery lawsuit against Oberlin College
Judge unseals evidence in Gibson Bakery lawsuit
Gibson Bakery
By: Clay LePard
Posted at 5:58 PM, Sep 30, 2021
and last updated 3:57 PM, Sep 30, 2021
Newly released social media posts shed new light on student claims
After arguing before the court for nearly two years, News 5 won its attempt to unseal evidence in this case.
The evidence in question, known as “Exhibit G,” contained Facebook posts made by Allyn D. Gibson, the grandson of the owner of the bakery, and the individual who took part directly in the 2016 incident.
Until now, those posts were sealed by a judge, meaning neither the press nor members of the public had access.
The exhibit, submitted by Oberlin College, shows posts from 2012 to 2017 where Allyn D. Gibson shared to others how he and his family’s store were perceived as being racist.
The posts also go a step further.
In April of 2016, Allyn D. Gibson posted on one friend’s wall, “not my fault most black ppl around my area suck.”
Allyn Gibson Quote 1
Lorain County Court of Common Pleas
Less than four months before the 2016 incident, Allyn D. Gibson posted his frustration over being called racist saying, “if these lazy ***** want to start working then they could earn their own money. That’s what my family does for money… work.”
His post, made on a friend’s Facebook wall, goes on to say, “People spit at me and call me racist at least a few times a month. 100 % of those people deserve to die. **** them all to hell.”
I read that as being more of a “town vs. gown” rant. He seems mad that entitled college students play the race card at the drop of a hat. Assuming that the 5-letter expletive shown here is a reference to fornication and not a racial slur, I would probably wholeheartedly agree with him.
This was never a “fishing expedition” by Oberlin. They already knew there was something there that would make Allyn look bad. It obviously wasn’t something that would be germane to the court case,because their lawyers never tried to use it. My guess is that he said something derogatory about BLM or the group at Oberlin that will allow the media and SJW activists to “cancel” him. Purely a case of ‘mutual assured destruction’s on Oberlin’s part.
Meh. “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” Anything can be spun to look bad, they just needed to get hold of the raw material to make it look real.
“Racist” by association. Smear campaign.
My guess is that he is an actual racist, and that the sealed records contain evidence of this. But it’s irrelevant. He wasn’t a party to the case, so his opinions are nobody’s business, and the news industry has no legitimate interest in knowing them or telling the public about them. His being a racist doesn’t change the fact that Oberlin slandered the plaintiffs (which did not include him) and caused them material damage, for which it owes them tens of millions in compensation.
I lived in the area before and during this period. The Gibsons are certainly conservative (compared to Oberlin that’s not a big statement!). Allyn worked the store regularly, and in my opinion was pretty suspicious of everyone equally. That store was robbed of all its cash multiple times during my stay there. It was very old school – no debit or credit machine. Allyn himself had the rep as being antisocial. But, again, toward ALL people. The college knows something is there that will look bad/can be spun, but actually Racist with a capital R? I have doubts, but as you say it is irrelevant. Last I heard, the townies were very supportive of the Gibsons and this whole affair widened an already wide town/gown divide.
“ … his opinions are nobody’s business …“. Given that Allyn once upon a time posted to Facebook, arguably he has already made them the publics’ business. Even if they were exposed to a limited group of “Friends” that is a fairly weak defense to full release. Moral of the story? Be careful what you post on the Internet.
Perhaps. Let’s continue that logic and see if you disagree. The motions, pleadings, exhibits, depositions, transcripts, rulings from the bench; the complete record of the trial CT is presented in a public domain. All fair game for reporting and public dissemination.
Here the CT is adding results from a subpoena of an non party to the suit which had no bearing on the trial, were not introduced at trial and are not part of the trial record. That’s completely novel and will definitely have future repercussions in folks fighting v complying with a subpoena and their ability to successfully resist a subpoena.
The next logical step is to add the records and details of settlement discussions and publicly disclose the terms of the settlement. Nobody wants that. It makes settlement to avoid or mitigate bad PR as well as sue and settle litigants less likely. Further this decision invites abuse in issuing subpoena to everyone under the sun to intimidate and harass a counter party into submission by targeting the communications of family members or others who are only tangentially related to the case. Very bad idea IMO.
There is something odd here. There was no reason for the trial judge to do this while the case is on appeal
As a lawyer and a citizen, this one is very difficult to accept. Allyn challenged in the Appeals court the release of the records, which is still pending, yet the trial judge released the records, with no opportunity for Allyn to challenge? There had better have been a pre-release waiting period to allow Allyn to challenge the release in the trial court, or there are some pretty big moral and legal issues. I’d love to dig in to the rights of publicity/privacy out there in Ohio, but by circumventing Allyn’s due process, how would this not be a false light violation BY THE JUDGE?
Absolutely bad ruling. The Judge is a coward..I suspect he was threatened with the release of information about himself. As for the clerk’s Facebook postings, I suspect that a defense attorney leaked the info to the press, ie, told the press what was posted. However it appears the info is irrelevant and hence inadmissible, so this is just a smear job.
Now let’s get the Facebook, Twitter, and other social media records of Ashli Babbitt’s murderer.
Yes, diversity (e.g. racism, sexism) may have been a motive for what was a novel apology for self-defense against an unarmed woman in a prone position.
Having conducted two hearings, the results of which were both times to deny the release, how does the Judge legally release those records now without a hearing and without giving affected parties a chance to object?
Did ex parte discussions occur? It sure seems possible.
Someone should file a complaint with Ohio’s judicial conduct commission. The judge’s actions involved a glaring conflict of interest, and resulted in a gross misjustice.
I’d go further. He acted ultra vires by acting while the appeal was pending, and he’s now on the hook personally (his house, car, retirement accounts, SS payments, etc.) for any $millions this costs the Gibsons.
Diversity, inequity, and exclusion.
Did the judge act ultra vires here? Sure seems like it to me, and so he will deserve all the personal liability he has assumed.
Oberlin is patiently waiting for Kamala Harris to come and tell them, “Your truth cannot be suppressed.”
Never known a judge who wasn’t a crooked as a corkscrew alcoholic.
I don’t understand what evidentiary relevance, procedural grounds or equitable grounds the judge could find to justify this utterly horrible decision. Gibson isn’t a party to the case, and, his social media posts had no bearing on the tortious conduct that is at issue in the case and that was grounds for the judgment in the Bakery’s favor. It just doesn’t make any sense. As a judge, I would have rejected the motion on the grounds that the records sought had no bearing on the case and that the motion was a clear attempt by Oberlin to malign the plaintiff in the eyes of the media, which is plainly Oberlin’s motivation, here.
It is almost as though the legal system is compromised and doesn’t rely on the law.
. . .. and as if they don’t want you to know.
These are the kinds of actions that undermine the rule of law and degrade society.
Sorry but the owner’s grandson/employee making racist statements would be 100% relevant to a slander case where some university grandee accused the Gibson’s of racism.
I cannot tell whether the defense had access to these statements pretrial.
So rule of law no longer has any meaning. Good to know. I suspect the left isn’t going to be happy about that in the long run since they’ve used it to protect themselves as well.
Since the records are now public, can the Ohio Supreme Court rule they must not be released, or is the damage done?
Can you put toothpaste back in the tube?
Yes.
How can this judge order release when the matter is still pending before a higher court? Does the court hierarchy mean anything in Ohio?
Most likely the Biden administration flexed its muscles and pressured Miraldi. How else do we explain the sudden reversal? I hope we get to find out how they did it.
A federal investigation should be initiated.
> Except, Garland.
WEWS Story here-
https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/local-news/oh-lorain/judge-unseals-new-evidence-in-gibson-bakery-lawsuit-against-oberlin-college
I’m guessing, half of Ohio would agree with his sentiments, privately.
This is a good example of why I warn people that anything you say on the internet will be available forever for anyone who wants to use it against you.
I honestly don’t think that there’s anything in those facebook records that are actually racist. But then they will be twisted by a willing MFM to make him sound racist.
Recall how NBC edited out the fact that the police dispatcher asked George Zimmerman if the suspicious guy casing houses (Trayvon Martin) was black, white, or Hispanic. To make it look like Zimmerman was a racist who just blurted out that the guy he was following looked black.
As Glenn Greenwald pointed out in a tweet, when the MFM is caught in a lie they just move on to the next lie. Lying is the point.
https://pjmedia.com/columns/kevindowneyjr/2021/09/29/clown-world-fake-news-is-the-only-approved-news-while-real-news-gets-you-banned-on-social-media-n1520610
https://legalinsurrection.com/2021/09/your-truth-cannot-be-suppressed-kamala-harris-supports-student-who-accused-israel-of-genocide/
People who hate America hate Israel. Everything they say about America is a lie, starting with “the 1619 project.” When Nicole Hannah-Jones was taken to the woodshed by historians who exposed her lies, did she care. She claimed she never said it was history (another lie; she did in the NYT) but that she wanted to put racism and slavery at the center of the “narrative.” Narrative bein another word for “pack of lies.” So of course Kamala Harris didn’t push back against this Muslima spewing another “narrative.” Instead Harris called it “your truth.”
The Oprah-esque notion that everyone’s personal truth can’t be questioned is simply an extension of the fact that the anti-American left doesn’t believe there’s any such thing as objective truth. In fact, if you read what the CRT mongers write believing in objective truth is simply another ugly sign of “whiteness” that needs to be destroyed.
Interesting, isn’t it? The leftists who spent four years calling Trump a liar don’t believe that truth even exists.
Doxx the judge.