IMPORTANT..... BAN ON US FLAG CASE

The US Supreme Court denied the Writ of Certiorari in the case of Wyndham verses Richard and Ava Oulton". November 7, 2002 Background: It was on July 4th 1999 that the Wyndham American Flag case first became a news story after the developer of Wyndham denounced the American Flag atop Oultons flag pole as a Visual Nuisance" that if allowed to stand and fly could threaten property values in the upscale Wyndham community. Wyndham is a 1,600 home planned community in Western Henrico which was developed by HH Hunt of Blacksburg, VA. Richard Oulton is a combat-wounded veteran of service with The Walking Dead Marines of the 1st Battalion, Ninth Marine Regiment. In Viet-Nam his battalion, with a typical strength of 800 men, endured the longest sustained combat and the highest battalion casualty rate to unit strength of any battalion in the history of the US Marines. From June 1965 to August 1969 the dead" suffered Marines killed in combat in 48 of those 51 months. There are 605 names of Walking Dead Marines" on the Viet Nam Memorial Wall for a unit strength Killed in Action KIA" rate of 76%. Ava Oultons family was driven from their home by war with the communists. She came to America at age 12. Two of the Oultons three children were adopted as orphans from China. All the Oultons are proud Americans.

Henrico Court ruling:
In June 2001 Judge Harris of the Henrico Circuit courts upheld with the Wyndham assessment of the American Flag atop Oultons pole as a Visual Nuisance" and ordered the flag and pole to be toppled. Judge Harris awarded $88,858 in damages to Wyndham and set an appeal bond of $95,000 if the Oultons were to be allowed to appeal his decision. The bond included $6,142 for the cost reimbursement to the Henrico County police for the forced police toppling of the pole and American Flag. Finally included was money for a bulldozer to make the job easier for the Henrico Police and for a dump truck to remove both, presumably to the nearby Henrico dump.

US Supreme Court Petition
The decision of Judge Harris was appealed to the US Supreme Court as a petition for a Writ of Certiorari. The petition was filed on August 19, 2002. To discuss this with Oulton or to obtain faxed copies of the Oulton petition and/or of the September 25, 2002 filed brief of the Wyndham Foundation in opposition call Oulton at: office 747-1777 or cell: 334-6978

The Writ: A petition in Writ of Certiorari is not an appeal of the merits of the case.
It is instead simply a request for the highest Federal Court to accept an appeal. The US Supreme Court considered 252 Writs of Certiorari on November 1st. Of these 252 cases a Writ of Certiorari was denied in 247 of the cases. It is typical that of every hundred Petitions in Writ of Certiorari that only one or two, if any, will be accepted by the US Supreme Court.

Why was the case appealed to the US Supreme Court?
As the US Supreme Court is the highest court of the land, the Oultons felt that they owed it to all Americans to carry the fight to fly our American Flag to the highest court of our land. They did this knowing that it was highly unlikely that the Writ of Certiorari would be accepted by the court.

What is Next?
On Veterans day the Oultons will host the 4th annual Veterans Day picnic will be held at the Oultons house. This is, as always, free to any one that elects to honor our veterans by attending. Note that the picnic is from 3:30 to Sunset on Sunday November 10th. The event will conclude with a 21 rifle salute and bugler Taps" and flag retreat ceremony at sunset by the Memorial Rifles of The American Legion Post 84. The event is scheduled for Sunday November 10th to avoid any conflicts with traditional November 11th Veterans Day ceremonies.

What will follow in the Courts?
The Oultons have filed a suit that is based on the defenses that Judge Harris refused to hear. This case seeks $300,000 in compensatory damages and $1,000,000 in punitive damages. Judge Harris took Oultons important defenses and refused to hear them stating that the defenses needed be heard in a separate trial as they complicated the case too much. Recall, that Judge Harris announced just prior to the long promised jury trial that there would not be a jury as he would not be bound by the jurys verdict so why bother? Harris stated that he could overturn the jury anyway so he said that there was no point in having a jury decides the facts.

Is it likely that Oulton will win and that the American Flag will continue to fly?
If the judge allows the case to be heard before a jury it is likely that the American Flag will prevail. Judge Harris reasoning is taking the first American Flag case away from a jury just before the trial raised many still unanswered questions.

Will the American Flag and pole be toppled as ordered by Judge Harris?
As you know Judge Harris budgeted $6,142 for the possible cost of a police guarded toppling and disposal of the pole and American Flag. He specified that this money was for Henrico Police Department reimbursement and for the cost of a bulldozer and dump truck to remove the pole and flag (presumably to the nearby Henrico dump). Judge Harris allowed the pole and flag to be undisturbed during the past year and a half as his ruling went through appeals. As Harris, said the defenses needed to be tried separately, it is likely that he will continue to allow the American Flag to fly through the current cases and appeals if any are needed.    

Many thought this was ended when the Wyndham Flag Bill" became the law of Virginia. What Happened?
Yes, the 2000 session of the General Assembly passed the Wyndham Flag Law" by a vote of 140 to 0 and the Governor signed it into law. It said that any homeowner association restrictions on flying the American Flag or on poles to fly it were void and unenforceable unless they were specified in the rules at the time of purchase. Oultons rules" (all over 200 pages of them) never mentioned the words flag" or 'flag pole". In spite of the clear statutory mandate, Judge Harris ruled that the Wyndham Flag Law" did not apply to Wyndham.

Do you have other cases with Wyndham? What about the Henrico Circuit Court jury verdict of October 30th?
Tell us about possible future cases?
After the Oultons were denied a promised membership in The Dominion Country Club they sued the club. The Dominion Club is owned by the developer of Wyndham. Oulton asked for damages of only $2,640 as the case involved only a promised, then denied, membership in The Dominion Club. In spite of the less significant right that was violated, the jury awarded a unanimous verdict of $20,600 which was eight times more than the Oultons had sought.

In the Wyndham Flag case which again defends the right to proudly fly the American Flag, the Oultons are not asking for $2,640 damages. In the American Flag case they are seeking $1,300,000 in compensatory and punitive damages.