C. Vernon Mason

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C. Vernon Mason is a former lawyer and civil rights advocate from

Tawana Brawley
incidents, Mason has not practiced law since his 1995 disbarment. He then served as the CEO of a non-profit organization. He is also an ordained minister.

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 the Master of Divinity, and the Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Theological Seminary.[1]

Notable cases

In 1983 Mason and

Donna Payant.[citation needed
]

Mason was co-counsel for Darrell Cabey, one of the four men shot by

Bernhard Goetz in the famous 1984 "subway vigilante" case.[2]

Mason was one of the lawyers retained by the family of

Michael Griffith
, manslaughter victim in the Howard Beach incident.[3]

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"[4] and that "the 'unsworn public allegations against Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Steven Pagones' were false and had no basis in fact."[4] Pagones filed a $385 million lawsuit against Brawley and her advisors for 22 purported defamatory statements; Mason was found liable of making one defamatory statement and ordered to pay $185,000.[5]

Disbarment

Mason was disbarred by the New York State Appellate Division, First Department, in 1995.[6] The court cited 66 instances of professional misconduct with 20 clients over the course of 6 years as its rationale for the action,[7] including "repeated neglect of client matters, many of which concerned criminal cases where a client's liberty was at stake; misrepresentations to clients [and] refusal to refund the unearned portion of fees".[8] 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.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Rev. Dr. C. Vernon Mason". The New York Theological Registry. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  2. ^ "VIGILANTE SUED FOR $50 MILLION;ONE VICTIM REPORTED 'NEAR DEATH'". South Florida Sun Sentinel. 1985-01-30. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  3. ^ "Black Lawyer Pleased By Special Prosecutor". New York Times. 1987-12-13. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  4. ^
    New York State. Archived from the original
    on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  5. ^ Feuer, Alan (2001-06-15). "Sharpton's Debt in Brawley Defamation Is Paid by Supporters". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  6. ^ James, George (1995-01-27). "State Appellate Court Disbars An Advocate of Civil Rights". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-02-08.
  7. ^ "Matter of Mason". Leagle. 26 January 1995. Retrieved 2016-05-05.
  8. ^ James, George (1995-01-27). "State Appellate Court Disbars An Advocate of Civil Rights". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  9. ^ Bruni, Frank (1997-12-10). "Defendant Becomes an Issue in Slander Case". New York Times. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
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