In 2014, “school” tried to drag me into some ridiculous legal bullshit. Following Scientology’s Step-by-Step Guide to Frivolous Litigation, a plaintiff I’d never met filed papers in New York. A court server delivered the documents — a chronicle of boring and tedious fiction couched in legalese — to my home in Massachusetts.

You see, this woman wanted to sue someone, but didn’t know who. Another anonymous “evil” blogger had ruffled her feathers. Her problem was not mine to solve, but the-woman-I’d-never-met apparently decided  that I was the “sole source” of the offending blogger’s identity ….did  “school’s” special  sauce make her psychic? … apparently not.  

The papers demanded that I attend a court date in New York City to provide the identity of someone I didn’t know to bolster her “meritorious lawsuit” (cough). The big case went nowhere. I did not cross state lines to say, “I don’t know who you should sue.” I did keep the documentation for posterity. I hope “school’s” counselor milked them for as much as he could get.

In hindsight, I can be snarky. But it’s stressful to be sued even by a complete stranger claiming a ridiculous fabrication, even for information that you don’t have, even from a state that holds no jurisdiction over you, even from a city you haven’t seen in almost a decade. Believe me, the New York courts didn’t care about the expense, the inconvenience, the cost to me, my sanity, or  (ironically) my free speech –free speech being a pillar of democracy, a civil right and necessary for sanity and good mental health — or due process. That’s the point. When cults sue, they don’t care if they win, they just want to stress your pocketbook and your sanity enough to get you to shut up. That’s the Scientology way. That’s the cult way, right Geoff C, Josh L? Perhaps you’d like to comment.

Thanks to a friend, who is a lawyer, who worked his network, I have lifelong, pro bono counsel, from well-regarded global firm. But cults know that most whistleblowers don’t get so lucky. They know how to abuse and manipulate the courts to muzzle critics. After my legal odyssey ended, I teamed up with the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) to conduct a study on frivolous cultic litigation. ICSA just published the following interview/article, with attorney Peter Skolnik, in its journal, ICSA, Today. The interview is one component of ICSA’s efforts to address cultic court abuse.

To learn more cultic court tactics and how to fight them, read: Free Speech and Cultic Litigation

You can also read the article here: Seeing Into the Heart of Things …. another blog exposing “school”.

Okay, that’s all for now, folks. Have “school”-free day! GSR