Desert Messenger

10 www.DesertMessenger.com June 17, 2015 JONES FROM PAGE 3 After much hype and publicity, Jones fi nally had her day in court, but instead, fi led two Emergency motions just prior to the 9 am hear- ing. The subpoenaed Jury Pool was assembled next door; the attorney for the Town, Larry Jay Crown of Titus Brueckner & Levine PC, was in attendance along with witnesses for the Town: former Quartzsite Town Manager Alexandra Taft, For- mer Quartzsite Chief of Police Jef- frey Gilbert and former Quartzsite Police Detective Richard Patterson. Quartzsite Mayor Ed Foster was in attendance supporting Jones. Judge Teilborg denied Jones' fi rst motion which asked the court to reconsider and rescind a previous motion allowing witnesses to testify via telephone. Jones then argued for an extension. She explained that many of her wit- nesses were in public service and "it would be impossible for them to testify without a subpoena." Jones said there was no "physical way" to serve her witnesses all over the state of Arizona in a timely manner. She also said she was learning very quickly, but did not expect to have to represent herself in this case. Jones complained about being with- out a vehicle and having to travel to Phoenix multiple times to fi le. She also stated it was not possible for her to travel without making prior arrangements for her show dogs to be cared for. Jones said she made "every effort possible" to fi nd a lo- cation in Phoenix for her dogs. She also reached out to people through social media, but "could not fi nd anyone willing to accommodate the dogs with electricity." She said she had problems with her email and even admitted to not reading an important notice from the Court. "Given I only had 21 days to sponta- neously have 15 witnesses to prepare questions for, to locate if I could, to get subpoenas issued for, to get subpoenas served for...Nowhere in my logical mind did it occur to me that the May 26th date was being carried over," said Jones. She said she thought they were "back to the point of proposing dates." Judge Teilborg mentioned Jones' lengthy document seeking an exten- sion, calling it a masterpiece with citations and rulings a lawyer might prepare. He asked Jones how long she worked on it. Jones replied, "Every waking moment from the 12th [of May] until last night until about 10 pm." Judge Teilborg suggested the amount of time spent on the document could have been used to get subpoenas out and preparing her witnesses. Jones said she didn't think the judge would actually approve her most re- cent attorney's request to withdraw from the case. "Never in a million years did I dream that you would grant that order" and not be allowed time to seek additional counsel. She stated she even went to the Arizona Governor's Inaugural and asked former Governor Jan Brewer's son if he would take a look at the case, but she didn't hear back from him. Jones admitted fault in that she "did misunderstand the plain read- ing of what was in front of me. I'm throwing myself on the mercy of the court" and said she was not ready to proceed at this point. After a 20 minute recess, Court re- convened. Judge Teilborg denied Jones' motion for an extension. He said, "to move the case forward would invite the same litany of fail- ures and excuses from the Plaintiff." Teilborg stated, "Plaintiff's claim that she was unaware of the trial date simply is not credible." He said, "Plaintiff CHOSE to fi le in Federal Court in Phoenix." Regarding the jurors, Judge Teil- borg said, "some may have come from regions even further than Quartzsite!" The Judge also stated Jones did not seek more time to fi nd counsel af- ter her 2nd attorney asked for with- drawal. Earlier this month, the clerk of the court sent an email to Jones with full instructions to prepare for trial date of May 26th. Judge Teilborg stated Jones "dis- regarded Court's orders." He also stated, "The court has bent over backwards to accommodate the plaintiff's needs." When Senior Judge James A Teil- borg of U.S. District Court DIS- TRICT OF ARIZONA (Phoenix Division) asked if Jones was ready to move forward with the hearing, Jones replied, "No, your honor, I'm prepared to go home and take care of my dogs." Case Dismissed! Just 3 days later, in the case of "Jen- nifer Marie Jones v. Town of Parker et al" U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan dismissed the case (CV-14- 01907) with prejudice. He stated Jones had fi led so many similar suits, that any future suits could have her judged a "frivolous liti- gant." At the heart of this case was a search warrant for her property issued by Parker Town Magistrate James Putz-Artrup in 2013. Jones also claimed Desert Messenger publisher Shanana Rain Golden- Bear defamed her sterling reputa- tion by publishing an offi cial Town of Quartzsite Press Release issued after the search warrant. While stating Jones could be judged a "frivolous litigant" in fu- ture suits, Logan declined to label this case as frivolous. He said the case had been fi led before the oth- ers were dismissed, and Jones had not been informed of the repetitive nature of her claims. Jones has stated she will appeal both cases, but as of press time has not fi led. (Jones was also publisher of a Quartzsite tabloid from Dec. 2010 to Jan. 2015)

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