Fred Phelps

Religious Leader

Fred Phelps was born in Meridian, Mississippi, United States on November 13th, 1929 and is the Religious Leader. At the age of 84, Fred Phelps biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.

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Other Names / Nick Names
Frederick Waldron Phelps, The Al Capone of Christianity, Freddy
Date of Birth
November 13, 1929
Nationality
United States
Place of Birth
Meridian, Mississippi, United States
Death Date
Mar 19, 2014 (age 84)
Zodiac Sign
Scorpio
Profession
Lawyer, Pastor
Fred Phelps Height, Weight, Eye Color and Hair Color

At 84 years old, Fred Phelps has this physical status:

Height
190cm
Weight
Not Available
Hair Color
Not Available
Eye Color
Blue
Build
Average
Measurements
Not Available
Fred Phelps Religion, Education, and Hobbies
Religion
Baptist
Hobbies
Not Available
Education
Meridian High School, Meridian, MS; Bob Jones University
Fred Phelps Spouse(s), Children, Affair, Parents, and Family
Spouse(s)
Margie Marie Simms ​(m. 1952)​
Children
13, including, Shirley Phelps-Roper and, Nathan Phelps
Dating / Affair
Not Available
Parents
Not Available
Siblings
Megan Phelps-Roper (granddaughter)
Fred Phelps Career

Phelps earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1964, and founded the Phelps Chartered law firm. However, in 1969, upon a finding of professional misconduct, authorities suspended him from practicing as a lawyer for two years.

Phelps' first notable cases were related to civil rights, and his involvement in civil rights cases in and around Kansas gained him praise from local African-American leaders.

"I systematically brought down the Jim Crow laws of this town", he claimed. Phelps' daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper was quoted as saying, "We took on the Jim Crow establishment, and Kansas did not take that sitting down. They used to shoot our car windows out, screaming we were nigger lovers." She added that the Phelps law firm made up one-third of the state's federal docket of civil rights cases.

Phelps took cases on behalf of African-American clients alleging racial discrimination by school systems, and a predominantly black American Legion post which had been raided by police, alleging racially based police abuse. Phelps' law firm obtained settlements for some clients.

Phelps' national notoriety first came from a 1973 lawsuit (settled in 1978) on behalf of a 10-year-old African-American plaintiff, Evelyn Renee Johnson (some sources say Evelyn Rene Johnson), against the Topeka Board of Education (which had, in 1954, famously lost the pivotal racial discrimination case of Brown vs. Board of Education, ending legal racial segregation in U.S. public schools), and against related local, state and federal officials. In the 1973 case, Phelps argued that the Topeka Board of Education, in violation of the 1954 ruling, had not yet made its schools equal, and by attending Topeka's east-side, predominantly minority schools, the black plaintiff had received an inferior education.

Initially, Phelps attempted to file the case as a class action, in the U.S. District Court for Kansas. Asking the court to order an end to the alleged discrimination and suggesting that busing might be at least one remedy, Phelps also sought $100 million in actual damages, plus another $100 million in punitive damages—or, alternatively, $20,000 for each of the 10,000 students he claimed were in the aggrieved class of victims. Nevertheless, the federal district and appellate courts denied the class action filing, limiting the case to Phelps's initial plaintiff, Evelyn Johnson, alone.

The case fueled a national debate about racial integration of schools, and prompted the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, by 1974, to order the Topeka board to develop corrective remedies.

Topeka's school board did not contest the charges. On the guidance of its insurance provider, it settled the litigation (with no admission of wrongdoing) for $19,500—$12,400 of which went to Phelps. While the settlement drew some praise, controversy arose when the judge ordered the settlement amount sealed at the request of the insurer—apparently with Phelps's approval. (Details leaked out to the media anyway.) Phelps announced he would file more such cases, as class actions, but the insurance company stated it would not pay for any more of them.

In 1986, Phelps sued President Ronald Reagan over Reagan's appointment of a U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, alleging this violated separation of church and state. The case was dismissed by the U.S. district court.

Phelps' law firm, staffed by himself and family members, also represented non-white Kansans in discrimination actions against Kansas City Power and Light, Southwestern Bell, and the Topeka City Attorney, and represented two female professors alleging discrimination at Kansas universities.

A defeat in his civil rights suit against the City of Wichita and others, on behalf of Jesse O. Rice (the fired executive director of the Wichita Civil Rights Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), among other causes, would lead to further legal actions ending in Phelps' disbarment and censure.

In the 1980s, Phelps received awards from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of Blacks in Government and the Bonner Springs branch of the NAACP, for his work on behalf of black clients.

A self-published 1994 book by Jon Michael Bell averred that, although Phelps worked on behalf of many black clients, he allegedly expressed racist views. One of his sons, Nate, stated that Phelps largely took civil rights cases for money rather than principle. Nate said that his father "held racist attitudes" and he would use slurs against black clients: "They would come into his office and after they left, he would talk about how stupid they were and call them dumb niggers." His sister, Shirley, denies Nate Phelps' account and claims he never used racist language.

A formal complaint was filed against Phelps on November 8, 1977, by the Kansas State Board of Law Examiners, due to his conduct during a lawsuit, against a court reporter named Carolene Brady, who had failed to have a court transcript ready for Phelps on the day he asked for it. Although it did not affect the outcome of the case, Phelps sued her for $22,000.

In the ensuing trial, Phelps called Brady to the stand, declared her a hostile witness, and then cross-examined her for nearly a week, during which he accused her of being a "slut", tried to introduce testimony from former boyfriends whom Phelps wanted to subpoena, and accused her of a variety of perverse sexual acts, ultimately reducing her to tears on the stand.

Phelps lost the case. According to the Kansas Supreme Court:

In an appeal, Phelps prepared affidavits swearing to the court that he had eight witnesses whose testimony would convince the court to rule in his favor. Brady obtained sworn, signed affidavits from those eight people in question, all of whom said that Phelps had never contacted them and that they had no reason to testify against Brady.

Phelps was found to have made "false statements in violation of DR 7–102(A)(5)". On July 20, 1979, Phelps was permanently disbarred from practicing law in the state of Kansas, although he continued to practice in federal courts.

In 1985, nine Federal judges filed a disciplinary complaint against Phelps and five of his children, alleging false accusations against the judges. In 1989, the complaint was settled; Phelps agreed to stop practicing law in Federal court permanently, and two of his children were suspended for a period of six months and one year, respectively.

Source

In the 'Witch Trials' podcast, JK Rowling addresses the transgression row

www.dailymail.co.uk, February 21, 2023
With the first two episodes of 'The Witch Trials of JK Rowling,' she said, she said, 'I never set out to upset anyone.' However, I was not keen on being pushed off my pedestal. "You've destroyed your legacy,' and certainly in the last ten years, especially on social media,' and I'm sure you could not have misunderstood me more deeply.'

JK Rowling reveals her ex-husband hid the manuscript for first Harry Potter to stop her from leaving

www.dailymail.co.uk, February 21, 2023
JK Rowling (left) revealed that her alcoholic ex-husband hid the manuscript for the first Harry Potter book (bottom right) in an attempt to discourage her from leaving him. Jorge Arantes, a Portuguese television reporter, kept Harry Potter and Philosopher's Stone like a "hostage," the author said, and she feared he'd burn them. She started photocopying a few pages a day to ensure that her work would not be lost after discovering where the manuscript was located. She made the revelations on 'The Witch Trials of JK Rowling', hosted by Megan Phelps-Roper (top right), with the first two episodes releasing today.