Talk:Kirk D. Lyons
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the following unreferenced material was relocated from the article page pending the addition of references. See Help:References.--Bob Burton 05:07, 20 November 2009 (EST)
Kirk David Lyons (born at McClellan Air Force Base, near Sacramento, California, June 17, 1956) is a North Carolina based Christian, civil rights/constitutional attorney and advocate for Confederate Southern Americans through peaceful, non-violent social and legal change. Lyons advocates primarily through his position as Chief trial counsel for the Southern Legal resource Center, Inc., a non profit South Carolina legal resources charity founded by him and others in 1995 with offices in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
EDUCATION
Lyons is a 1974 graduate of Anderson High School in Austin, Texas. Lyons a Behavioral Sciences degree(with honors) from the University of Texas at Austin in 1978.
Lyons attended college on United Daughter of the Confederacy Scholarships and by working half-time at the Texas State Library from 1974-1978.
After his 1st year and while working full time and attending Law School at night, Lyons earned a Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Bates College of Law in 1983. Lyons was admitted to the Texas State Bar in 1984.
COURT ADMISSIONS
Supreme Court of Texas 1984
Supreme Court of the United States
3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 8th, and 10th Circuits of the United States Courts of Appeal
United States District Courts for the Northern, Western and Southern Districts of Texas
United States District Courts for the Northern and Eastern Districts of Oklahoma
United States District Courts for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas
United States District Courts for the Western District of Pennsylvania
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Texas State Bar
American Civil Liberties Union
American Association for Justice (formerly American Trial Lawyer's Association)
FOUNDING THE SLRC
Lyons work for the last 15 years has centered almost exclusively on Confederate heritage cases involving usually student free speech, free expression in the workplace and federal civil right protection for Confederate Southern Americans under the national origin provisions of the Civil rights Act of 1964.
Lyons founded the Southern Legal Resource Center with 3 other attorney's to create an "ACLU" for Southern Heritage. Lyons signed on as the full time Chief Trial counsel in April 1998 and was a Director until 2002.
Lyons is the friend and mentor of black Confederate Activist H. K. Edgerton.
CURRENT SLRC CASES
Burleson v Cash: Three Burleson High School (Burleson, Texas) students denied the right to display their Confederate Flag purses. The case’s dismissal was upheld by the 5th Circuit and an appeal to the US Supreme Court is being considered.
Hardwick v Heyward: Latta High School (South Carolina) student denied the right to inoffensively display Confederate symbols, now on appeal to the 4th Circuit.
Co-counsel in a Confederate heritage student free speech case in Blount Co and Anderson Co Tennessee.
NOTABLE SLRC CASES AND CLIENTS
Jacqueline Duty, Russell High School (Kentucky) Senior denied entrance to her Senior Prom because of her Confederate flag themed prom dress
Timothy Castorina, Madison High School (Kentucky) student disciplined for wearing a Hank Williams, Jr concert shirt bearing a Confederate flag. This case is the law of the 6th Circuit.
Mrs. Alberta Martin – last Confederate Widow
Asheville Branch NAACP in a proposed investigation and lawsuit against the Asheville Affordable Housing Coalition. Lyons representation has never been rescinded.
PRE-SLRC WORK
Early in his legal career, Lyons represented controversial, high profile extremists in highly publicized criminal conspiracy prosecutions. For this work and his marriage at the Aryan Nations Church, several non- Christian, agenda driven, left of center groups continue to disparage and vilify Lyons as a "racist" or "white supremacist" based on these past "associations,” even though the last of these cases ended 15 years ago. Lyons vehemently rejects these labels, calling himself a Christian unreconstructed Southerner and since 2001 simply a Christian Confederate Southern American.
The Southern Poverty Law Center of Montgomery, Alabama (and a Black Mountain "activist" Monroe Gilmour) has made a cottage industry of castigating Lyons in the press, citing his past high profile advocacy of right wing figures and his 1990 marriage at Aryan Nations to the youngest sister of convicted Order member David Tate. When given the opportunity to respond to these charges, Lyons notes that his most controversial clients were innocent of the charges against them and their cases are ancient history.
Gilmour, who tracks Lyons in a website styled Western North Carolina Citizens for an End to Institutional Bigotry: http://www.main.nc.us/wncceib/index.html, under "Recent Activity," Gilmour's last entry is for August 2004, over 5 years ago.
Journalists routinely make guilt by association accusations of Lyons for being David Tate’s brother in law. Lyons usually responds as follows: “ Yes, I am guilty of the crime of falling in love with the beautiful, innocent and completely blameless sister of a controversial figure, but we have been happily married for 20 years and have 7 children – how does your marriage stack up to that?”
In recent years Lyons has worked to blunt what he calls the "unfair, strident and distorted criticism" of his controversial past. In the Fall of 2007 Lyons held an amicable meeting with WNCCEIB director Monroe Gilmour to explore resolution of leftist prejudice and distrust of Lyons' motives.
NOTABLE PAST CASES AND CLIENTS
In his high profile criminal defense work, Lyons has always maintained as a cardinal principal that he would not take to trial a defendant he did not believe was innocent.
USA v Louis R. Beam 1987-88 Beam - indicted for Seditious Conspiracy and placed on the FBI's 10 most wanted list - after a 2 1/2 month trial in Fort Smith, Arkansas along with 14 other men – all acquitted
USA v James Wickstrom 1988-90 Wickstrom, founder of Posse Commitatus was indicted on conspiracy and counterfeiting charges. In the trial a mistrial was declared. Wickstrom was convicted in the retrial.
NC v Douglas R. Sheets 1989 Sheets was accused of premeditated murder in the Shelby (NC) bookstore murders of 1988 - acquitted.
USA v. Stephen A. Nelson 1990 Nelson was charged with conspiracy to bomb homosexual bars- Convicted
Fred A. Leuchter - execution engineer and subject of Errol Morris Film documentary: Mr. Death, the Life and times of Fred A. Leuchter 1990 - 1992
Pulaski v. Thomas A. Robb Robb, a national KKK leader was charged with holding a Press conference without a permit. Convicted – overturned on appeal. 1991
Tom Metzger, founder of White Aryan Resistance- Lyons filed a writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court on behalf of Metzger only after the SPLC made it impossible for Metzger pay his own (Jewish) attorney. Also acted as a court-certified expert witness on the Klan in Metzger’s Los Angeles Cross burning prosecution.
Court certified Expert Witness on Right Wing groups for the defense in the federal prosecution of Jonathan David Brown, Nashville TN 1992.
Civil Attorney for Randy Weaver and family (very briefly) 1992
Attorney for 26 Burn survivors and families (mostly Black & Jamaican) from the Branch Davidian Standoff in 1993 up to the 2000 civil trial in Waco, Texas. 1st Attorney to arrive in Waco to advocate on behalf of fair treatment of the Branch Davidians. Responsible for securing Dick DeGuerin, Jack Zimmerman and other Texas Attorneys for the Branch Davidian legal team. Filed first Civil action against Janet Reno in the aftermath of the fire. 1993-2000.
Represented a member of the press, Louis R. Beam, after Beam was ejected from the Govt press conferences at Waco for asking a "bad question" 1993
Attorney for Andreas K. Strassmeir aka "Andy the German" - whom conspiracy kooks claim is involved (with Lyons as his "handler") as a CIA/Mossad plant in the Oklahoma City Bombing case. 1995- 2000
Leader of 3rd Party intermediary team in successfully ending the Montana Freeman standoff – the longest federal law enforcement siege in US History in June 1996.
Represented Anthony Strickland, the “Rodney King” of Western North Carolina 1995
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS
Lyons is an avid historian and former Museum Director who has made "living history" presentations to thousands of students and the general public since 1972.
Lyons joined the Children of the Confederacy in 1973, holding Division and General offices before aging out in 1977.
On his 21st birthday in 1977, Lyons, sponsored by Texas Division Cdr Ralph Green, joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV). Lyons has founded two Camps, served as Chief of Staff and Judge Advocate of the Dept of the Army of Northern Virginia, and served on the SCV’s General Executive Council from 2000-2002. Lyons unsuccessful bid to become ANV army Commander in 2003 attracted national publicity, including a story by former CBS anchor Dan Rather. Lyons has been an active voice for reform of the 113 year old organization since 1992 advocating that the organization model itself after the NRA, take steps to dramatically increase membership, agressively pursue Heritage defense and become the dominant spokesman for the Confederate/Southern community.
Political infighting and controversy within the organization (2002 – 2006) have led to fantastical claims of his influence within the SCV, although Lyons did render important service to the SCV during and immediately after the unsuccessful "Coup" attempt.
Lyons currently serves as Adjutant of his local Camp in Black Mountain and as Inspector for the Army of Northern Virginia.
Lyons serves as a museum and movie consultant and is a member of the Company of Military Historians,the Daguerrian Society and founded Living History Studies, Inc. In addition Lyons teaches and calls historical dances and is a folksinger. Lyons is a Scottish Country dancer and is a member of several clan and genealogy associations.
ARTICLES
Neo-Confederate Kirk Lyons on race, immigration and what could be his final flag case by Dick J. Reavis published in Raleigh Independent: http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A399347
