05.31.2013. memorandum in opposition to petition. lucas daniel smith. columbia university. supreme...

7/28/2019 05.31.2013. Memorandum in Opposition to Petition. Lucas Daniel Smith. Columbia University. Supreme Court of t

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SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORKNEW YORK COUNTY

In the matter of the Application of JPMorgan Chase Index No. 154375-2013Bank, N.A., Trustee of the Trust Created Underan Indenture of Trust Executed by Lydia C. Chamberlain MEMORANDUM INon March 20,1920, for an Order Liberalizing and Modifying OPPOSITION TO PETITIONthe Provisions of Said Trust Pursuant to EPTL $ 8-1.1 (c)COMES NOW the Interested Party LUCAS DANIEL SMITH, Pro se (hereinafter "InterestedParty No. 4"), and the Interested Party J. SMITH, Pro se (hereinafter "Interested Party No. 5"),in the above captioned case and state the following in support of this Memorandum inOpposition to Petition.

On or about the 1Oth day of May in the year 2013 a Petition was filed in the HonorableSupreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, by JPMORGAN CHASE BANK,N.A., moving this Honorable Court to, essentially, alter a Trust executed (1920) by LYDIA C.CHAMBERLAIN and modifu conditions of, and eliminate or exclude prerequisites of,scholarships/fellowships known as the LYDIA C. RORBERTS GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPSand the LYDIA C. RORBERTS TRAVELLING FELLOWSHIPS.

Petitioner JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. seeks relief which includes categoricallyeliminating and significantly modifying the following scholarship/fellowship prerequisites whichare listed under Requested Relief on pages 10 thru 13, section 12, subsection (a) and (b) of theabove referenced Petition, to wit:

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(a) "The Lydia C. Roberts Graduute Fellowship shall be awarded only to persons of theCuucasian Fuce"

(b) "The Lydia C. Roberts Gruduate Fellowship shall be awarded only to person ... bornin the State of lowa, who, having been graduutedfrom a college or university locatedin the State of lowa"

Interested Party No. 4 and Interested Party No. 5 are both Caucasian Americans who wereborn in the State of Iowa in the 1980s to American citrzen parents. Interested Party No. 4 andInterested Party No. 5 have both studied at college/university in Iowa.

Interested Party No. 4 was also student at two universities in Repriblica Dominicana(Dominican Republic) including PUCMM - Pontificia Universidad Cat6lica Madre y Maestra(Mother and Teacher Pontifical Catholic University) en la capital Santo Domingo la tiena maslinda del mundo entero.

Interested Party No. 4 is husband to una morenita Dominicana una chica tan bella, vacana,mi amor preciosa, mi vida, mi cielo, mi reina, mi negra ya sabe que tE aMo mucho :*

Interested Party No. 4 has lived between the United States of America y la ReptiblicaDominicana for more than a decade.

Interested Party No. 5 graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor of Fine Arts(BFA). Interested Party No. 5 was also a student at Kirkwood Community College in CedarRapids,Iowa.

Interested Party No. 4 and Interested Party No. 5 appear to be eligible for the LYDIA C.RORBERTS GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS as they appear to meet the three prong prerequisite

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which stipulates that candidates must be (1) Caucasian, (2) born in the State of Iowa and (3)educated at a college/university located in the State of Iowa. Interested Party No. 4 andInterested Party No. 5 are candidates for the LYDIA C. RORBERTS GRADUATEFELLOWSHIPS. Moreover, Interested Party No. 4 and Interested Parly No. 5 will berestrictively, punitively and discriminatorily injured if the Honorable Court grants the reliefsought by the Petitioner JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., which, essentially, asks theHonorable Court to alter a Trust executed (1920) by LYDIA C. CHAMBERLAIN and modifyconditions of, and eliminate or exclude a three prong prerequisite which stipulates thatcandidates must be (1) Caucasian, (2) born in the State of Iowa and (3) educated at acollege/university located in the State of lowa.

Caucasian prereq uisiteThe US Supreme Court has not ruled that race-based scholarships are unconstitutional, much

less at a private college or private university such as Columbia University. The last time that USSupreme Court ruled on anJthing with remote resemblance to race-based scholarships was intwin cases:

GRUTTERv. BOLLINGER, 539 U.S. 306 (2003)GRATZ v. BOLUI,{GER 539 U.S. 244 (2003)

In the Gratz case the Court said unconstitutional to University of Michigan's undergraduateaffirmative action admissions policy. In a 6-3 decision announced on June 23,2003, ChiefJustice Rehnquist, writing for the Court, ruled the University's point system's "predeterminedpoint allocations" that awarded 20 points to underrepresented minorities "ensures that the

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diversity contributions of applicants cannot be individually assessed" and was thereforeunconstitutional.

In the Grutter case the Court upheld the affirmative action admissions policy of theUniversity of Michigan Law School. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, writing for the majority in a5-4 decision, ruled that the University of Michigan Law School had a compelling interest inpromoting class diversity. The court held that a race-conscious admissions process that mayfavor "underrepresented minority groups," but that also took into account many other factorsevaluated on an individual basis for every applicant, did not amount to a quota system that wouldhave been unconstitutional under Regents of the UniversiQ of California v. Bakke, 438 U.S. 265(1978) in which the Court ruled unconstitutional the admission process of the Medical School atthe University of California at Davis, which set aside 16 of the 100 seats for "Blacks,""Chicanos," "Asians," and "American Indians" and established a separate admissions process forthose 16 spaces.

In the Grutter case the Court's majority ruling, authored by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor,held that the United States Constitution "does not prohibit the law school's narrowly tailored useof race in admissions decisions to further a compelling interest in obtaining the educationalbenefits that flow from a diverse student body. " Yet, on page 1 0 of the Petition filed byJPMORGAN Chase Bank, N.A., the Petitioners asserl that "Columbia UniversiQ is nowprohibited by law and (lniversity policy from discrimination on the basis of race. " Affirmativeaction admissions, by definition, imply that someone (likely a Caucasian) will be discriminatedagainst on the basis of race.

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Affirmative Action, as it is presently constructed, may have been relevant in 1960s, 1970sand possibly the 1980s but it does not appear that it still is. The focus mayaway from specific races/colors, to all races/colors who find themselves atdisadvantase.

need to now shiftan economic

Poor (economically) white Americans or Caucasians are abundant, plentiful and in relativelylarge number in the State of Iowa. Up until recently when Interested Party No. 4 discovered thePetition filed by JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. he was not aware of anyscholarships/fellowships geared to be awarded to Caucasians or anyone born in the State ofIowa. Interest Party No. 4 has, however, long been aware of scholarships geared to be awarded,exclusively and singularly, to students of color (non-white minorities) such as the Richard EamerEndowed Scholarship at Pepperdine University/Seaver College in Malibu, California.Caucasians or white Americans are not elisible for the Richard Eamer Endowed Scholarshin.

In the year 2003 two conservative groups, the American Civil Rights Institute and the Centerfor Equal Opporlunity, sent letters to Pepperdine University/Seaver College challengingPepperdine's race-based scholarships and threatening litigation if the school did not open uptheir programs to other all races. Pepperdine refused to budge. When Pepperdine refused to endor alter its Richard Eamer scholarships, the two conservative groups filed a formal complaintagainst Pepperdine with the Office for Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Education. Thecomplaint alleges that Pepperdine is in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.The complaintdemands that the Education Department force Pepperdine to open the scholarship program tostudents of all races or risk losing its federal financial support.

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A decade later, now the year 2013, the complaint appears to still be under consideration atthe U.S. Deparlment of Education and the Richard Eamer Endowed Scholarship is still available,exclusively and singularly, to students of color.

Paradoxical or contradictory as it may sound after reading the Petition filed by JPMORGANCHASE BANK, N.A., moving the Honorable Court to categorically eliminate a race-basedprerequisite, Lee C. Bollinger, current President of Columbia University, is and long has been aprominent advocate and proponent of race-based eligibility programs in public and privateeducational institutions.

As referenced in the foregoing US Supreme Court cases Lee C. Bollinger was the nameddefendant in the twin cases Gratz and Grutter in which the plaintiffs sought relief fromdiscriminatorily race-based eligibility programs.

Lee C. Bollinger is also the author of the books Uninhibited, Robust, and Wide-Open: AFree Press for a New Century (2010), Images of a Free Press (1994) and The Tolerant SocieQ( 1 e88).

Born in the State of Iowa prerequisiteIn support of Petitioner's request to significantly modify the prerequisite cited in the abovereferenced subsection (b), Petitioners asset on page 12 of their Petition, very specifical1y, that" ...Columbia University in unable to identifu which of its students were born in lowa.... " andthat because of that the scholarship/fellowship should be modified to be awarded to either one ofthe following:

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2. Person who "have graduatedfrom a college or university in the Stute of lowa"Petitioner's positiorVargument that "... Columbia UniversiQ in unable to identifu which of its

students were born in lowa.... " is unequivocally inappropriate and unreasonable. ColumbiaUniversity does not need to identify which of its students were born in Iowa.

The only students or candidates who would need to submit evidence of birth place would bethose students or candidates applying for the LYDIA C. RORBERTS GRADUATEFELLOWSHIPS and the 'LYDIA C. RORBERTS TRAVELLING FELLOWSHIPS.Moreover, the number of students/candidates eligible for said fellowships/scholarships would be,as the Petitioners seem to assert, overall, in their Petition, relativeiy limited in number.

There is an official document which legally identifies a person's birth place and thisdocument is available to individuals born in Iowa (or any State) and can provided bystudents/candidates seeking the said scholarship/fellowship, in appropriate application, toColumbia Universitv.

This document in known as a Birth Certificate or a Certificate of Birlh and certified copiescan be obtained (in person or in mail), for a nominal fee, from county and state governments inIowa (or from any State).

Interested Party No. 4has a certified copy (State record) of his original certificate of birth (aform which was originally filled out by the birth hospital and then forwarded to the IowaDepartment of Health) and a certified copy (County record) of his abstract of birth.

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Said state record indicates that Interested Party No. 4's mother lived at 1600 A Avenue NE,Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402, Linn County and that Interested Party No. 4 was born at theUniversity Hospitals, Iowa City, Iowa 52242, Johnson County.

A redacted certified copy of Interested Party No. 4's (Lucas Daniel Smith born 01.04.1980),State of Iowa, Certificate of Live Bifth (State record - copy of original), issued 06.16.2003, isattached to this Memorandum In Opposition to Petition as Exhibit A.

A redacted certified copy of Interested Party No. 4's (Lucas Daniel Smith born 01.04.1980),State of Iowa, Certificate of Live Birth (County record - abstract), certified copy issued01.10.2003, is attached to this Memorandum In Opposition to Petition as Exhibit B.

Interested Party No. 4 notes here for historical record that his county government (JohnsonCounty, Iowa) abstract of birlh (Exhibit B) was also used in lieu of a US Passport whenInterested Party No. 4 conducted his very first journey to Repirblica Dominicana (DominicanRepublic) in April, 2003. Dominican entry and exit passport stamps are affixed to the back sideof Interested Parly No. 4's abstract of birth (Exhibit B).

It is the position of Interested Parly No. 4 and Interested Party No. 5 that, at the time of thewriting of this Memorandum in Opposition to Petition, every surviving (i.e., living) person whowas bom in the State of Iowa, has a government birlh record which is available to him or her viastate or county governments within the State of Iowa.

Paee 7. section 9 of JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.. PetitionPetitioner assefts, on page 7, section 9,that "Due to a change in circumstances since the Trust'sexecution in 1920, the Trust's restrictions on a candidate's eligibilityfor afellowship award

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make it impractical and/or impossible for Columbia [Iniversity to award a fellowship pursuantto said restrictions."

As Interested Party No. 4 and Interested Party No. 5 have demonstrated in the foregoingpages 1 thru 8 of this Memorandum in Opposition to Petition there really and truly is nothing"impractical," and absolutely and categorically nothing "impossible," abouLtthe"restrictions ona candidate's eligibility " which is essentially a three prong prerequisite which stipulates thatcandidates must be (1) Caucasian, (2) born in the State of Iowa and (3) educated at acollege/university located in the State of Iowa.

WHEREFORE Interested Party No. 4, Pro se, and Interested Party No. 5, Pro se,respectfully move this Honorable Court to considerer granting any and all relief which theHonorable Courts deems appropriate and honorable including, though not limited to, thefollowins:

Petitioner JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., has requested that a hearing be held at theNew York County Courthouse, Room 130, on June 5, 2013, at 9:30 a.m., or as soonthereafter that counsel can be heard for an Order. Interested Party No. 4, Pro se, andInterested Party No. 5, Pro se, have just relatively recently become aware of the Petitionfiled by JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A and request that such a hearing not be held orscheduled for at least 90 (ninety) days from the date of the Honorable Court's receipt ofthis Memorandum in Opposition to Petition.In order to meet the filing deadline in Case Index No. 154375 -2013 Interested Party No.4, Pro se, and Interested Party No. 5, Pro se have not had adequate time to marshal adefense and credible & compelling supportive evidence. The foregoing impromptu

B.

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Exhibit ARedacted certified copy of Interested Party No. 4's (Lucas Daniel Smith born 01 .04. 1 980), Stateof Iowa, Certificate of Live Birth (State record - copy of original), issued 06.16.2003.

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Exhibit BRedacted certified copy of Interested Party No. 4's (Lucas Daniel Smith born 01.04.1980), Stateof Iowa, Certificate of Live Birth (County record - abstract), certified copy issued 01.10.2003.

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05.31.2013. memorandum in opposition to petition. lucas daniel smith. columbia university. supreme...

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