Paul Morantz

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Paul Morantz is an American investigative lawyer and journalist. He is known for taking legal cases accusing brainwashing by cults, self-help groups and for sexual offenses by psychotherapists. He is considered an expert in this field. His successful prosecution of Synanon caused an attempt against his life, by means of a rattlesnake.

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Early life and career

Morantz was born and raised in Southern California. After high school, he served in the United States Army in 1963 for six months as a reserve army. He then attended Santa Monica City College and the University of Southern California (USC) as a journalistic majors. Morantz became a sports writer for the USC Daily Trojan newspaper newspaper . In 1967 he interviewed O. J. Simpson. Later that year he became the daily co-sports editor of the Trojan along with Lance Spiegel.

In 1968, the Los Angeles Times offered Morantz a job as a sports writer but he decided to move on to law school. While in law school, Morantz took up writing positions for the Pigskin Review . She plays for USC Law School in an intramural basketball league.

After graduation, Morantz became a Los Angeles public defender. He left the public defender's office in 1973, then worked part-time as a lawyer and author. During this time, he developed his long article about Jan and Dean surf singers later published in Rolling Stone magazine, and wrote stories for films made for television.

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Litigation history

Kidnapping at nursing home

In 1974 Morantz found a criminal conspiracy to kidnap domestic junkies and put them in a nursing home where they remained drugged with Thorazine while the state was billed via Medis/Medicare and their social security checks were taken. The Los Angeles County Superintendent called for a four-point investigation on January 23, 1975, after hearing testimony that patients were often anesthetized, their ability to communicate with anyone outside the agency was restricted, and held in facilities behind locked gates and barbed wire if they tried to leave. Morantz filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of a former patient, testifying about the misuse of a nursing home during a public hearing and assisted in the establishment of a district attorney's task force in a nursing home for crime.

Synanon

In 1977, he investigated the Synanon drug rehabilitation agency, which has a reputation as a seemingly successful program to rehabilitate drug addicts in which existing traditional hospitals have failed. Its founder, Charles Dederich, a former alcoholic, founded it in 1958 as a non-medical self-help program that included "Games," a session in which participants acted against hostilities and sought truth about themselves while not being bound by the truth in making critical attacks one another. Synanon claimed to have healed thousands of people, but in 1967 Dederich turned the organization into a "lifestyle" by recruiting non-addicts ("squares") and building cities in Marin County, then Tulare County and finally Lake Havasu.

In 1974, Synanon declared himself a religion and centered on the search for the middle class for utopia rather than treating addicts. At that time, Synanon's assets, including real estate, ten aircraft, 400 cars, trucks, and motorcycles, totaled about $ 33 million. His advertising and gift business in particular reached $ 2.4 million in 1976 while donations and other revenues added another $ 5.5 million. Rules are enacted to require a non-smoking diet, diet, exercise, group marriage, shaved head, vasectomy, abortion and couples exchanges. About 200 couples "change pairs." Members are trained in "Syndo" (The Martial Arts) with elites stationed in Imperial Marines who are trained for and perpetrate violence against their enemies.

In 1977 Morantz warned that Dederich's government authorities mandated violence against his enemies ("a government of terror") and filed lawsuits on behalf of former members and victims. Morantz later stated in 1985 that he was among the 50 victims of Synanon's "reign of terror" from 1975 to 1978.

Rattlesnake Attack

Members of Synanon began to show violent behavior, which culminated in 1978 when Dederich inspired followers to try to kill Morantz. Three weeks earlier Morantz had won a $ 300,000 appraisal against Synanon on behalf of a married couple. The couple claimed that his wife had been taken hostage by Synanon and during his stay, the leaders at Synanon had attempted to brainwash him.

On October 10, 1978, Morantz was bitten by a rattlesnake that had been placed in his Pacific Palisades mailbox by two Imperial Marines Synanon, Lance Kenton and Joe Musico. Neighbors apply a tourniquet that saves Morantz's life. Suddenly the fireman cut off the snake's head with a shovel, and found that the rattle had been removed so the snake could strike without warning. Morantz was hospitalized for six days.

Werner Erhard and est

In May 1978, Werner Erhard and the central officials offered to train the entire town of Parlier, located in San Joaquin Valley, for free. Two city council members who had attended the training supported him but many city members dropped out after training began and controversy over the presence of est in the community emerged. Morantz came to Parlier to help the town. Morantz said the free training offers an attempt to use force persuasion tools across the community. "Everything I see there scares me," Morantz said. "That's really one of the frightening things I've seen."

Morantz then went to Deputy Chief Barry Wade of the Los Angeles Police Department and LAPD police in an effort to stop giving free training for LAPD officers. After Morantz's contact and warning, the LAPD and Union Union ended the association and training with est after one session.

Therapeutic Feelings Center

Morantz represents about forty former members of the Center for Therapeutic Feelings who, after nine years of rebellion against the Center, caused the closure in 1980. Many former members then sued founding therapists in what was then the biggest psychological malpractice suit in California. history. The Center, a product of the Human Potential Movement, was split from Primal Therapy, and was led by Richard "Riggs" Corriere and Joseph Hart who referred to themselves as "Butch Cassidy and Sundance kid of Psychotherapy" and as "New Freuds." "This also resulted in the removal of many of their therapist's licenses.

During court proceedings, California's appeals court in Rains v. The High Court (Center for Psychological Feelings of the Corp) decided to support Morantz that the use of physical boxing by the Center ("Sluggo therapy") could be the basis for battery claims despite the patient's consent to be hit.

Seven years after the therapeutic community ended, the Corriere and Hart licenses were removed. Four psychologists were found guilty of negligence, incompetence, patient harassment, aiding and abetting unlawful psychological practices and false advertising after 94 days of trial before Administrative Judge Robert A. Neher.

Molko v. The Holy Spirit of Ass'n for the Unification of World Christianity

Morantz provided pro-bono assistance to the plaintiffs in Molko's case in which the California Supreme Court would decide whether religious organizations could be prosecuted for deceptive brainwashing. In 1988, after his investigation into the Unification Church, the state high court stated that religious organizations could be sued for deliberate fraud and suffering from emotional distress when they use brainwashing techniques.

John Gottuso

In 1988, Morantz succeeded in taking the representation of former female patient pastor-psychotherapist John Gottuso for his sexual misconduct with his patients as a relief for their psychological and spiritual life. As a result, Park View Christian Fellowship pastor/therapist in California lost his license to practice psychotherapy and the right to be involved in his preschool school.

A decade later Morantz again represented six adults and five former students in a 1996 civil suit against Gottuso, his church, and his private school. The lawsuit for sexual harassment and psychological abuse was settled in March 1998 for $ 3.2 million. In response to this case, California passed a related law banning private school teachers who by past acts could not teach in public schools.

Other cases, legislation and law enforcement

He has filed lawsuits against the Church of Scientology, People's Temple, Hare Krishnas, Rajneesh movement and other religious groups. Morantz also works side by side with an anti-cult lawyer on Ford Greene law and a Los Angeles County class action lawsuit, Thomas Girardi.

He has collaborated with reforming theorists and anti-cult writers such as Margaret Singer, Louis Jolyon West, among others. He helped write California laws establishing the requirements under which religious organizations could be sued for redress.

In Hall v. Great Western Bank (1991) 231 Cal. Application. 3d 713 [282 Cal.Rptr. 640] Morantz argues successfully that banks can not dismiss employees for reasons that would violate public policy.

In 2013 the Santa Monica City Council gave Morantz a compliment signed by the Mayor of Santa Monica for his case against Synanon and a dedication to the well-being of others.

"In 2016, a bill that Morantz worked on for several years to protect minors from the violated institution was passed in California and signed into law by Governor Edmund Brown, Jr." http://www.sia-now.org/tag/paul-morantz/

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Publications and other works

Books

Morantz, Paul; Lancaster, Hal (2013). Escape: The War of My Lifetime Against the Sect (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: Cresta Publications. ISBNÃƒ, 0-18-213220-X . Retrieved June 4 2012 .
Morantz, Paul (Oct 28, 2014). From Miracle to Madness: The Real Stories of Charles Dederich and Synanon (issue 1). Los Angeles: Cresta Publications. ISBNÃƒ, 0-692-29966-1 . Retrieved April 28 2015 .

Journalism

PINK JUSTICE - Judge Exam Noel Cannon (or How I Sail Los Angeles City Courts), The Los Angeles Times (1967).
Scouting Technique, University of Southern California Pigskin Review (1969).
They Call it Sam's Corner, University of Southern California Pigskin Review (1970).
Incident at Lola's, West Magazine's Supplement from The Los Angeles Times (1972)
Superstar Anthony Davis, Do You What They Said You ?, Los Angeles Magazine (1973).
The Way Back from the Dead Man Curve: Jan Berry's Tragic Life with & amp; without Dean Torrence, Rolling Stone magazine (1974).
Fingerprinting: How a crime lab frames William DePalma, Coast Magazine (1975).
Lindh: a young man caught in the Crime Net, The Los Angeles Times (January 2002).
The Devil and John Walker, Center for Freedom of Thought (2002).
From Nazi and Guillotines Santa Monica Daily Press (May 12, 2015).
CHASING ANNIE HALL Boryanabooks (September 1, 2015).
Where Did You Lost Gross Harry ?.
There Goes The Robert E. Lee (2015).

Scenario

Deadman's Curve, a CBS-TV movie based on Jan Berry and Dean Torrence's music career that aired in 1978 and 1979.

William Ramsey Investigates : Paul Morantz - BRAINFEED.TV