C. Vernon Mason
Encyclopedia
C. Vernon Mason is an African-American lawyer from Tucker, Arkansas. Best known for his involvement in several high profile New York City cases in the 1980s, including the Bernhard Goetz
, Howard Beach, and Tawana Brawley
incidents, Mason has not practiced law since his 1995 disbarment. He then served as the CEO of a non profit organization. He is also an ordained minister.
and earned a Master's in Business Administration from Indiana University
. He then graduated from Columbia Law School
earning a Juris Doctor
and, later, earned the Master of Divinity, and the Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Theological Seminary
.
the Howard Beach incident.
, were advisors to Tawana Brawley
, an African-American teenager who claimed to have been abducted and sexually assaulted by at least three white men, including at least one police officer and assistant district attorney Steven Pagones
. However, a Grand Jury investigation into Brawley's allegations determined that she "had not been abducted, assaulted, raped and sodomized as had been claimed" and that "the 'unsworn public allegations against Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Steven Pagones' were false and had no basis in fact." Pagones filed a $385 million dollar lawsuit against Brawley and her advisors for twenty-two purported defamatory statements; Mason was found liable of making one defamatory statement and ordered to pay $185,000.
The court cited 66 instances of professional misconduct with 20 clients over the course of 6 years as its rationale for the action, including "repeated neglect of client matters, many of which concerned criminal cases where a client's liberty was at stake; misrepresentations to clients [and] refusal to refund the unearned portion of fees". This ruling prohibited Mason from practicing law for three years. Though Mason's involvement in the Brawley case was not specifically cited, Mason would allege that the ruling was intended to punish him for the Brawley case.
Bernhard Goetz
Bernhard Goetz is an American man best known for shooting four young African American men who tried to mug him on a New York City Subway train, resulting in his conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. He came to symbolize New Yorkers’ frustrations with the high crime rates of the early...
, Howard Beach, and Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley is an African-American woman from Wappinger, New York. In 1987, at the age of 15, she received national media attention in the United States for accusing six white men, some of whom were police officers, of having raped her...
incidents, Mason has not practiced law since his 1995 disbarment. He then served as the CEO of a non profit organization. He is also an ordained minister.
Education
Mason graduated from Morehouse CollegeMorehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
and earned a Master's in Business Administration from Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
. He then graduated from Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
earning a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
and, later, earned the Master of Divinity, and the Doctor of Ministry degree from New York Theological Seminary
New York Theological Seminary
The New York Theological Seminary was established as a non-denominational institution in 1900 with the founding of the Bible Teachers’ College in Montclair, New Jersey by Wilbert Webster White. President White moved the school to New York City in 1902, when it was renamed the Bible Teachers’...
.
Bernhard Goetz
Mason was co-counsel for Darrell Cabey, one of the four men shot by Bernhard Goetz, in the famous New York "subway vigilante" case.Howard Beach incident
Mason was one of the lawyers retained by the family of Michael Griffith, manslaughter victim inthe Howard Beach incident.
Tawana Brawley case
In 1987 Mason, along with Alton H. Maddox and Al SharptonAl Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
, were advisors to Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley
Tawana Brawley is an African-American woman from Wappinger, New York. In 1987, at the age of 15, she received national media attention in the United States for accusing six white men, some of whom were police officers, of having raped her...
, an African-American teenager who claimed to have been abducted and sexually assaulted by at least three white men, including at least one police officer and assistant district attorney Steven Pagones
Steven Pagones
Steven Pagones is a former Assistant District Attorney in Dutchess County, New York who was accused in 1987 by Tawana Brawley of raping her. A grand jury investigation concluded that Brawley had not been the victim of an attack and may have simulated the appearance of an attack herself.Pagones...
. However, a Grand Jury investigation into Brawley's allegations determined that she "had not been abducted, assaulted, raped and sodomized as had been claimed" and that "the 'unsworn public allegations against Dutchess County Assistant District Attorney Steven Pagones' were false and had no basis in fact." Pagones filed a $385 million dollar lawsuit against Brawley and her advisors for twenty-two purported defamatory statements; Mason was found liable of making one defamatory statement and ordered to pay $185,000.
Disbarment
Mason was disbarred by the New York State Appellate Court in 1995.The court cited 66 instances of professional misconduct with 20 clients over the course of 6 years as its rationale for the action, including "repeated neglect of client matters, many of which concerned criminal cases where a client's liberty was at stake; misrepresentations to clients [and] refusal to refund the unearned portion of fees". This ruling prohibited Mason from practicing law for three years. Though Mason's involvement in the Brawley case was not specifically cited, Mason would allege that the ruling was intended to punish him for the Brawley case.