The following letters were authored by Dawson Gage in cell F-8 of the Orange County Detention Center in Hillsborough, NC. They were sent via US Mail to “Honorable Richard Baddour, Resident Superior Court Judge, c/o Orange County Courthouse, 106 East Margaret Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278”, and were conveyed to Dawson’s defense attorneys Samuel Coleman and James Rainsford, as well as to Judge Baddour, and possibly also to Assistant District Attorney Kelley Gauger. The letters are preserved in the case file of the Orange County case numbered 20 CRS 52266, from which they were retrieved and transcribed.
25 January 2023
Dear Judicial Staff,
Please be so kind as to scan/digitize this letter for Judge Baddour, and to forward copies thereof to District Attorney Jeff Nieman, and my defense attorney Mr. James Rainsford. Many thanks.
Regards,
Dawson Gage
25 January 2023
Dear Judge Baddour,
I hope you have had occasion since my first letter to study the 4 monumental documents for which I gave the links. They make plain not only my complete and thorough innocence as a matter of law from any allegation of “harassment”—since they attest to my “legitimate purposes”—but also that I am the victim of an unprecedented type of conspiracy which has included numerous elected officials, but whose main author and originator is District Attorney Benjamin David. Indeed, there is even a strange and conspicuous element of personal and political animus since Mr. David knows me quite well, given that I worked as a “special intern” in his prosecutorial offices in late 2014. Since then, once I became a civil and criminal defendant embroiled in multiple simultaneous proceedings, I undertook something which has not been done in our State in recent memory, which is to “read the law” in “the old-fashioned way”, under the guidance of my attorney and mentor Mr. Thomas Goolsby. If I may say so, this endeavor has been wildly successful, and after 5 years I can profess myself, though humbly so, learned and versed in North Carolina law. In light of this fact, I’d like to raise a serious note of protest at the State’s repeated efforts to challenge my “capacity to proceed”. If anything, your honor, it is madam DA who is “incapable to proceed”, because the charges all involve manifold and severe violations of my natural and constitutional rights. So sayeth I.
I have sufficient faith in the due process of law and, indeed, in your own wisdom as judge that I do not fear the pending proceedings; I not only have very competent counsel, but could also choose to proceed pro se , which would force the State’s attorneys to have to deal with me, and my countless factual, statutory, and constitutional objections.
As to these latter, let me say something very serious: at the time of my most recent arrest, I was engaged in drafting my own “motion to dismiss” in which I argue that NCGS Chapter 50B is facially unconstitutional, citing multiple provisions of both State and Federal constitutions. I bring this to your attention not only for its own sake, but to the end of moving the court for a modification of the terms of my pre-trial release. To wit, the GPS ankle monitor is grossly inappropriate and unjust, and in these circumstances, where I the defendant am engaged in an upright struggle to reform our laws, the ankle monitor has no purpose other than to defame my character and obstruct justice. I ask that your order that this condition be removed.
As to the amount of my secure bond, while I might be able to find someone to act as surety, the amount of the $375,000 secure is surely excessive, and I ask that you reduce it to $125,000, which will surely secure my appearance at trial.
In asking for these just accommodations from the court, I have an important advocate whom I would ask you to consult. Mr. Jim Phillips of the firm Brooks Pierce in Greensboro is a friend of mine and also of my mother’s who she knows from their service on the UNC Board of Governors together. Mr. Phillips is also a very close friend of Governor Roy Cooper who in recent years has represented the Governor in several key controversies. Since late 2019 I have been corresponding extensively with Mr. Phillips, and have mailed an enormous volume of documents—letters, complaints, motions, transcripts, even poetry—to his law offices. He has been keeping a file for me which by now represents a unique and compelling reservoir of evidence.
I mention Mr. Phillips because I am, in fact, a candidate for Governor of North Carolina, and it is my understanding the Roy Cooper has taken an interest in my situation. I myself met Roy when he was still AG at a secret meeting in Wilmington in 2014. I have believed throughout the course of my persecution by the State that the Governor does not, and would never, ever approve of such injustice. I believe Mr. Phillips will be able to provide some clarity and information on this question, and I ask that you make this inquiry as you consider my request/motion for the changes to my conditions of release.
Mr. Phillips’ cell phone number is 3364021390.
Lastly, I would point to the body of publications on my website dawsongage.net as ample proof that I am a poet & journalist of some distinction whose works—and whose very person—clearly enjoy the protection of the First Amendment (as well as Article I, Secs. 12, 13 and 14 of the Constitution of North Carolina). My wish is to be free to pursue my life’s work: both my literary art and my bid for high office. While you must regard these matters objectively, the Law itself has much sympathy with my cause.
Very truly yours,
Dawson Gage