Representing Satan in Arkansas

San Jose Mercury News, Sunday, December 14, 1986.

A lawyer representing Satan has filed a motion in federal court to have his client dismissed as a defendant in Arkansas' celebrated Halloween case.

A lawsuit, filed Oct. 30 by Ralph P. Forbes of London, Ark., asked the court to enjoin public schools from observing the rites of Satan -- to wit: permitting pupils to wear costumes to school on Halloween.

Forbes, an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in November, filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself, Jesus Christ and minor children.

U.S. District Judge George Howard Jr. continued the case, whereupon attorney John Wesley Hall Jr. volunteered to represent Satan pro bono publico (for the public good).

Efforts to reach Satan for comment were unsuccessful.

Hall asked dismissal of his client as a defendant on the grounds that the plaintiffs failed to prove that Satan transacts business, owns property or has committed torts in Arkansas.

Hall argued further that the lawsuit alleges a controversy between Jesus and his client that cannot be litigated in federal court under provisions of the First Amendment.

The defendants named included the Arkansas Department of Education, the National Education Association, the Russellville School District, the Church of Satan and Satan himself.

In a telephone interview, Forbes said that he is a former member of the American Nazi Party and that Halloween is "the devil's holiday."

Legal observers say the case ultimately may founder on the principle of de minimus non curat lex -- the law does not take notice of trifling matters.

The Halloween case is not Hall's first experience as the devil's advocate.

"It has been alleged before that I am the devil's lawyer," he said. "I once represented an adult bookstore when the city was trying to close it down.

"But no, I'm no house counsel for Satan."