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Finding Aid for the Mitchell-Synanon Litigation Papers, 1979-1989


MS-1711

University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN


Encoded by: Elizabeth Dunham, November 7, 2006.

Summary Information
Title: Mitchell-Synanon Litigation Papers

Date/Date Range :   1979-1989

Extent: 6.0 linear feet

Abstract:
This collection houses litigation documents and legal correspondence documenting a series of lawsuits that arose from an article entitled "The Little Paper That Dared" (published in Reader's Digest in 1981) concerning the practices of the Synanon Foundation.

Call number: MS-1711

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Access and Use
Aquisition Information:
Catherine C. Mitchell donated this collection to the University of Tennessee Special Collections Library in June of 1990.
Access Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Copyright:
The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.
Preferred Citation:
[Identification of Item], Mitchell-Synanon Litigation Papers, MS-1711. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Arrangement

Collection consists of four boxes.


Biography / History

Charles Dederich (1913-1997) established Synanon in 1958 as a rehabilitation center designed to help chronic substance abusers overcome their dependence on alcohol and other drugs. The central feature of Dederich's system was the Game, which was designed to strip its players of the mechanisms that kept them addicted. In this practice (modeled in part on the Oneida Community system of mutual criticism) the participants verbally attacked one another in order to force each other to recognize and eliminate their own self-destructive behaviors. Synanon became a social movement dedicated to creating an alternative society in 1969 and a religion (with Dederich acting as priest and pope) in 1975. The group disbanded in 1991 after the IRS functionally eliminated its economic base by refusing to grant the church tax-exempt status.

Although Synanon was controversial from its beginnings, it was criticized particularly after its transformation into a religion and its subsequent near total isolation and increasingly violent philosophy (including an attempt to murder Attorney Paul Morantz, who had recently won a case against Synanon, in 1977). Not surprisingly, the organization was sued many times. The case best documented in this collection is Macyl Burke v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., which was filed in response to what Dederich perceived as the publication's gross misrepresentation of his organization. The case was decided in favor of Reader's Digest .


Collection Scope and Content Note

This collection houses litigation documents and legal correspondence documenting a series of lawsuits that arose from an article entitled "The Little Paper That Dared" (published in Reader's Digest in 1981) concerning the practices of the Synanon Foundation.

Subject Terms

  • Synanon (Foundation).
  • Narcotic habit -- United States.
Contents List
Box   1     Folder   1    
Chronological Guide of Correspondence and Documents of Mitchell-Synanon Litigation, 1979-1989
Box   1     Folder   2    
General Correspondence: Synanon Litigation, 1979-1985
Box   1     Folder   3    
Correspondence of Catherine Mitchell: Synanon Litigation, 1979-1989
Box   1     Folder   4    
General Correspondence: Publishing Companies, 1979-1982
Box   1     Folder   5    
Correspondence of Catherine Mitchell: Publishers, 1979-1982
Box   1     Folder   6    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Church/Charles Dederick v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1982
Box   1     Folder   7    
Catalog of Principal Events, 1982
Box   1     Folder   8    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Church/Charles Dederick v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1983
Box   1     Folder   9    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Church/Charles Dederick v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1984
Box   1     Folder   10    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Church/Charles Dederick v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1985-1986
Box   1     Folder   11    
Petitions for writ of mandate, 1983-1984
Box   2     Folder   1    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Foundation v. Bernstein, 1983
Box   2     Folder   2    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Foundation v. Continental Insurance, 1985
Box   2     Folder   3    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Foundation v. Richard Ofshe, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1984
Box   2     Folder   4    
Litigation Documents: Synanon Church v. United States of America
Box   2     Folder   5    
Litigation Documents: Louis Mountanos v. Playboy Enterprises, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et. al., 1984
Box   2     Folder   6    
Litigation Documents: Louis Mountanos v. Reader's Digest, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1982
Box   2     Folder   7    
Litigation Documents: Louis Mountanos v. Reader's Digest, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1983
Box   2     Folder   8    
Litigation Documents: Louis Mountanos v. Reader's Digest, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1984
Box   2     Folder   9    
Exhibits to Petition for Writ of Mandate
Box   2     Folder   10    
Supreme Court Jurisdictional Statement
Box   3     Folder   1    
Litigation Documents: Macyl Burke v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1982
Box   3     Folder   2    
Litigation Documents: Macyl Burke v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1983
Box   3     Folder   3    
Litigation Documents: Macyl Burke v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1984
Box   3     Folder   4    
Litigation Documents: Macyl Burke v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1984
Box   3     Folder   5    
Litigation Documents: Macyl Burke v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1985
Box   3     Folder   6    
Litigation Documents: Macyl Burke v. Reader's Digest, D. MacDonald, D. Mitchell, C. Mitchell, et al., 1986
Box   3     Folder   7    
Synanon Litigation News Articles, 1982-1984
Box   3     Folder   8    
UPI News Release on Synanon, 1983
Box   3     Folder   9    
AP News Release on Synanon, 1985
Box   4     Folder   1    
Book Reviews (The Corporate Cult)
Box   4     Folder   2    
Literary Contracts (Ofshe, Mitchells)
Box   4     Folder   3    
Consultant Agreement with R. Ofshe, 1979
Box   4     Folder   4    
Publishing Contract with Seaview Books, 1979
Box   4     Folder   5    
Photo Releases for Book
Box   4     Folder   6    
Index of Photos for Book
Box   4     Folder   7    
Photo Receipts
Box   4     Folder   8    
Royalty Receipts From Light on Synanon , 1981
Box   4     Folder   9    
Outline for Out of Control: The Synanon Case

Box   4     Folder   10    
Source List. (D. MacDonald)
Box   4     Folder   11    
Screenplay of T.V. Movie: Light on Synanon (3 copies)
Box   4     Folder   12    
Scene Shooting Schedules of T.V. Movie: The Light on Synanon

Box   4     Folder   13    
Printout of Synanon Indictments, 1982
Box   4     Folder   14    
Insurance Waiver Agreement, 1982
Box   4     Folder   15    
Federal Express Receipt
Box   4     Folder   16    
Miscellaneous Notes