Judi Bari Day Press Conference & Rally in Oakland

Judi Bari Day Press Conference & Rally in Oakland

FBI & OPD Have Paid Award
Lawyers and Plaintiff to Speak on Conclusion of Civil Rights Suit

May 20, 2004

info: http://www.judibari.org

Oakland, Calif.-Supporters of Earth First!, Judi Bari and the U.S. Constitution will gather on Monday, May 24 at 12 noon at Oakland City Hall to commemorate the 2nd Annual Judi Bari Day as proclaimed by the City of Oakland. Attorneys for Bari and Cherney v. FBI and OPD will be on hand to offer comments on the recently concluded historic civil rights lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police that was filed 13 years ago.

The suit stemmed from a car bombing 14 years ago in Oakland on May 24, 1990 in which Earth First! and Redwood Summer organizers Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney were victims of an assassination attempt but which saw the FBI and Oakland Police accuse the victims for bombing themselves. The actual perpetrator was never caught nor was an investigation carried out in earnest, but the FBI and OPD continued to blame the victims right through the 2002 jury trial. That trial concluded in a unanimous jury verdict that found 3 FBI agents and 3 Oakland Police officers liable for violating Judi Bari's and Darryl Cherney's First and Fourth Amendment rights under the US Constitution.

Following the $4.4 million dollar jury award to the estate of Judi Bari (Judi died in 1997 from breast cancer), and to Darryl Cherney, negotiations began in order to avoid appeals by both sides, as well as a multi-million dollar motion for legal costs by the Bari-Cherney legal team, which could have doubled the verdict amount. Civil rights attorney Dennis Cunningham led the legal team of Bob Bloom, Tony Serra, William Simpich and Ben Rosenfeld, all of the SF Bay Area. Attorney James Wheaton of the First Amendment Project joined post-trial efforts to bring the fee motion.

All parties agreed to a contract that left the jury verdict in tact and awarded the plaintiffs and attorneys a total of $4 million, half paid by the City of Oakland and half by the FBI. It is the largest amount ever paid by the FBI in a lawsuit for violations of civil rights. After the money is distributed, no individual involved with this case will net more than $500,000.

Alicia Littletree, who lived with Judi Bari and was paralegal in the case said, "Our lawyers were the only legal team that could have pulled this off. They were geniuses." When asked how Judi might react to the victory, Littletree added, "Judi wouldn't have gotten over the feeling that the bombing is not solved. That is a lingering part of the fight. Judi would not give up just because the money came in." Cherney vowed to continue the investigation of the bombing. As part of the post-trial settlement, Cherney achieved the return of all evidence in the case and convinced the Oakland City Council to proclaim May 24 to be "Judi Bari Day".
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