top
Central Valley
Central Valley
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

City of Sacramento drops all cases against Occupy defendants

by Dan Bacher
“This case is about abuses of government power. The City had its opportunity to prosecute misdemeanor charges against Ms. Coke and the other Occupy protestors for political speech, and Ms. Coke would have been able to put on her Constitutional defenses in that forum,” said Patrick Soluri, a pro bono attorney for Ms. Coke.

Photo of Occupy Sacramento protest in front of Governor Jerry Brown’s loft on Saturday, November 19, 2011 by Dan Bacher.
640_img_5010.jpg
City of Sacramento drops all cases against Occupy defendants

Pro bono lawyers working for Occupy Sacramento defendants said the City of Sacramento has now dismissed all of its cases charging those arrested during protests at Cesar Chavez Park “administrative penalties.”

In late May, a Superior Court judge ruled that City of Sacramento abused its authority by attempting to charge administrative penalties for each Occupy Sacramento defendant after the City had failed to successfully prosecute them in criminal court.

The “test” case involved Katherine Coke. This week’s decision involves at least another half dozen others.

The City of Sacramento has made at least 110 arrests surrounding protests at Chavez Park from October through December. No one has ever been convicted. The City had sought to “punish” them through administrative penalties, thereby avoiding giving defendants their due process rights in court.

Occupy lawyers and civil libertarians said this is yet another victory for civil liberties and Occupy activists, who have declared since last October that their civil rights are being violated by the City of Sacramento.

“This case is about abuses of government power. The City had its opportunity to prosecute misdemeanor charges against Ms. Coke and the other Occupy protestors for political speech, and Ms. Coke would have been able to put on her Constitutional defenses in that forum,” said Patrick Soluri, a pro bono attorney for Ms. Coke.

“But, after failing to competently prosecute the criminal cases, the City was forced to dismiss them in their entirety. The City then misused its administrative penalty procedure by thereafter prosecuting Ms. Coke in a kangaroo court where she could not put on an adequate defense. The court the City’s actions to be an abuse of its authority, and set aside the administrative proceeding in its entirety,” he said.

“The City should feel constrained from this type of tyrannical enforcement efforts against those who choose to peaceably exercise their First Amendment rights,” said Jeff Anderson, another pro bono Occupy lawyer.

Soluri and Anderson took the case because they believed the City may not lawfully dismiss misdemeanor charges and then re-file “administrative penalty” claims for the same alleged conduct in a kangaroo court where the defendant is denied trial by jury, court-ordered discovery, and the right to challenge the legality of the City’s curfew ordinance.”

Contact: Patrick Soluri (916) 599-0474, Jeff Anderson (916) 397-8418 or Cres Vellucci (916) 996-9170
Add Your Comments

Comments (Hide Comments)
swastikaweb.jpg
Abuses of gov power requires much more action than seen here to stop it.
The fbi national academy trains assassins & creates serial killers.

Must prosecute the fbi/cia's own serial killers and murderers:

http://barbarahartwellvscia.blogspot.com/2012/03/must-prosecute-fbicia-assassins-for.html


See the evidence that the 'fbi's organized task force' (and their associates within the fbi itself) are the new organized crime syndicate & pose the greatest threat to the United States of America in this century.

http://www.indymedia.org.nz/article/82439/fbi-mafia-global-threat

Get to know the real federal burro of investigation (fbi) in my reports and drawings, and weep for your country:


fbi to target: we intend to...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2OUrkgFp3d8/T2yJZ4tN4tI/AAAAAAAAAes/MJ5g_fgVY0U/s1600/kill.jpg

usa global posture:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bXiqquS-lY8/ToNhotApMYI/AAAAAAAAAXY/dJvjW12xgic/s1600/swastikaweb.jpg

fbi as mafia:

http://www.sosbeevfbi.com/statement.html



http://www.indymedia.org/de/2012/06/957265.shtml


http://www.sosbeevfbi.com/part4-worldinabo.html
by anon
(previously posted comment edited)

Indiana, a state which defines the right, is fighting back against constitutional "takings".

The state supreme court ruled that property owners did NOT have the right to oppose unlawful police actions. (Some cop kicking your door down in the middle of the night without identifying himself, for example. You think it's a home invasion. The cops say otherwise. You go to jail.)

The Indiana legislature just passed and the governor just signed a law that allows property owners to LETHALLY defend themselves against unlawful law enforcers.

It's now lawful to shoot-to-kill cops in Indiana.

Corn, hogs, and guns.

Don't you tread on me.
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network