BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:www.indybay.org PRODID:-//indybay/ical// v1.0//EN BEGIN:VEVENT UID:Indybay-18649032 SEQUENCE:18717943 CREATED:20100528T003500Z DESCRIPTION:PRELIMINARY NOTE\nI heard about this rally on second hand from Whitney Wilde. According to earlier e-mail she received the 12:30 PM was organized by Sherry Conable, then cancelled when Wes Modes thought the hearing was off, then rescheduled when Wes sent out an e-mail on 5-27 that the hearing/trial was on again. \n\n\nCOMMUNITY ACTIVISTS UNDER ATTACK\nAs described below, Wes and others are being targeted. \n\nThe Guerrilla Theater was dispersed on Friday 5-21 from its customary viewing spot under the Soquel St. bridge. \n\nThe Drum Circle was relocated under police pressure from its traditional location on Cedar St. to the levy next to the Soquel Bridge area. \n\nStreet musicians downtown have reformed for mutual protection as the Street Performers Guild after being driven away with ticketing threats for false claims of "Unreasonably Disturbing Noise". \n\nHomeless activist Becky Johnson is appealing her conviction in April for singing homeless lyrics to the Petula Clark song "Downtown" in the "Free Speech" zone in front of Bookshop Santa Cruz.\n\nAnd three community activists have been ticketed for "participating" in the 2009 DIY Last Night parade, as described below.\n\n\nTHE HEARING\nIn Dept 2 at 701 Ocean St. in the court of Judge Burdick, Free Skool, Last Night DIY, Trash Orchestra, and Sub Rosa activist Wes Modes goes on trial for 6 infractions, 5 of them nearly 2 years old, in what appears to be a joint action by D.A. Bob Lee and City Attorney John Barisone to attack community activists in town. I called the Municipal Court Clerk and was given details.\n\n\nDRUM CIRCLE RETALIATION\nApparently City Attorney John Barisone is prosecuting Wes for 5 infractions dating from mid-September of 2008 the week before police provoked a near riot in the parking lot next to the Farmer's Market where the Drum Circled has played traditionally for the last decade or more. \n\nOn September 17, 2008 when police showed up in force, Harms apparently had the 5 infraction charges waiting to be used to clamp down on Wes.\n\nClearing away the Drum Circle from its traditional spot seems to have been high on the city bureaucrat agenda for years. Using Vice-Mayor Coonerty's "Parking Lot Panic" law banning public assemblies in parking lots, Harms moved to disperse the Drum Circle in January of 2008.\n\nThe community rebuffed the police when various groups including the Raging Grannies, HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom), Food Not Bombs, and the Trash Orchestra (of which Wes was a part), joined the Drum Circle in solidarity. This widespread resistance may have made Harms reluctant to engage in mass ticketing--particularly so near the Wednesday Farmer's Market, where so many people could see and protest the crushing of legal public assembly. \n\n\nSEPTEMBER 17TH POLICE OCCUPATION\nLater in September, the City took to putting up green mesh fencing around the three tree areas where people gathered to drum and/or socialize on Wednesday afternoon during the Farmer's Market. \n\nOn September 17, 2008, Sgt. Harms and his underlings attempted to handcuff Food Not Bombs worker Jack Russ for allegedly taking down the fence around the area where the Drum Circle had played. Russ was ultimately never charged with that--but rather "resisting arrest". Wes was brutalized, arrested, hospitalized, and jailed.\n\nMassive police response nearly created a riot downtown--photos can be found at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/09/17/18539316.php . I've written many reports on the Drum Circle which can be accessed by searching for my name at See http://www.indybay.org/santacruz .\n\n\nTHE DELAYED ACTION MOUSETRAP\nAfter a year of what he described as fruitless legal struggle, Wes copped a plea to battery and resisting arrest on December 4 last year. He was given some sort of deferred sentencing, which the D.A. has tried to revoke using the new "parade walking" charge described below, which also comes up for trial at 1:30 PM Friday May 28th in Dept. 2. \n\nSentencing in the misdemeanor cases is slated for June 15th at 8:30 AM in Judge Burdick's Dept. \n\nWes reported that Harms had five other infraction charges stemming from his peaceful solidarity with the drummers on September 10th ready to spring on him on September 17th. \n \nThey weren't pressed at the time, but they're now being belatedly pursued in court by City Attorney John Barisone nearly two years later. \n\nThese include: 9.50.020 Conduct on public property, 9.50.030 Disturbing plant lawns or grassy areas, 9.64.010 Trespass in a public parking lot, 9.50.010 Obstruction of movement in a Public Place, and 9.50.030(8) Defacing or Removing Public Property. \n\n\nSELECTIVE TARGETING AT WORK?\nIt's not clear to me what these charges actually refer to--other than engaging in ordinary social use of the Drum Circle area. Dozens of people also were assembling in the lot, but only Wes is charged criminally for his presence there. Wes emphasized how he was being targeted through his attorney's discovery of documents showing Harms had these charges waiting for him on September 17th when he arrived, apparently intending to use them to deter his political activity.\n\nWes's current defense lawyer, Jonathan Gettleman, is moving on 5-28 to dismiss these charges as untimely (i.e. delayed too long). \n\nInfraction charges don't allow for a jury trial or free public defender. Normally they wouldn't allow for jail either. However Wes's case is special. \n\n\nPROSECUTION TACTICS: JAIL THREAT FOR WES\nAs described above, Barisone has leveled a new infraction charge--for participating in a non-commercial event--the DIY Last Night New Year's Parade. As I understand it, the D.A. is attempting to use this new charge as proof of a violation of the sentencing agreement in the battery, resisting arrest cases, of last December. Something about "obeying all laws". \n\nIf Wes can be convicted of this absurd infraction violation (which would also apply to hundreds of other people walking in the parade), then perhaps he can be convicted of breaking the sentencing deal with a possible consequence of months in jail under the December agreement. The hearing on that issue comes up June 15 in Dept.2 at 8:30 AM. \n\n\nOTHER CRIMINAL WALKERS IN THE DIY PARADE\nAs far as walking in the DIY December 31, 2009 parade, hundreds of others also walked in that parade (as did I) on December 31st, but none of them is being charged. Whitney Wilde, a street artist, and Curtis Reliford, the African-American activist who convoyed food down to New Orleans after Katrina are also charged with "participating". \n\nTheir cases have not been set for trial. Though the court records their citations having been issued, both Wilde and Reliford denied receiving them in the mail and said the city attorney had not contacted them. \n\nIn fact, in solidarity with Wes, Wilde has approached the city attorney repeatedly seeking to receive notice she's been charged. Others like India Joze restaurant owner Joe Schultz have also asked Barisone to charge them as well for "criminal parading". Fines on these tickets are $293; if unpaid, they go to $593.\n\n\nMAYOR ROTKIN'S DUCK AND COVER RESPONSE\nConfronted on May 1 publicly to get the city attorney to drop all these ridiculous DIY charges, Rotkin claimed ignorance, but promised to bring it up at the next closed session of City Council--after initially claiming it couldn't be done. \n\nI contacted him by phone several weeks ago to find out when it would appear on the May 11th City Council agenda; he responded it would be brought up on May 24th. City Council's closed session agenda for that date showed no mention of it, and Rotkin didn't return a phone call about the issue. He reportedly ducked the issue when attorney Gettleman raised the issue.\n\nCall him at 423-4209 to speak to him directly--though you'll usually get a message machine.\n\nWes describes the situation in his own words at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/04/12/18644556.php \n\n\nRALLY TO SUPPORT FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY HERE IN SANTA CRUZ AND COMMUNITY-GENERATED EVENTS.\n https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/27/18649032.php SUMMARY:Demo and Harassment Trial for Wes Modes LOCATION:701 Ocean St. \n\nThe rally will be at 12:30 PM on the steps of the Courthouse.\n\nThe hearing/trial will be at 1:30 PM in Dept. 2, the second courtroom you encounter after going through the metal detector in the main courthouse building. URL:https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/05/27/18649032.php DTSTART:20100528T193000Z DTEND:20100528T213000Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR