Judi Bari v. FBI/Oakland Police (April 10 report): Oakland Attorney Points Finger at FBI

Judi Bari v. The FBI - April 10, 2002

Defense Opening Remarks Reveal Planned Unaccountability

Oakland Attorney Points Finger at FBI

Oakland, CA - The civil rights lawsuit, Judi Bari v. the FBI, continued Wednesday with attorneys for the defense (Federal Bureau of Investigation and Oakland Police Department) presenting their opening arguments to the jury. Joseph Sher, lead counsel for the FBI, painted the six FBI agents as busy men with other critical assignments at the time of the May 24, 1990 car-bombing. 

Sher defended the lack of effort made to solve the bombing as a result of "things to do that were considerably more urgent," such as Operation Desert Storm (which actually began much later that year and is not FBI jurisdiction). "I couldn't tell if it was an opening statement or a confession," said plaintiff Darryl Cherney. "A handful of busy, bumbling agents spent their time smearing our reputations rather than looking for the bombers. While it is not uncommon to place dozens of agents on an important case, the FBI admitted that they put little effort into our case. That's because they weren't interested in the truth of where a legitimate investigation would lead."

Sher recounted a situation lead attorney Dennis Cunningham described as "planned unaccountability. Three different case agents were assigned in the first five months. No one person remained long enough to be responsible for the investigation."

City of Oakland attorney Maria Bee described the car-bomb scene as "huge and confusing," and said the Oakland police officers at the scene did not have the years of experience had by FBI Special Agent Frank Doyle, and so followed his lead. She pointed the finger at the FBI as the source of nearly all their causes for arrest, while Sher argued that the FBI did no such thing. "The only way to resolve these conflicting stories is to prove that they were in on the frame-up together; a classic conspiracy situation," said Cherney.

Witnesses expected to take the stand tomorrow, Thursday, April 11, include:

• Karen Pickett, whose cross-examination will continue. Today, she described her detention and questioning by police when she tried to visit her friend Judi Bari in the hospital.
• Betty Ball, then-Director of the Mendocino Environmental Center (MEC), who the FBI declined to question after she asked for her lawyer to be present.
• Gary Ball, co-founder of the MEC, will be questioned about events leading up to the bombing.
• Paul Slivinski, OPD officer assigned to Darryl at the hospital on May 24.
• Michelle Gribi, OPD civilian Evidence Technician, one of the first on the bomb scene, who reported the bomb was beneath the driver's seat.
• Defendant Sgt. Michael Sitterud, OPD officer, Homicide Division, and assigned as chief investigator for Oakland at the bomb scene, who drafted the phony second search warrant claiming that nails in Judi's home and nails in the bomb were within the same batch of 800-1000 nails.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs will comment on the week's events when court adjourns Thursday, at approximately 1:45 pm, in front of the courthouse.