Last chance: Judi Bari trial

The room was not full today.

Understandable, since many people were disappointed by being turned away last week, and this week it might seem less worth the effort to go, with only the prospect of seeing the FBI and OPD parade their rented witnesses and present their unsavory version of the story.

HOWEVER, as was pointed out at last Thursday's installment of the weekly update forums about the trial, the impact of a full courtroom on the jury is very important. Keeping in mind that in order to qualify for the jury, the people on it had to pass the defense's "know-nothing" test, these people are likely to have few clues as to the major, incredible, importance of this trial. It seems that the judge is consistently attempting to conceal this importance from them. The fact that the public is filling the courtroom to watch what is happening is one thing that might get through to jog the jurors' minds, as in "Hey, why are a lot of people paying attention to this?"

As Tony Serra pointed out a couple of weeks ago at a previous update forum, this is a historically meaningful case, especially considering the situation of the country at this time. "If the case is not won, then we are all diminished, and this country is diminished, and our constitutional rights are diminshed, and law enforcement is reinforced in their zealousness, in their brutality. This trial is very worthy of your support" and your presence as a signal to the jury.

And it is interesting to watch, even at this stage. The Judi Bari Legal Offense Team are amazing, as they try to get some clarity from the witnesses the defense has dug up and rehearsed, and it is very interesting to witness the behavior of the Judge as she does her performance -- and to puzzle about what could have happened to someone who once was a person known to attend National Lawyers Guild functions and said to be "progressive".

The jury-members do seem to be engrossed in the case, judging from the piles of filled notepads some of them are holding, as well as the fact that only one of the twelve jurors has dropped out (when it was expected that as many as six might do so).

Further notes about the courtroom:

As Ann Fagen-Ginger said last Thursday, "any decent judge would have secured a larger courtroom so that the public who wished to attend the trial would be accommodated instead of frustrated, especially for a trial of this importance".

The procedures of allowing people into the courtroom probably are designed to minimize the effect of the audience as much as possible: the guards at the door of the building communicate by cellphone with the person who guards the door to the courtroom as to whether there are available seats or not and they do not allow people into the building unless there are available seats. People have been sent back out of the building when estimates were incorrect. However, often there have actually been spaces where people could sit and people were still not admitted.

Anyway, it's one of the things we can do for this crucial case, show up in the courtroom and fill it as much as we can. There was plenty of room today, probably ten more people could have been admitted -- and nobody was waiting outside.

##

THIS THURSDAY, May 16, 7:00 pm
at La Pena, 3105 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley
Riva Enteen of the National Lawyers Guild will present on the USA Patriot Act and current civil rights abuses by the FBI. Plus an update on the week in court in the Judi Bari lawsuit and presentations by organizations working to oppose the current targeting of Arab and South Asian communities. And music by Dana Lyons.
For more info, call (510) 663 6330

AND

Friday, May 24th, "Fiddle Down the FBI" at noon at the Oakland Federal Building (13th and Clay). Commemorate the 12th anniversary of the car bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. Celebrate the end of their historic civil rights trial. Bring musical instruments!