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Feds Fiddled Down by Earth First!, File for Dismissal (Again)
Attorneys for the FBI and OPD, apparently deeply touched by the Earth First! "Fiddle Down the FBI" rally at the Federal Building, filed for dismissal (yet again) late this afternoon, suggesting that the exiting jury must have been "tainted" by the egregious display of singing, dancing, speachifying, general merrymaking and other such "misconduct."
Attorneys for the Federal Defendants
DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR AN ORDER DISMISSING THE ACTION AND FOR SANCTIONS
The defendants, by their undersigned counsel, move the Court for an order dismissing this action and referring plaintiff's counsel to the Court's Disciplinary Committee for gross misconduct affecting the jury. The grounds for this motion are:
Dated: May 24, 2002
Respectfully submitted
Robert D. McCallum, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Division
David W. Shapiro
United States Attorney
John L. Euler
Acting Director, Torts Branch
R. Joseph Sher
Senior Trial Counsel
Dennis C. Barghaan, Jr.
Trial Attorney
John Russo
City Attorney
William E. Simmons
Deputy City Attorney
DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR AN ORDER DISMISSING THE ACTION AND FOR SANCTIONS
The defendants, by their undersigned counsel, move the Court for an order dismissing this action and referring plaintiff's counsel to the Court's Disciplinary Committee for gross misconduct affecting the jury. The grounds for this motion are:
- On Friday, May 24, 2002 the plaintiffs' and their supporters held a planned demonstration outside the courthouse in front of the United States Post Office in Oakland, California. Prior to the demonstration, the Court's Deputy Clerk advised counsel for the parties that the jury planned to discontinue their deliberations at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 24, 2002.
- The organizers of the demonstration delayed introduction of the plaintiffs' legal team until 1:25 p.m. At the time of their introduction, Mr. Cunningham specifically noted that counsel were to remain "mum."
- Notwithstanding Mr. Cunningham's admonition, as members of the jury exited the courthouse doors, Mr. Serra, using sound amplification equipment, loudly exclaimed that the assembled crowd ought to "say a prayer for the jury" so that they would be "objective" in their deliberations, and also noted that the evidence at trial indicated a deliberate plan by the FBI and OPD to violate plaintiffs' constitutional rights. Several jurors slowed and listened to Mr. Serra's presentation.
Dated: May 24, 2002
Respectfully submitted
Robert D. McCallum, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General
Civil Division
David W. Shapiro
United States Attorney
John L. Euler
Acting Director, Torts Branch
R. Joseph Sher
Senior Trial Counsel
Dennis C. Barghaan, Jr.
Trial Attorney
John Russo
City Attorney
William E. Simmons
Deputy City Attorney
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we'd save lots of taxes if the fbi knew how easy inflitrating into ones mind is.
it's a moronic aspect of the legal system to expect that
jurors not witness anyting regarding the case outside of the court.
it's a moronic aspect of the legal system to expect that
jurors not witness anyting regarding the case outside of the court.
if this is in fact true... it is horrible judgement on the part of the organizers of the rally... and especial on the attorney's part... they should never have done anything that put counsel near the jury in a format such as this... very foolish if true... and actually is reasonable grounds for the defense motion... if any jury members paused and listened.
They fiddled, they won. End of story.
In our hearts we know what really happened and we know there's a good chance that they'll legaleze this thing to shreds so that nothing comes of it except - as the Chron reporter said - that the police just weren't doing their job so well and there's not much that can be done about that now.
So at least there was music and there was something that came of it for all those people, there together doing what they believed in. Even if only one head turned . . . sometimes that's all it takes.
In our hearts we know what really happened and we know there's a good chance that they'll legaleze this thing to shreds so that nothing comes of it except - as the Chron reporter said - that the police just weren't doing their job so well and there's not much that can be done about that now.
So at least there was music and there was something that came of it for all those people, there together doing what they believed in. Even if only one head turned . . . sometimes that's all it takes.
Why did the rally organizers risk the outcome of this case this way? Surely the legal team knew they were risking contact with the jury, and so jeopardizing the outcome of this very important case! The attorneys for the defendants are obliged to do what they can to win--WHY should we hand them an opportunity to get the case thrown out so close to the end?!
The Fiddle Down the FBI Rally is an annual event that has been held for at least the past five years in the same location and on the same date, the May 24 anniversary of the car bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. There has been a Bari rally on that date every year since 1991.
That the feds would file such a motion shows their desperation to avoid the imminent defeat that the jury is preparing for them, and to try to blame the coming verdict against them on an innocent remark by Tony Serra.
Serra asked the crowd to pray for the jury that they could be objective. Goodness, how shocking! Throw out the suit at once!
Serra told the crowd the evidence shows the cops had a plan to frame Judi Bari. That's true. The evidence does indeed show that, and he said it far more strongly in his closing arguments directly to the jury inside the courtroom.
The feds whine that Serra deliberately timed his speech in hopes of influencing the jury in an inappropriate way. Nonsense. Serra had no control over the timing. The event was emceed by a musician.
KPFA News reporter Bob Stern was watching the jurors leave the courthouse. He said they did not "slow down" as the feds claimed, but promptly left the area as they have been instructed by the judge. Stern said he saw Oakland attorney Simmons and federal attorney Barghaan leave the courthouse together in advance of the jury, then split up and each take up a corner observer position to keep an eagle eye on the rally and the departing jurors.
Their whiny motion was filed less than two hours after the jurors left. It was obviously a planned legal tactic. If they were so concerned over the jurors seeing and hearing the rally, they could have asked the judge to have them all leave by the west exit, which is on the opposite side of the courthouse from where the rally took place. They didn't do that because they're not really interested in shielding the jury, they're interested in trying to use the rally to torpedo the case and get their guilty clients off scot free.
There's no way in hell the judge is going to grant this motion to dismiss the case over this trifling non-incident. If she questions the jurors they'll tell her there's no problem, and they're ready to bring in a verdict against the FBI agents based on the evidence presented at trial.
The motion will be heard in open court at 8:30 AM Tuesday May 28. The jury announced their schedule only for Tuesday, not for Wednesday or any other day next week. Early this past week they announced their schedule for every day of the week, including Friday. This might be a signal that they almost reached a verdict today, Friday, and plan to finish it up next Tuesday, which will be their seventh day of deliberations.
That the feds would file such a motion shows their desperation to avoid the imminent defeat that the jury is preparing for them, and to try to blame the coming verdict against them on an innocent remark by Tony Serra.
Serra asked the crowd to pray for the jury that they could be objective. Goodness, how shocking! Throw out the suit at once!
Serra told the crowd the evidence shows the cops had a plan to frame Judi Bari. That's true. The evidence does indeed show that, and he said it far more strongly in his closing arguments directly to the jury inside the courtroom.
The feds whine that Serra deliberately timed his speech in hopes of influencing the jury in an inappropriate way. Nonsense. Serra had no control over the timing. The event was emceed by a musician.
KPFA News reporter Bob Stern was watching the jurors leave the courthouse. He said they did not "slow down" as the feds claimed, but promptly left the area as they have been instructed by the judge. Stern said he saw Oakland attorney Simmons and federal attorney Barghaan leave the courthouse together in advance of the jury, then split up and each take up a corner observer position to keep an eagle eye on the rally and the departing jurors.
Their whiny motion was filed less than two hours after the jurors left. It was obviously a planned legal tactic. If they were so concerned over the jurors seeing and hearing the rally, they could have asked the judge to have them all leave by the west exit, which is on the opposite side of the courthouse from where the rally took place. They didn't do that because they're not really interested in shielding the jury, they're interested in trying to use the rally to torpedo the case and get their guilty clients off scot free.
There's no way in hell the judge is going to grant this motion to dismiss the case over this trifling non-incident. If she questions the jurors they'll tell her there's no problem, and they're ready to bring in a verdict against the FBI agents based on the evidence presented at trial.
The motion will be heard in open court at 8:30 AM Tuesday May 28. The jury announced their schedule only for Tuesday, not for Wednesday or any other day next week. Early this past week they announced their schedule for every day of the week, including Friday. This might be a signal that they almost reached a verdict today, Friday, and plan to finish it up next Tuesday, which will be their seventh day of deliberations.
The Fiddle Down the FBI Rally is an annual event that has been held for at least the past five years in the same location and on the same date, the May 24 anniversary of the car bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. There has been a Bari rally on that date every year since 1991.
That the feds would file such a motion shows their desperation to avoid the imminent defeat that the jury is preparing for them, and to try to blame the coming verdict against them on an innocent remark by Tony Serra.
Serra asked the crowd to pray for the jury that they could be objective. Goodness, how shocking! Throw out the suit at once!
Serra told the crowd the evidence shows the cops had a plan to frame Judi Bari. That's true. The evidence does indeed show that, and he said it far more strongly in his closing arguments directly to the jury inside the courtroom.
The feds whine that Serra deliberately timed his speech in hopes of influencing the jury in an inappropriate way. Nonsense. Serra had no control over the timing. The event was emceed by a musician.
KPFA News reporter Bob Stern was watching the jurors leave the courthouse. He said they did not "slow down" as the feds claimed, but promptly left the area as they have been instructed by the judge. Stern said he saw Oakland attorney Simmons and federal attorney Barghaan leave the courthouse together in advance of the jury, then split up and each take up a corner observer position to keep an eagle eye on the rally and the departing jurors.
Their whiny motion was filed less than two hours after the jurors left. It was obviously a planned legal tactic. If they were so concerned over the jurors seeing and hearing the rally, they could have asked the judge to have them all leave by the west exit, which is on the opposite side of the courthouse from where the rally took place. They didn't do that because they're not really interested in shielding the jury, they're interested in trying to use the rally to torpedo the case and get their guilty clients off scot free.
There's no way in hell the judge is going to grant this motion to dismiss the case over this trifling non-incident. If she questions the jurors they'll tell her there's no problem, and they're ready to bring in a verdict against the FBI agents based on the evidence presented at trial.
The motion will be heard in open court at 8:30 AM Tuesday May 28. The jury announced their schedule only for Tuesday, not for Wednesday or any other day next week. Early this past week they announced their schedule for every day of the week, including Friday. This might be a signal that they almost reached a verdict today, Friday, and plan to finish it up next Tuesday, which will be their seventh day of deliberations.
That the feds would file such a motion shows their desperation to avoid the imminent defeat that the jury is preparing for them, and to try to blame the coming verdict against them on an innocent remark by Tony Serra.
Serra asked the crowd to pray for the jury that they could be objective. Goodness, how shocking! Throw out the suit at once!
Serra told the crowd the evidence shows the cops had a plan to frame Judi Bari. That's true. The evidence does indeed show that, and he said it far more strongly in his closing arguments directly to the jury inside the courtroom.
The feds whine that Serra deliberately timed his speech in hopes of influencing the jury in an inappropriate way. Nonsense. Serra had no control over the timing. The event was emceed by a musician.
KPFA News reporter Bob Stern was watching the jurors leave the courthouse. He said they did not "slow down" as the feds claimed, but promptly left the area as they have been instructed by the judge. Stern said he saw Oakland attorney Simmons and federal attorney Barghaan leave the courthouse together in advance of the jury, then split up and each take up a corner observer position to keep an eagle eye on the rally and the departing jurors.
Their whiny motion was filed less than two hours after the jurors left. It was obviously a planned legal tactic. If they were so concerned over the jurors seeing and hearing the rally, they could have asked the judge to have them all leave by the west exit, which is on the opposite side of the courthouse from where the rally took place. They didn't do that because they're not really interested in shielding the jury, they're interested in trying to use the rally to torpedo the case and get their guilty clients off scot free.
There's no way in hell the judge is going to grant this motion to dismiss the case over this trifling non-incident. If she questions the jurors they'll tell her there's no problem, and they're ready to bring in a verdict against the FBI agents based on the evidence presented at trial.
The motion will be heard in open court at 8:30 AM Tuesday May 28. The jury announced their schedule only for Tuesday, not for Wednesday or any other day next week. Early this past week they announced their schedule for every day of the week, including Friday. This might be a signal that they almost reached a verdict today, Friday, and plan to finish it up next Tuesday, which will be their seventh day of deliberations.
The Fiddle Down the FBI Rally is an annual event that has been held for at least the past five years in the same location and on the same date, the May 24 anniversary of the car bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney. There has been a Bari rally on that date every year since 1991.
That the feds would file such a motion shows their desperation to avoid the imminent defeat that the jury is preparing for them, and to try to blame the coming verdict against them on an innocent remark by Tony Serra.
Serra asked the crowd to pray for the jury that they could be objective. Goodness, how shocking! Throw out the suit at once!
Serra told the crowd the evidence shows the cops had a plan to frame Judi Bari. That's true. The evidence does indeed show that, and he said it far more strongly in his closing arguments directly to the jury inside the courtroom.
The feds whine that Serra deliberately timed his speech in hopes of influencing the jury in an inappropriate way. Nonsense. Serra had no control over the timing. The event was emceed by a musician.
KPFA News reporter Bob Stern was watching the jurors leave the courthouse. He said they did not "slow down" as the feds claimed, but promptly left the area as they have been instructed by the judge. Stern said he saw Oakland attorney Simmons and federal attorney Barghaan leave the courthouse together in advance of the jury, then split up and each take up a corner observer position to keep an eagle eye on the rally and the departing jurors.
Their whiny motion was filed less than two hours after the jurors left. It was obviously a planned legal tactic. If they were so concerned over the jurors seeing and hearing the rally, they could have asked the judge to have them all leave by the west exit, which is on the opposite side of the courthouse from where the rally took place. They didn't do that because they're not really interested in shielding the jury, they're interested in trying to use the rally to torpedo the case and get their guilty clients off scot free.
There's no way in hell the judge is going to grant this motion to dismiss the case over this trifling non-incident. If she questions the jurors they'll tell her there's no problem, and they're ready to bring in a verdict against the FBI agents based on the evidence presented at trial.
The motion will be heard in open court at 8:30 AM Tuesday May 28. The jury announced their schedule only for Tuesday, not for Wednesday or any other day next week. Early this past week they announced their schedule for every day of the week, including Friday. This might be a signal that they almost reached a verdict today, Friday, and plan to finish it up next Tuesday, which will be their seventh day of deliberations.
That the feds would file such a motion shows their desperation to avoid the imminent defeat that the jury is preparing for them, and to try to blame the coming verdict against them on an innocent remark by Tony Serra.
Serra asked the crowd to pray for the jury that they could be objective. Goodness, how shocking! Throw out the suit at once!
Serra told the crowd the evidence shows the cops had a plan to frame Judi Bari. That's true. The evidence does indeed show that, and he said it far more strongly in his closing arguments directly to the jury inside the courtroom.
The feds whine that Serra deliberately timed his speech in hopes of influencing the jury in an inappropriate way. Nonsense. Serra had no control over the timing. The event was emceed by a musician.
KPFA News reporter Bob Stern was watching the jurors leave the courthouse. He said they did not "slow down" as the feds claimed, but promptly left the area as they have been instructed by the judge. Stern said he saw Oakland attorney Simmons and federal attorney Barghaan leave the courthouse together in advance of the jury, then split up and each take up a corner observer position to keep an eagle eye on the rally and the departing jurors.
Their whiny motion was filed less than two hours after the jurors left. It was obviously a planned legal tactic. If they were so concerned over the jurors seeing and hearing the rally, they could have asked the judge to have them all leave by the west exit, which is on the opposite side of the courthouse from where the rally took place. They didn't do that because they're not really interested in shielding the jury, they're interested in trying to use the rally to torpedo the case and get their guilty clients off scot free.
There's no way in hell the judge is going to grant this motion to dismiss the case over this trifling non-incident. If she questions the jurors they'll tell her there's no problem, and they're ready to bring in a verdict against the FBI agents based on the evidence presented at trial.
The motion will be heard in open court at 8:30 AM Tuesday May 28. The jury announced their schedule only for Tuesday, not for Wednesday or any other day next week. Early this past week they announced their schedule for every day of the week, including Friday. This might be a signal that they almost reached a verdict today, Friday, and plan to finish it up next Tuesday, which will be their seventh day of deliberations.
>>That the feds would file such a motion shows their desperation to avoid the imminent defeat that the jury is preparing for them, and to try to blame the coming verdict against them on an innocent remark by Tony Serra.
Filing motions for dismissal is all a part of legal haggling and should not give any indication of how the defense views its case. That the jury is taking as long as it has is really an indication that the case will be dismissed. If the plaintiffs had provided overwhelming evidence in their case, the jury would have returned already in their favor. My guess is they are going over the evidence presented to insure they didn't miss anything, but the case will be dismissed. I would expect the plantiffs to immediately appeal, but this one's DOA.
Filing motions for dismissal is all a part of legal haggling and should not give any indication of how the defense views its case. That the jury is taking as long as it has is really an indication that the case will be dismissed. If the plaintiffs had provided overwhelming evidence in their case, the jury would have returned already in their favor. My guess is they are going over the evidence presented to insure they didn't miss anything, but the case will be dismissed. I would expect the plantiffs to immediately appeal, but this one's DOA.
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