FBI and Oakland Police Pay Earth First! $4 Million to Conclude Lawsuit

A fourteen-year saga ended last Friday, May 7, as the FBI joined the City of Oakland in paying Earth First! activists Darryl Cherney and the late Judi Bari through her estate a combined $4 million for violations of their first and fourth amendment rights as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit stemmed from a May 24, 1990 car bombing of the pair. The FBI and Oakland police instantly blamed
Bari and Cherney for bombing themselves even though they had conducted no investigation and all evidence collected showed they were the victims of an assassination attempt.

A ten-person jury in Judge Claudia Wilken's Federal District
Courtroom in Oakland originally awarded Bari and Cherney $4.4 million, but a post-trial contractual agreement was engineered to avoid appeals by both sides. Attorney Dennis Cunningham led the legal team of Bob Bloom, Tony Serra, William Simpich and Ben Rosenfeld, all of the SF bay area. Fee attorney James Wheaton of the First Amendment Project joined post-trial efforts to draft a fee motion, which if it prevailed, could have doubled the amount the defendants would have had to pay, setting legal precedents the FBI
wanted to avoid and Oakland could not afford. Numerous other post trial motions and pending appeals were all dropped by all sides to conclude the case. But when the dust cleared, the jury verdict remained in place. For one of the only too rare times in history, the citizens of the United States scored a victory for civil rights over the scandal plagued, notorious Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Alicia Littletree, who lived with Judi Bari and was considered to be her protégé, was dubbed the "Most Valuable Paralegal" by all involved. "Our lawyers were the only legal team that could have pulled this off. They were geniuses," she said. When asked how Judi might re-act to the victory, Littletree said, "Judi wouldn't have gotten over the feeling that the bombing is not solved. That is a lingering part of the fight. Judi wouldn't give up just because the money came in." She added about the settlement, "It's an easy way out for the FBI."

Cherney vowed to continue the investigation of the bombing. Included in the post-trial victory settlement, Cherney achieved the return of all evidence in the case. He was also able to convince the Oakland City Council to proclaim May 24 to be "Judi Bari Day. " Plans are still being formulated for victory celebrations up and down the coast of California.

Cherney said that no individual involved with this case would net more than $500 thousand dollars. When asked how he will spend the funds, he replied, "Acquire a modest home, help fund a continued investigation of the bombing, donate to worthy groups, and channel energy into producing CD's of eco-music." Cherney and Bari were bombed on their way to a musical performance that doubled as an organizing drive for a campaign called Redwood Summer 1990. Bari played fiddled, Cherney guitar and they both sang and wrote songs.

Attorney Bob Bloom said, "If we get a few more victories like this, it might effect what the FBI, the domestic army of the United States, does to people." Cherney added, "In the wake of 9/11 and Bush's assault on our civil rights, our trial victory is more urgent then ever. We the people will not stand for the FBI or any government agency clearcutting the constitution. May a thousand lawsuits bloom from this one to hold the FBI accountable for their too-many-to-count
violations of the laws they are supposed to uphold."