5/24 Judi Bari Press Conference and Rally

Judi Bari Day Press Conference & Rally in Oakland, Monday May 24 at noon

- FBI & OPD Have Paid $4 Million Settlement
- Lawyers and Plaintiff to Speak on Successful Conclusion of Civil Rights Suit

Oakland, CA - Supporters of Earth First!, Judi Bari and the U.S.
Constitution will gather on Monday, May 24 at 12 noon at Oakland City Hall*
to commemorate the 2nd Annual Judi Bari Day as proclaimed by the City of
Oakland. Attorneys for Bari and Cherney v. FBI and OPD will be on hand to
say a few words about the recent conclusion of our historic civil rights
lawsuit against the FBI and Oakland Police.

The suit stemmed from a car bombing 14 years ago in Oakland on May 24, 1990
in which Earth First! and Redwood Summer organizers Judi Bari and Darryl
Cherney were victims of an assassination attempt, but which saw the FBI and
Oakland Police falsely accuse the victims of being terrorists injured by
their own bomb. The actual perpetrator was never caught, nor was any genuine
investigation of the bombing carried out, but the FBI and OPD continued to
blame the victims right through the 2002 federal jury trial.

The trial ended in a unanimous jury verdict that found 3 FBI agents and 3
Oakland Police officers liable for $4.4 million for violating Judi Bari's
and Darryl Cherney's First and Fourth Amendment rights under the US
Constitution. Fully 80% of the jury's damage award was for the First
Amendment violation of trying to frame the pair so as to silence their free
speech and political organizing in defense of the redwood forests.

The false accusations in 1990 resulted in national headlines and network
news coverage, and OPD and FBI sustained a two-month media propaganda
campaign against Bari, Cherney and Earth First! that falsely portrayed them
to the public as violent, bomb-using extremists. However, the District
Attorney ultimately declined to file any criminal charges at all against the
pair, citing lack of evidence. FBI agents testified at trial that they never
found any evidence at all linking Bari or Cherney to the bombing. Despite
the exoneration provided by the jury's verdict, the damage done to their
reputation and that of Earth First! by the frame-up persists to this day.

After the trial's end, negotiations began in an effort to avoid lengthy
appeals by both sides as well as a multi-million dollar motion for
defendants to pay 13 years of legal costs by the Bari-Cherney legal team,
which could have added $4 million more to the defendants' bill.
All parties recently agreed to a post-trial settlement contract that left
the jury verdict intact and awarded the plaintiffs and attorneys a total of
$4 million, half paid by the City of Oakland and half by the FBI. It is the
largest amount ever paid by the FBI in a lawsuit for violations of civil
rights. The $2 million federal share has been paid, and Oakland has paid the
first of four annual installments of $500,000. After the money is
distributed, no individual involved with this case will net more than
$500,000.

Veteran civil rights attorney Dennis Cunningham led the legal team of Bob
Bloom, Tony Serra, William Simpich and Ben Rosenfeld, all of the SF Bay
Area. ìIt took 11 years to bring this David v. Goliath case to trial,"
Cunningham said, "but when a jury of regular people finally saw the
evidence, and saw the lies, the FBI was finally busted.î

For their work on this case, legal team members shared the Trial Lawyer of
the Year Award for 2003, given by Trial Lawyers for Public Justice
(http://www.tlpj.org ) The official award announcement said: "This award is bestowed
annually upon the trial lawyer or lawyers who have made the greatest
contribution to the public interest by trying or settling a precedent-
setting case. It is the nation's single most prestigious award for
trial lawyers." (See http://www.judibari.org/default.html#TLPJ )

Alicia Littletree, Judi Bari's close friend and associate who was the legal
team's paralegal said, "Our lawyers were the only team that could have
pulled this off. They were geniuses." When asked how Judi might react to the
victory, Littletree added, "I have a feeling Judi wouldn't have gotten over
the fact that the bombing is still not solved. That is a lingering part of
the fight. Judi would not give up just because the money came in." Cherney
vowed to continue the investigation of the bombing. As part of the
post-trial settlement, Cherney negotiated the return of all evidence in the
case and convinced the Oakland City Council to proclaim May 24 to be Judi
Bari Day.

As Judi said in 1996, "This case is not about me, Darryl, or Earth First! It
is about the right of all activists to work for social change without
fearing repression by the government's secret police." So if you are in or
near the Bay Area, please come join together with us Monday at noon in front
of Oakland City Hall to celebrate Judi Bari Day and the victory in our long
legal battle, and to honor our award-winning legal team.

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*Oakland City Hall is located at the end of San Pablo Ave, between Clay and
Broadway, between International Dr. and 15th St.


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Forwarding this message where appropriate is encouraged.

To learn more about Judi Bari and the FBI suit please visit:
http://www.judibari.org