Juanita Young was found not guilty last month in Bronx Supreme Court by Judge P. Benitez after a four day trial that took place more than two years after the initial incident in question. Young is a well known and outspoken anti-police brutality activist who first came into the political spotlight after the police killing of her son, Malcolm Ferguson, in March 2000 in the Soundview section of the Bronx. Juanita has since been a member of the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality and of the Justice Committee of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights.

In June of 2003, Juanita Young and her family were illegally evicted, and she and her children were left homeless for three months. At the time of her arrest, NYPD cop Hernandez told her, "No rallies for you today." Young was also manhandled and brutalized in the course of her illegal eviction and arrest and continues to suffer from those injuries sustained on that day over two years ago. In September of 2005, Judge Benitez declared that Juanita Young was not trespassing when she was arrested in her own home on the morning of June 7, 2003, in the eviction that had been engineered by her landlord and carried out by the NYPD. Members of the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality had long held that the illegal eviction of Juanita Young was politically motivated one, and that it was directed at silencing dissent in the post-911 political climate. Juanita Young was represented by Geoffrey Stewart of the Stewart Law Offices. A victory dinner and legal fundraiser for Lynne Stewart and Geoff Stewart were held in New York on October 16th. Photos | Read more about the trial | Resistance: When is Enough Enough? by Juanita Young

Refuse and Resist Statement about 2002 police harassment of Young | New York October 22nd Coalition | Justice for Lynne Stewart website