Shull vs. the County of Sacramento update

The civil trial of JulieAnne Shull vs. the County of Sacramento goes into its final stages tomorrow (Wednesday, April 18) as both sides present their closing arguments and the jury begins its deliberations.

The suit revolves around an incident that occured Feburary 4, 2004, when JulieAnne was illegally arrested for videotaping a demonstration that was occuring on the Capitol lawn. She was taken to the Sacramento County Jail, where whe was stripped to nearly naked, thrown against a wall by two Sheriff's deputies, and had her arm wrenched behind her back causing permanent injury. Sacramento County Sheriff's deputies then held her in jail for four days, approximately 102 hours. All charges were eventually dropped. JulieAnne is suing the Sacramento County Jail and Sheriff's deputies Rebecca Purdy and Jennifer Page for Excessive Use of Force, interfering with her First Ammendment right to Freedom of Expression, and for Unnecessary Delay in releasing her from custody.

The jail staff and deputies continue to suffer from collective amnesia, and their case relies on a falsified incident report created by one of the deputies that assaulted JulieAnne. Their best excuse is that JulieAnne "had a bad attitude." Though JulieAnne denies having a "bad attitude," she contends that her first ammendment rights didn't end when she was arrested. The most telling testimony of the trial came when Deputy Rebecca Purdy (who was wearing spike heals and blue eyeshadow) said as an explanation of her actions "People think they're better than me."

Please come to the Sacramento County Courthouse, department 45 on the sixth floor, to hear closing arguments and to show your opposition for the use of force on nonviolent demonstrators and to show your support for our Constitutional Rights.