Standing Rock: Court Cases Today
Update with breaking news: The trial for these 10 defendants has been postponed until January 31 and Feb. 1 because the prosecution had not turned over evidence to the defense in a timely manner.
[The judge] also deferred ruling on [the prosecutor's] motion to exclude issues of tribal sovereignty, the concerns about the Dakota Access Pipeline and "any other social or political cause." She wrote in her order that the defendants did not have adequate time before trial to respond to the motion, which was filed Dec. 12. [Prosecutor] Erickson could raise objections if such issues arose at trial, she wrote.
**the original post continues below**
The first criminal trials of some water protectors begin today, December 19, in Bismarck. The best coverage has been (again) by Jordan from TYT. He interviewed Kelli Love, one of the people arrested, who lays out the situation clearly and eloquently in the video below. There appear to be numerous civil rights violations and problems with due process, including new charges being added at the last minute (after pleas had already been entered) and motions by the prosecutor to forbid any video evidence and to forbid any mention of environmental damage, treaty rights, or any of the other reasons that the water protectors were where they were, doing what they were doing.
The video is long (19 mins) but worth it. Kelli Love explains what's happening and tells us what we can do to support the people on trial. This is the new frontline, she says.
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXL3uYeP7aw]
The Water Protector Legal Collective, a project of the National Lawyers Guild, is calling for "the resignation of Acting Morton County State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson after he filed a motion to hold indigent Water Protectors liable to repay the state for their court appointed lawyers, while belittling and calling the Water Protectors 'props' and their movement a 'protracted manufactured spectacular.'”
“State’s Attorney Erickson set out to use the most slanderous words and harmful rhetoric he could muster to defame the Water Protector defendants, their lawyers and supporters, and undermine the legitimacy of the Standing Rock encampment and concern over the DAPL," said Jeff Haas, WPLC lawyer. “Certainly, another objective of Erikson’s motion was to bias prospective Morton County jurors who will be hearing the first Standing Rock jury trial set for Monday, December 19.
For the reasons above, WPLC calls on State’s Attorney Erickson to step down as prosecutor. WPLC calls on the courts to decide whether his prosecutorial conduct has tainted the jury pool and prevented a fair trial to the point that the Water Protectors’ cases must be dismissed.
There has been a huge problem in getting attorneys for all the water protectors. Many of the ND rules make it extremely difficult for out-of-state attorneys to practice there, and at least 113 people have been denied public defenders. There is a petition for you to sign at the link, and the ND Supreme Court is asking for public comments by 4pm on Friday, December 30.
“Denying Water Protectors their constitutional rights to counsel is a far more serious barrier to justice than concrete slabs across a highway,” said William Tilton, WPLC lawyer. “We filed to call on the Supreme Court to recognize this judicial emergency and open the courts to qualified criminal lawyers who are standing by to help.”
WPLC urges people to comment, in writing, on the rule amendments that would make it easier for out-of-state lawyers to represent Water Protectors, by 4 PM, Friday, December 30, 2016. Comments may be e-mailed to Penny Miller, Clerk of the Supreme Court, at supclerkofcourt@ndcourts.gov, or addressed to 600 E. Boulevard Ave., Bismarck, ND 58505-0530.
Comments
The National Lawyers Guild was marked for extinction by Dwight
Eisenhower and his AG Herbert Brownell, as was reported at the time. The NLG was red-baited and harassed by government agencies and barely managed to survive.
No state money has been added to pay for public defenders for those facing charges and finding a lawyer in ND willing to defend a Water Protector is difficult because there seems to be what I would characterize as a lawyers' strike against the Water Protectors. ND has onerous procedures for out of state lawyers to practice there. Usually applications must be made on a case by case basis and collecting all the documentation North Dakota demands is lengthy and expensive. The WPLC is trying its best, is making headway, and could use donations.
There is also the fact that many ND lawyers are now getting paid for doing work for Big Petro and are conveniently not available to help the people.
The denial of fair trials and adequate legal representation should be seen as another phase on the assault of those who would question the need for another pipeline bringing petro across the country when the petro should remain in the ground.
Thanks very much for your staying on top of this vital confrontation and keeping us all informed. Your work is much appreciated.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
This doesn't look that difficult
Edited to add reference, http://www.ibanet.org/PPID/Constituent/Student_Committee/qualify_lawyer_...
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
The government of North Dakota has been captured
by the oil industry. Among other things this may take a fresh look at states' rights vs Constitutional allowances. And that messy tribal allowance by treaty as well. My guess is untouchable at Federal level now.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
My view is that if the NLG, which has done advocacy legal
services since 1937, says it's burdensome, then I go with their opinion.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Oh I'm sure there's a reason,
they want in-state references or the original long-form birth certificate or don't accept the references given to them or any one of numerous possibilities. Maybe it takes 6 months to get approval. I'm just saying that on its face, it doesn't look difficult.
So I wonder what the difficult/burdensome part is.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
What I know comes from the NLG web site and they say
to gather the material North Dakota demands takes a week or more and costs about $1000. If an attorney has to go through that for each case - and the site says the ability to practice is usually on a case by case basis - than costs to the combined legal effort can mount up quickly.
It doesn't seem right to me and I was surprised to see it and that's why I posted it because I thought it might be of interest to those who are following this event.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
$1000! Someone is ripping someone off!
They should be able to get admitted to the ND bar, I would think, and then be good to go in ND from then on, with a time limit of 5 years or whatever maybe. But you may be right. What they should do may not be what they do. It's up to the state to regulate however they please, I suppose.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.
It's the corporate controlled injustice system
I also worry about the prevalent racism against first nation peoples and their allies. I don't know if any of you listened to Jordan's interviews from a Bismark area Wal-Mart. Their blind racism was evident and on display. Comments like - "Well it makes sense to put the pipeline down there...more people live here."..."They (the protectors) just want to cause trouble."...and so many more shameful statements. Jordan has at least two clips of those interviews. They hold up a mirror to what we have become...much like the election of T-rump.
So the struggle continues. I'll at least drop the clerk an email. Thanks Blaze for the continued updates!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
"forbid any video evidence"
Are they allowed to present any defense whatsoever? Geesuz.
What a bunch of Fuckin Nazis.
Donnie The #ShitHole Douchebag. Fake Friend to the Working Class. Real Asshole.
A treaty must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate. Only
then can the President ratify it. A treaty is binding on all the states as per the Constitution.
How a state can can fail to take cognizance of a treaty or not allow the treaty to be brought up in open court is beyond me. I'd like to learn of the judge's rationale.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Did the judge approve the prosecutor's rational
for excluding evidence.
Some of the proposed evidence, such as real-time video reports are necessary the
NaziND claims such as:From essay and comments, it appears that conflict of interest would exclude from participation many ND lawyers accepting Petrochemical work.
Thanks for the update.
Those look like reasonable rulings by the judge. The "forbidding any evidence" part was a motion by the prosecutor...the judge has deferred ruling on that until the trial resumes.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Jeff Haas?
This Jeffrey Haas? That would be interesting.
THAT
is one mean resume/portfolio of achievements!
Interesting indeed.
peace
Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .
Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .
If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march
Yes, Jeffrey H. Haas of the NLG who is helping to both set
up a coherent structure for the legal defense of the Water Protectors, manage a consistent media message, and defend the protesters.
Remember films of the Army-McCarthy hearings? Welsh asks the historic question, "Finally have you no shame?" and the red-baiting is halted in this venue. So what was McCarthy's transgression? He linked an attorney, Fisher I think, with the National Lawyers Guild(NLG) when the latter was a law student. Unlike the ACLU, the NLG has never been a pro-capitalist, accomodationist, outfit and was collectively persecuted for it. During the Cold War, and war on domestic Leftists, the NLG was seen to be pro-communist. Under Eisenhower, the NLG lost 75% of its cooperating lawyers but has rebuilt in the past couple of decades. The American Bar Ass'n helped the blacklisters persecute the NLG because the guild was originally formed to supplant the ABA which was conservative and segregationist and very pro-capital.
Send them money please.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
haven't seen a pic of him
but it's probably the same guy, since he has a history of fighting for justice.
Thx for catching that!
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
All it takes is for one case to be decided that police actions
were unconstitutional for most of the others arrested on similar charges to be exculpated. Would they still be in jail awaiting remediation?
My wish for the humane citizens of Bismark and its Walmart are to be engulfed in a fracking-derived sinkhole, taking Governor DAPL with it.
Unfortunately, they would then flow into
Lake Oahe, thus polluting the water we are trying to protect...but I agree with the sentiment.
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
Most of the arrested water protectors are not in jail
Most of these are misdemeanor charges, and they have been bailed out.
Since this trial is now delayed, I'm not sure which defendants come up next. I agree that a precedent in one trial will affect the others -- but that could just as easily be a bad precedent, so we'll see.
The prosecution has done some weird stuff, lumping people into group trials even when they weren't arrested at the same time or at the same place. That is something else the attorneys are working on: getting each defendant his or her time in court.
ND now has a new governor, Burgum, but he too is Gov. DAPL. His first public statement on his first day in office was in support of finishing the pipeline. No surprise there (he's a billionaire with ties to the oil and gas industry)
There is no justice in America, but it is the fight for justice that sustains you.
--Amiri Baraka
When there are mass arrests like this, it's often to the
advantage of those arrested to have their case heard separately and demand a jury trial. If they have a lawyer who is willing to put in the time and the waiting, this strategy can clog up the judicial system and cost the state money. I would be guided by what the legal collective on site advises.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
It's too bad the judge couldn't just throw the whole thing out,
and kick the prosecutor in the rump.
What a waste of everybody's time and money.
Please check out Pet Vet Help, consider joining us to help pets, and follow me @ElenaCarlena on Twitter! Thank you.