The ACLU filed a motion yesterday for a stay on the national court order preventing the federal government from enforcing an ACA regulation that protects women and gender-variant people from discrimination in healthcare. The ACLU also asked the court to issue a formal ruling on its request to intervene in the lawsuit.
The deadline is December 30 to let the ND Supreme Court know that we want out-of-state attorneys to be allowed to defend the water protectors. If you haven't sent an email yet, please copy and paste the example below now. It takes only a few moments and will make a big difference. Four more people were arrested yesterday (video and info below).
Subject: Supreme Court No. 20160436
In the body of the email, put this:
Re: In the Matter of a Petition to Permit Temporary Provision of Legal Services by Qualified Attorneys From Outside North Dakota
I urge that the petition be granted so that all defendants charged for any NoDAPL actions be granted due process.
Thank you.
Your Name
Address
Telephone
We have until December 30 to let the ND Supreme Court know that we want out-of-state attorneys to be allowed to defend the water protectors. After you click on "read more," there's a template for an email. It takes 2 minutes to copy and paste and will make a big difference.
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.
