FRIDAY UPDATE

THE DEFENSE RESTED ITS CASE TODAY. CLOSING ARGUMENTS WILL BE HEARD TUESDAY MORNING IN COURTROOM 186-L. (More to come).

AIM/TCD PRESS RELEASE - JANUARY 14

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OUR TRANSFORM COLUMBUS DAY DEFENDERS HOLD COURT THIS WEEK TO PRESENT CASE AGAINST THE CITY

CHARGES AGAINST AMERICAN INDIAN ACTIVIST RUSSELL MEANS REINSTATED

Trial is set to begin Wednesday, January 16, 2008, 8 a.m., Courtroom 117M, City and County Building, Denver and is expected to last three days. Media are welcome to attend.

Glenn Morris, Julie Todd and Koreena Montoya will be in court on Wednesday, January 16, to put Columbus, the City of Denver, and the U.S. legacy of anti-Indian racism on trial. Evidence will support that the city acted inappropriately by ignoring the rights of protestors, applying excessive pain compliance holds on protestors, particularly the women, and permitting an unlawful parade that celebrates the genocide of indigenous peoples.

In a peculiar twist, the city’s case against Russell Means, dismissed by Judge Claudia Jordan on January 4, 2008, was reinstated at the request of city attorneys, but all evidence was suppressed against Mr. Means. City attorneys are appealing the Means suppression decision by the judge so that they may proceed with their “vindictive prosecution” and include Mr. Means in the January 16 trial of Morris, Todd and Montoya.

Subpoenas have been issued to Mayor John Hickenlooper, Denver Chief of Police Gerry Whitman, and Columbus Day parade ringleader George Vendegnia to testify at the trial.

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TOPSY-TURVY (Court update Jan. 4)

The Columbus Day parade protest case against activist Russell Means was on-again, off-again Friday in Denver City and County Court.

Judge Claudia Jordan initially dismissed the case against him because the city failed to show "due diligence" in subpoenaing the arresting officer to appear, and the officer was absent.

The judge later reinstated the case because apparently she could not dismiss the case at a hearing called merely to determine whether certain evidence gathered at the time of arrest should be suppressed.

In addition to reinstating the case, however, she suppressed all evidence against Means, effectively foreclosing any conviction.

Charges were also dropped against arrestees Shannon Francis and Glenn Spagnuolo because the city couldn't determine which police officers arrested them.

The city issued a general accusation of the defense that "they are trying to make this into a media spectacle."

The city's method of issuing subpoenas and the police department's method of complying with them was called into question, and two officers who had received subpoenas still could not appear until mid-afternoon Friday because they said there were sick children at home.

At that time, the officers did identify Glenn Morris, Julie Todd, and Kareena Montoya, so they (and, technically, Russell) will be on trial at 8:30 a.m. January 16 in Courtroom 117M, City and County Building, 1437 Bannock.

Lead defense attorney David Lane was sustained repeatedly over objections by the city during his examination of SWAT officer Tom McKibben, who arrested Julie Todd.

McKibben was questioned about his interaction with Todd, whom he denied calling an obscene name. She didn't talk to him, he said, but was singing "We Shall Overcome."

A wrist-lock--a form of pain compliance--was used to "pull her" apart from others, he said, and she was told that, because of the compliance hold, she could break her hand if she insisted on being carried rather than walking.

McKibben said he didn't know whether Todd heard a bullhorn command he said was repeated three times ordering people to leave the street. He also said he asked her three times, "Are you going to get up and leave?" which, Lane noted, was a question, not an order.

The judge cut off Lane's line of inquiry about evidence showing that the officer did or did not know whether the Columbus Day parade was a "lawful parade," and she denied the motion to suppress the police evidence.


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POTLUCK FUND-RAISER ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Put the old culinary skills to good use for a good cause:

Potluck fund-raiser
for the Legal Defense Fund
2 p.m. Sunday January 13
Four Winds

Bring friends!

THE NEXT AGENDA ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TCD will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 9, at Four Winds. The agenda will include updates on the consolidated trial for four defendants scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, January 16, in Judge Jordan's courtroom (117M) and expected to last three days. Other scheduled trials are vacated, and a decision about future legal action will be made at a status conference January 25.

COURT HIGHLIGHTS DECEMBER 24 ~ ~ ~ ~

Some of the major points in hearings before Judges Jordan and Bohning in Denver City and County Court:

• The Columbus Day cases will be consolidated and four or six (the number has not been determined) defenders will appear before Judge Jordan on January 16. Judge Jordan seemed pretty adamant about it being four. Our attorneys will still have to negotiate with the city attorneys about which four, so the consolidated trial may not quite be a done deal. Assuming it is, other trial dates will be vacated.

• The defense’s request for Internal Affairs documents was limited, and a request to subpoena communications between the Mayor’s office, Denver Police, and the Sheriff’s Office was denied by Judge Bohning, who said they were “not relevant.”

• Motions citing violations of international law were denied and the violations were disallowed as a defense by Judge Bohning, although he termed them “interesting reading.” Judge Jordan said she would allow discussion of international law at trial.

• The defense’s motion to use a Choice of Evils defense was declined for failure to meet the threshold test. (The motion argues that protesting the parade was a lesser evil than allowing a hate crime to be committed).

• Defenders should be aware that while these motions were denied, there is nothing to prevent a defender from testifying at trial that she or he was motivated to oppose the parade by their understanding that the parade was a violation of international law, or that they felt they had to act as they did to prevent a greater evil. In any case, David Lane pointed the judges to a recent Supreme Court case, Holmes v. South Carolina, which he believes is precedent for allowing those defenses in any of the trials.

• Speedy trial will not be waived for those in Courtroom 151P, but will be waived for those in 117M. Cases without waiver will have a status review January 25. Suppression hearings will be January 4.

• A reminder: the next TCD meeting will be WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 6:30 PM, FOUR WINDS. The consolidated trial and these other issues will be discussed at that meeting.

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TIME TO RALLY ~ ~ ~

Press release December 6:

AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT--TRANSFORM COLUMBUS DAY ALLIANCE WAGES BATTLE WITH THE CITY OF DENVER ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7.

COLUMBUS DAY TRIALS BEGIN WITH MOTIONS HEARING. Motions to suppress evidence hearing set for FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2007. 1:30 P.M., Courtroom 117M, City and County Building, Denver. Media are welcome to attend.

Attorneys for 83 Transform Columbus Day Alliance (TCDA) defendants will be challenging the probable cause to arrest Columbus Day protesters on October 6, 2007 at this year's Columbus Day parade. Police will be required to justify the reasons for arresting protesters and will be questioned about the use of excessive force that day. TCDA attorneys will assert that unnecessary and even illegal measures were employed by police in making arrests.

The TCDA legal team led by David Lane and Mark Brandes will vigorously examine police motives and testimony in the hearing. "We will not be surprised if several of the defendants in this case leave the courtroom with the charges against them dismissed. The city acted in a manner that disregarded the constitutional and human rights of lawful citizens."

This hearing begins a series of legal battles with the City of Denver, including challenging the constitutionality of the ordinances under which the defendants are charged. It is expected that Mayor John Hickenlooper and other high city officials will be subpoenaed in these cases.

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