(The battle continues to DROP THE CHARGES! See below for information on how to donate to this case)

Hi Everyone,
Maggie Lawless here, filling in for Emma. I wanted to let people know what happened at court today, so here’s a brief rundown:

The Port Military Protest trial ended today with the judge declaring a mistrial due to juror misconduct. The misconduct? A juror in the case had contact with a witness for the prosecution outside of the courtroom after being instructed by the judge not to do so. The juror? A corrections officer for the Tacoma jail. The witness? A Tacoma police officer who had just testified about arresting the protesters. This was outrageous, and the judge was forced to call a mistrial.

So the trial has been re-scheduled for April 20th (readiness hearing is on April 16th). The judge has agreed to allow the “necessity defense”. The rationale behind the necessity defense is that sometimes, in a particular situation, a technical breach of the law is more advantageous to society than the consequence of strict adherence to the law. The defense is often used successfully in cases that involve a Trespass on property to save a person’s life or property. It also has been used, with varying degrees of success, in cases involving anti-nuclear or anti-war protests. During the 1980s, for example, the Necessity Defense was used by protesters who blocked trains (called “White Trains” because they were painted white to keep their radioactive contents cool) carrying nuclear warheads to military bases in the U.S. The rationale was that the danger of nuclear war far outweighed any trespassing or blocking of the trains. One infamous example of a ‘White Train” action was in the 1980s, when anti-war activist and Vietnam veteran Brian Wilson was hit by a “white train” during an action at the Concord Munitions Depot in California.
(For more on Brian’s story, go to: http://www.fatherjohndear.org/articles/road_to_transformation.htm )Many of us -including myself- were active in this movement, and this incident was a sobering example of the tremendous responsibility we all take when we participate in political protest.

Emma will have more to say on the “necessity defense” and more as the trial goes forward.

As I’m writing this, I am absorbing the sad news that Howard Zinn has died. I was thinking that a lot of the activists and their supporters in that courtroom today were influenced in some way by his “People’s History of the United States”. Howard was a tremendously committed and courageous resister whose exposure of the REAL history of this country has illuminated the dark and gory corners of this imperialist nightmare we live in.

So I’m raising my fist in the air to Howard’s memory tonight.

Maggie

THIS CASE IS NOT OVER, SO WE CONTINUE TO SAY:
Protesting Against Military Strykers Is No Crime! Drop the Charges on Patti Imani and Emma Kaplan! Prosecute War Criminals Not Anti-War Protesters!

CONTRIBUTE TO PORT PROTESTERS LEGAL DEFENSE FUND. Write checks to PO Legal Defense Fund. Mail to PO BOX 295 Olympia, WA 98507

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