-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.amandla.org/cia/ <A HREF="http://www.amandla.org/cia/">Lyons v. CIA. Class action lawsuit filed agains </A> ----- Lyons v. C.I.A. [This is the lawsuit filed in Oakland, North California] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Class Action Lawsuit against the CIA, on behalf of crack cocaine epidemic victims ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Background Info on Case includes info on: - General Info - The CIA/DoJ secret agreement: No duty to report drug crimes - Legal liability for failing to intervene in the importation of crack cocaine - Causes of Action - Relief Sought - Categories of harm resulting from crack cocaine Copy of Lyons v. CIA filed in Federal District Court in Oakland, California on Monday 15 March 1999. What happens now? For the next 2 months, there is an interim period where the case can be amended, thoroughly researched, citations added, etc. Volunteers (law students, community organizers, churches, community leaders, etc.) are welcomed with open arms. Volunteers Needed! Lawstudent? - Can you help us with legal research? Community Organizer - Can you organize for justice for crack cocaine epidemic victims and communities? Community Leaders - Can you stand up and be counted and demand justice for communities who suffered from crack cocaine? Letter writers? - Can you send a letter to your representative, mail a postcard? General Questions & Answers Before sending emails asking numerous questions, please read the Q & A section, since your questions have probably been asked by someone else! ;-) [Save our volunteers time!] Eg. Can I sign on as a plaintiff? How much money is the suit asking for? etc. Upcoming Events, Happenings, Organizing: For more info on what is happening regarding organizing, etc! Sister Lawsuits Contact names, numbers, websites, etc for sistersuits, and possible cities wanting to file suits. For more information on: �the Drug War, visit: - The November Coalition or Stop the Drug War �Prisons, visit: Organization for Sensible & Effective Prison Policy �CIA drug connection, visit: Cop v. CIA [An ex-LAPD narcotics cop unveils the truth about the CIA Drugs, etc] Search the Amandla sites: Political Resources for contacting Senators and Congressmen/women to send your letters demanding justice Sites where you can find the contact address for your representatives (Congress and Senate), as well as fax numbers and email addresses. You can also get the ACLU site to fax your letter to your reprentative for you, immediately! Electronic Activist also gives information on Media Email addresses by state. Also contact emails for Court Reporters for Major Media by state. LEGAL RESOURCES FOR PRISONERS & THEIR FAMILIES: Legal Resources, links, find a lawyer, find case histories, etc. These pages are hosted by the Amandla Awethu (Power to the People) website, and are dedicated to people around the world who have given their lives and commitment to fighting for Peace and Justice. Last Updated on 22 March '99 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ � 1997 Disclaimer: Amandla'ss collection of pages contain graphics from many different sources. There is no claim (even implied) to any of the graphics. If any laws have been broken in obtaining and publishing these graphics, please let me know. Amandla does not take any responsibility that the information on any of these pages, or links to other pages is correct. However to the best of the webmistress's knowldedge, it is. ==== from: http://www.amandla.org/cia/info.html <A HREF="http://www.amandla.org/cia/info.html">OSEPP - Organisation for Sensible and Effective </A> ----- CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT ON BEHALF OF VICTIMS OF THE CRACK COCAINE EPIDEMIC ------------------------------------------------------------------------ �General Info �The CIA/DoJ secret agreement: No duty to report drug crimes �Legal liability for failing to intervene in the importation of crack cocaine �Causes of Action �Relief Sought �Categories of harm resulting from crack cocaine General Info: On Monday, 15 March, 1999, two (2) class action lawsuits were filed against the CIA and Department of Justice (DoJ) on behalf of people who have been harmed by the importation of tons of cocaine into California's metropolitan areas. The lawsuits are based on a secret agreement between the CIA and DoJ officials, which led to policies protecting, rather than stopping, drug trafficking in crack cocaine. Each lawsuit concerns two groups of people affected by the crack epidemic: plaintiffs, largely African American, who experienced harms on an individual basis (loved ones killed in drive-by shootings, babies born addicted to crack); and plaintiffs who experienced injuries suffered by the community as a whole (emergency rooms inundated, business districts gutted, schools becoming danger zones, etc.). THE CIA/DoJ SECRET AGREEMENT: NO DUTY TO REPORT DRUG CRIMES The proof of CIA and DoJ official's roles in the crack cocaine epidemic comes directly from testimony and documents made public through congressional investigation, from the 10/08/98 Report furnished by the Inspector General of the CIA, and from the 1987 Kerry Report. On March 16, 1998, CIA Inspector General Frederick Hitz appeared before the House Intelligence Committee to report on his investigation of the CIA, the Contras and crack cocaine. Hitz testified that beginning in 1982, the CIA entered into an undisclosed agreement with the Department of Justice, allowing CIA officers to refrain from reportiing drug trafficking by its "agents, assets, and non-staff employees". Hitz admitted "there are instances where the CIA did not in an expeditious or consistent fashion, cut off relationships with individuals supporting the Contra program who were alleged to have engaged in drug trafficking activity, or take action to resolve the allegation." When asked by Cong. Norman Dicks of Washington, "Did any of these allegations involve trafficking in the United States?", Hitz's answered "yes." Hitz acknowledged that the CIA knew of drug trafficking allegations "regarding dozens of individuals and a number of companies connected in some fashion to the Contra program or the Contra movement." Through the secret agreement, the CIA and DoJ attempted to exempt the CIA from reporting about the drug trafficking of persons "employed by, assigned to, or acting for an agency within the intelligence community." However, the CIA/DoJ agreement violated a federal statute, 28 USC 535, which "imposes a duty on every department and agency in the Executive Branch to report promptly to the Attorney General any information, allegations or complaints relating to possible violations of [criminal law] by officers and employees of the government." The private CIA/DoJ agreement attempted to get around this federal law by redefining the term "employee" to mean only full-time career officials - as opposed to persons "employed by, assigned to, or acting for an agency within the intelligence community." In addition, the secret agreement violated Executive Order 12333, issued in 1981, which required the reportiing of drug crimes. In the opening phase of crack epidemic, between 1982 and 1986, CIA officers and sources received reports concerning major cocaine importers in the Bay Area, Norwin Meneses and Danillo Blandon. These suppliers funneled vast quantities of cocaine to "Freeway Rick" Ross, who proceeded to flood South Central Los Angeles with a new, low-cost product - crack. There is extensive documentation showing that the CIA was fully informed about this and other sources of Contra-supplied crack cocaine. But the CIA remained silent as shipment after shipment of this new intensely addictive form of the drug spread though South Central Los Angeles and Compton. The result was the death, addiction and incarceration of men, women and children, the collapse of families, relationships, communities and businesses, the destruction of whole neighbourhoods and communities forced to live in war zones, fought over by gangs and local law enforcement. Once this initial market was glutted, mid-level dealers diverted the flow to other African American communities in California, such as San Francisco, Oakland and Richmond. A primary rationale for the CIA'S not intervening was that the drug profits went, in part, to support the efforts of the Contra guerillas against the Nicaraguan government. LEGAL LIABILITY FOR FAILING TO INTERVENE IN THE IMPORTATION OF CRACK COCAINE Theory of Causation The signatories of the CIA/DoJ secret agreement -- Attorney General William French Smith and CIA Director William Casey -- and their successors, agencies and agents are legally liable for the pipeline of crack cocaine which inundated California urban centers from 1982 to 1985, and for the after -effects which continue to the present day. Smith, Casey, their successors and their agents knew or should have known that failing to report drug crimes would interfere with law enforcement agencies' efforts to halt the importation of cocaine, and that this would ultimately result in a "crack epidemic", involving addiction, death, incarceration, increased crime, higher taxes, exhaustion of social services, etc. The outcome followed the well-known pattern of opium in China and heroin in the United States, which similarly devastated low-income urban communities. The proof of the harm which ensued is based on official statistical evidence from city and county budgets, public health departments, hospitals, police departments, courts, and jails. In addition, individual plaintiffs and witnesses will testify concerning the injuries they sustained due to the crack epidemic. Causes of Action �1. The CIA's failure to report allegations of drug crimes, along with the DoJ's acquiescence to this non-reporting, interfered with law enforcement's efforts to thwart the importation of crack cocaine. This violated plaintiff's right to due process, as guaranteed by the 5th Amendment of the United States Constitution. Plaintiffs were denied equal protection because: (a) defendants violated federal law and executive orders requiring that drug crimes be reported, and this failure to report impacted plaintiff's; and (b) as a result of defendant's conduct, plaintiffs did not receive adequate law enforcement protection in their communities. For this violation of their civil rights, plaintiffs are entitled to relief pursuant to Bivents v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, 403 U.S. 388 (1971). �2. CIA and DoJ agents failed to perform duties owed to the plaintiffs, particularly their duties to follow the law and report drug crimes. The district court has the power to compel federal officers or employees to perform their duties, pursuant to 28 United States Code section 1361. �3. The CIA's failure to report allegations of drug crimes, along with the DoJ's acquiescence to this non-reporting, interfered with law enforcement's efforts to thwart the importation of crack cocaine. Because the crack epidemic was not promptly and adequately halted, plaintiff's communities became dangerous, impoverished and inadequately supported by social services. These unlivable conditions, in which plaintiffs could not comfortably enjoy life and property, constitute the tort of "public nuisance," and plaintiffs who were particularly impacted by this public nuisance [threat to life and health] are entitled relief. (Plaintiffs hereby give notice that the complaint will be amended to include the following cause of action, pendiing the outcome of the simultaneously filed federal tort claim.) Relief Sought �Declaratory: Plaintiff's seek a declaration that the secret CIA/DoJ agreement and the consequent policy and practice of not reporting crimes, were illegal. �Injunctive: Plaintiffs seek an order requiring the CIA to report to the DoJ all possible drug crimes by all persons, as has been previously required by executive order. �Damages: Plaintiffs seek money to rebuild the community & to fund drug treatment. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CATEGORIES OF HARM RESULTING FROM CRACK COCAINE �I. Harm to individual crack users: A. Addiction B. Loss of job C. Incarceration D. Death from Overdose E. Death from Violent Crime ------------------------------------------------------------------------ �II. Harm to individual non-users by crack users: A. Emotional stress due to living in a community permeated by addiction and death B. Undermining family structure & parental authority C. Financial hardship due to breadwinner�s: �1. Addiction �2. Loss of job �3. Incarceration �4. Death D. Emotional stress due to loved one�s addiction E. Emotional stress due to loved one�s death (overdose or victim of crime) F. Death from violent crime ------------------------------------------------------------------------ �III. Harm to Community A. Resources diverted from education to: security in schools, building of prisons. B. Destruction of community organizations C. Destruction of businesses: �1. Loss of worker �2. Loss of customer base �3. Reduced security �4.Loss of credit D. Undermining tax base �1. Exodus of middle class �2. Difficulty in obtaining a mortgage E. Overwhelming social services: �1. Medical care �2. Poverty relief (shelters, food programs, financial & hous ing assistance) F. Overwhelming legal system �1. Police �2. Courts (public defenders, DA's, judges, etc.) �3. Jails and Prisons. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ � 1999 Disclaimer: Amandla'ss collection of pages contain graphics from many different sources. There is no claim (even implied) to any of the graphics. If any laws have been broken in obtaining and publishing these graphics, please let me know. Amandla does not take any responsibility that the information on any of these pages, or links to other pages is correct. However to the best of the webmistress's knowldedge, it is. ---- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. 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