If the City of Minneapolis prosecutes these cases, they'd better damned well
prosecute the 40 Saint Paul police officers who participated undercover and
may have helped incite this clash with overreactive Minneapolis officers.
Whatever happened to the judge's ruling that the lack of willingness to
identify those St. Paul cops was enough to dismiss these misdemeanors.
Jordan Kushner is correct in his understanding of jurisdiction over levels
of offenses. If the county attorney gets involved, then a felony must have
been charged.
Andy Driscoll
--
"Whatever keeps you from your work is your work."
Albert Camus
The Driscoll Group/Communications
Writing/Graphics/Political Consulting/Communications Strategies
835 Linwood Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-293-9039
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> From: "Jordan S. Kushner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Date: Mon, 1 Jan 2001 01:34:29 -0600
> To: "Multiple recipients of list" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: Re: Re-charging of ISAG cases - Couple of facts & a question
>
> Response to Ms. Becker:
>
>> First off, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, not the City of
>> Minneapolis Attorney's Office will be prosecuting these cases.
>
> Incorrect!!! (as usual Ms. Becker) The Minneapolis City Attorney's office IS
> prosecuting the ISAG protest cases referenced by Rosalind Nelson. Points of
> information - the City attorney's office prosecutes misdemeanors and gross
> misdemeanors with a very few exceptions (such as malicious punishment of a
> child), and the protesters are charged with misdemeanors. The County Attorney
> handles felony cases and charges involving juveniles.
>
>>
>> Second off, the County Attorney has 160 attorneys, and over 400 staff total
>> and it is doubtful that these few cases would cause any overtime or other
>> things sliding.
>
> The City Attorney's office has substantially fewer attorneys. There is one
> attorney (Assistant City Attorney Michael Hess) offiicially handling all the
> cases. I do not know how many staff and police are doing work on the
> prosecutions. It is obvious, however, that the hundreds of hours being spent
> on
> prosecuting political activists could otherwise be used for other purposes.
> (I
> do not know that the other ways that their time would be spent would
> necessarily
> be much better - eg discriminatory prosecution of people of color for minor
> offenses arising out of discriminatory arrests).
>
>>
>> Third off, this article does not provide any information as to why these
>> cases are being brought back. There are good legal reasons that they could
>> be brought back. Does anyone have information on why this is?
>
> The charges are being brought back on the basis of allegations that the
> accused
> persons participated in the ISAG demonstration. It is as simple as that. The
> city alleges that the demonstration was unlawful, and is therefore prosecuting
> people whom it believes participated. It is my admisttedly unobjective
> opinion
> that not only are there no good legal reasons for the proseuctions, but the
> prosecutions have the intention and effect of repressing free speech. I have
> yet to hear any refutation of this opinion. The other underlying motive for
> the
> prosecutions (and I feel comfortable stating it to be a fact) is the political
> pressure from the police department to pursue the cases based on reasoning
> that
> the fact of criminal charges somehow justifies all of the violence and money
> ($1.15 million) that they spent to repress 150 peaceful protesters.
>
>> Carol Becker
>> Longfellow
>
> Happy new year!
>
> Jordan Kushner
> Powderhorn
>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Rosalind Nelson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> To: Multiple recipients of list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>> Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2000 12:51 PM
>> Subject: Re-charging of ISAG cases
>>
>>> According to the Independent Media website (www.minneapolis.indymedia.org)
>>> the city is re-charging ISAG protesters whose cases had been dismissed in
>>> November (apparently the ones that were dropped by the judge because of
>> "no
>>> probable cause"). So are they hoping for a different judge? Trying to
>>> make extra work for the protester's lawyers?
>>>
>>> It seems as though the City Attorney's office must have some
>>> responsibilities other than conducting a war of attrition with protest
>>> groups. So are they hiring extra staff, working lots of overtime, or
>>> letting their other normal duties slide?
>>>
>>> Rosalind Nelson
>>> Bancroft
>>>
>
>
