Today, in Brooklyn Criminal Court, disorderly conduct charges against the last seven defendants of 29 arrested nineteen months earlier were dismissed "in the interests of justice."  In two previous trials, judges had dismissed the charges after the prosecution phase.  The judge's written opinion received today also grants defense motion to dismiss on the basis of "facial insufficiency," meaning that the charges, which originally included Obstruction of Government Administration" were not properly filed by the District Attorney.

Some defendants elected to take an "adjournment contemplating dismissal," which is not an admission of guilt, but the twelve people arrested who chose to go to trial all have had charges dropped.  The persistence of these freedom fighters, and their attorneys from the Brooklyn Legal Aid Society, the National Lawyers Guild, New York Law Collective and Brooklyn Defenders was sustained through more than 20 days of appearances, two trials, multiple hearings, and the arrest and jailing of Christina Gonzalez for contempt of court when she righteously objected to an order from a judge who has written a white supremacist book.

Congratulations to defendants Greg Allen, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Fr. Luis Barrios, Randy Credico, Noche Diaz, Carl Dix, Christina Gonzalez, John Hector, Nick Malinowsky, Bob Parsons, Morgan Rhodewalt, and Matt Swaye, and deep thanks to attorneys Noha Momtaz Arafa, Genesis Fisher, Julie Fry, Daniella Korotzer, Elizabeth Latimer, Meagan Maurus, and Marty Stolar,

Another Queens jury didn't accept the District Attorney's argument that protesters committed any crime back in November of 2011 when we marched on the 103rd NYPD Precinct, second in Queens in stop-and-frisks.  To two counts of Obstructing Government Administration, they said, NOT guilty.  But they could not get past the idea that the police ordered people to move -- even if it was not a lawful order -- and convicted Greg, Noche, Ribka and Matt of disorderly conduct, a violation.  They will be sentenced on July 18.

Any time the prosecutors slink out of a courtroom, it's cause for celebration, and we are glad there were no criminals convictions. Attorney Marty Stolar, part of the legal team who defended the freedom figthers, said tonight, "I am satisfied with the verdict but also disappointed. I wanted the whole thing."  There was no lawful order for protesters to be dispersed, and they should not have been convicted.

A most interesting scene developed outside the criminal courts building afterward.  Although one alternate juror declined to speak to us, and another juror said "no comment" as to her thoughts on stop-and-frisk after two weeks of hearing about it, 4 jurors and one alternate hung out for quite awhile with defendants, attorneys, and supporters.  There were hand-shakes and hugs.  They said, as jurors in the last case said, that they were most concerned that our defendants not get any jail time.  "You all are great people!"  They wanted to finally meet the defendants, and attorneys, and learn more background.

Discussing stop-and-frisk outside Queens Criminal Court. Attorney Steve Silverblatt; defendant Ribka Getachew, and attorney Mani Taferi speaking with juror.An older African American man was most outspoken and warmly hugged defendants.  We asked if his opinion of stop-and-frisk had changed, and he said yes.  "I still think it could do some good.  But it's so unfair how only certain groups of people are stopped."  Another juror said the defendants, and our attorneys, were "really interesting, honest people, but we didn't like the police or the District Attorney's attitude."  She said the contempt for the defendants showed by the D.A's alienated the jury, a fact they talked about in deliberations.

The jurors asked to know more about our movement, and got flyers about the Stop Mass Incarceration Network.  All said that the experience of the trial had given them a lot to think about in terms of how the courts and police work.  A very basic question they asked: why did they system spend two weeks trying people for something that was completely non-violent and lawful, when there are real crimes being committed?

There are still five defendants to be tried on these same charges: Elaine Brower, Calvin Barnwell, John Hector, Richie Marini, to be tried Tuesday July 8, and Christina Gonzalez, whose case has been severed and is not yet scheduled for trial.  We have no expectation that the DA will drop the OGA charges.

There is MUCH more to learn from the scene in Queens.  The controversy over stop-and-frisk in the city, particularly the Floyd v City of New York lawsuit in federal court, and the way in which the NYPD's policy has become an issue in the mayoral race -- because it's now more widely seen as a big problem -- affected this trial.  More importantly, it shows how potentially widespread opposition to it could be, and what a responsibility we have to carry forward resistance to this practice, and to mass incarceration, so that even more people see that there is no good reason for the authorities to get away with locking up so many people.

The defense rested Friday May 31 in the case of the Queens District Attorney v Greg Allen, Noche Diaz, Ribka Getachew and Matt Swaye.  Defense attorneys moved for dismissal of both Obstruction of Government Administration and Disorderly Conduct charges on the basis that the DA had not proved there had been an government business disrupted by the protesters.  They argued that the NYPD, by barricading a city block had put the public at an inconvenience for what they claimed to know would be a non-violent protest.

In a development unusual so far in these proceedings, the judge did not immediately deny the motion regarding the OGA charges.  He said he is "holding in in abeyance" until the jury makes its decision on guilt.  He denied the motion concerning disorderly conduct charges.

Closing arguments Friday afternoon by defense attorneys Marty Stolar, Daria Aumond, Tom Hilgardner and Mani Taferi visited -- as much as allowed by the judge -- the reason the protest in November 2011 focused on the 103rd Precinct to deliver a political message against NYPD stop-and-frisk. Asst District Attorney Heyman pointed to "these four defendants" 34 times, saying they "formed a human wall to block people from entering the precinct." 

The NYPD's own videotape did not show such a human wall, and their officers did not show that any disruption had taken place, other than delay by several minutes of an officer entering the precinct.  They jury began deliberations late Friday afternoon and will continue at 9:45 am Monday.

The ten week federal civil lawsuit against the NYPD's practice of stop-and-frisk, Floyd v City of New York, ended last Monday.  We learned much about the quotas, racism, and cynical operations of the NYPD -- but it all added up to what many people already knew.  Stop-and-frisk is racist, unconstitutional and unjust.

The next day another trial of stop-and-frisk began in Queens, when four more freedom fighters were brought to stand trial for protesting at the capital of stop-and-frisk, the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica. On November 19, 2011, twenty people were arrested for standing outside the precinct doors, demanding an end to stop-and-frisk, and specifically in that precinct, which has the second highest number of illegal stops in the city. It's the precinct where NYPD killed Sean Bell in 2005, and where there's been intense harassment of trans people.

It's outrageous that Greg Allen, Noche Diaz, Ribka Getachew and Matt Swaye are even on trial. For 18 months, the District Attorney has refused to drop two counts of Obstruction of Government Administration against 13 people, even when the first group of four was found not guilty by a jury last November.  Prosecutors are bringing the same evidence, but say they hope to get a different outcome with another jury. 

It took two full days to get a six person jury and two alternates selected. So many people in the jury pool expressed opinions against stop-and-frisk that the prosecution was able to have some excluded for cause, because they said they wouldn't be able to listen to police officers and believe them.  Others who spoke out against stop-and-frisk, or had negative experiences with the NYPD, but said they could still be fair and unbiased in this case, were excluded when the prosecutor used pre-emptive challenges to exclude them. 

Of the last people in the jury pool to be questioned, four openly expressed opposition to stop-and-frisk. A young sister said she had been to protests against police brutality, and protested when Kimani Gray was murdered by the NYPD a couple months ago. She told one of those wrenching stories that breaks your heart about being abused as a child, going to court to testify against her abuser, and the prosecution not getting her abuser convicted.  A young man had friends who had been arrested during Occupy Wall Street when the police led protesters into a place, then busted them.  He didn't believe the police.  A human resources manager quoted statistics on stop-and-frisk, and said "I believe it's biased, and there is not evidence it stops crimes. Over 90% of the people stopped were doing nothing wrong, and they are almost all Black and Latino.  I think they should do stop-and-frisk on the Upper East Side (a wealthy area in Manhattan.) 

The potential juror questioned the most was a 40 year old African American train conductor.  He told of being stopped "many" times by the NYPD driving to work at night.  Our lawyer asked, "how many times have you been stopped?"  The court room -- except for the prosecutors -- erupted in laughter when he said, "you mean this year? I really couldn't even tell you."  He went on to say that his brothers, cousins, son, son's friends are all stopped a lot.  "And I do not know why.  We are all working, going about our business.  We have no records."  He said that he lives in what is called a "high crime area," and it turned out to be the 103rd Precinct.  He said that stop-and-frisk does not do any good, and he doesn't like it. 

We ended up with a jury of people born in Queens, and all over the world, who say they don't have an opinion about stop-and-frisk, with one alternate believing that it's a good practice which she is sure lowers crime, although she cannot site how. These jurors say they have never been involved in protest.  The prosecutor, who stipulated there was no violence from the protesters, is building his case on the fact that one could protest, even for a good cause, and still break the law.

Attorneys Mani Tafari, Martin Stolar, Thomas Hillgardner and Daria Aumond will argue that no laws were broken, and in fact the protesters were led, by NYPD officers, into a barricaded zone in front of the 103rd, and then arrested when they made a protest in front of the door.  The defendants will testify about why they protested stop-and-frisk.

The trial begins Tuesday, May 28, and is expected to go three or four days.  Trial support makes a big difference in front of a jury.  Join us 9:30 am Room K-15 at Queens Criminal Court.  125-01 Queens Blvd.  E/F train to Kew Gardens/Union Turnpike.

Today, 38 of us gathered at 100 Centre Street for Noche Diaz' trial on two arrests in which he was observing police arrest others, and got arrested and charged with some serious misdemeanors himself.  We all knew these charges, three counts of Obstructing Government Administration, one each of Resisting Arrest and Disorderly Conduct, which could have meant 2 years at Rikers, were piled on by NYPD because of Noche's well-known role in Harlem with the Peoples' Neighborhood Patrol, and as a freedom fighter who didn't walk on by when people were being abused by NYPD, but told them their rights.

Noche and his attorney, Gideon Oliver of the National Lawyers Guild, were prepared to for the trial with video, photos, witnesses, and with the truth that Noche didn't commit any crime in either case.   1700 people, including a lot of well-known people in NYC, signed on, calling on District Attorney Cyrus Vance to drop the charges on Noche.

We were prepared, in choosing the jury, to reference the political climate in NYC since Noche's first arrest in October, 2011, when we did the first wave of civil disobedience protest against NYPD's stop-and-frisk, and the lawsuit Floyd v City of New York, now in a fifth week of exposing the abuse stop and frisk means for hundreds of thousands.

Apparently the DA's enthusiasm for trying Noche got reduced by some or all of this.  The same Assistant D.A. who has tried many OWS cases, and who got 20 of us convicted of Disorderly Conduct last May for the October 2011 protest, approached Gideon Oliver with a vastly different deal than he had been proposing for the last year.  Instead of Noche pleading guilty to two crimes, and getting 30 days in jail, which was not acceptable, the state would drop all criminal charges, seek no jail time or fine, if Noche pled guilty to a violation.  This is what happened in court today, after Noche gave an excellent statement to the judge. 

We care celebrating! After 18 months, no crime, no time, no fine.  The most remarkable thing about the time in court was that a packed courtroom -- probably 80 people in addition to our crowd -- heard a young revolutionary describe an "average day in Harlem" in terms most deeply felt to be their experience, win a victory, and walk out to applause.  One person who really lost it then, Judge McGrath, who almost jumped over the bench, screaming, "SHUT UP! This is a courtroom,
not a playground.  GET OUT! CLEAR THE COURT!"  A young man grabbed one of us, and said, with pride, "you all are NO JOKE!" (another version is that he said "you mf's are serious!") and others came out to shake Noche's hand, and say they had seen him on Channel 12 this morning.  Cornel West texted, "Give my love to brother Noche on the occassion of this victory."

Most strongly, people in line and walking by, stopped to find out what was extraordinary about Noche: a young person who doesn't walk on by when someone is stopped by the police, but lets them know they have rights, and that there is a whole different way the world could be.  We met many friends today, and saw people holding heads a little higher, because people do not have to be beat down like they are.  Thanks to friends from the Lower East Side, the Revolution Club, and many on this list who came out today, who circulated the statement for Noche, and signed it.

NEXT UP: Noche still has charges in 3 boroughs: Disorderly Conduct in the Jeffeth James beating by NYPD in The Bronx; Disorderly Conduct with 6 others in Brooklyn from the November 1, 2011 protest of Stop-and-Frisk, and with 8 others in Queens where charges are still 2 counts of OGA.  This wave of protest isn't over until all the charges are gone.  And:

Court hearing for people arrested in March when Kimani Gray was killed in Brooklyn,
Thursday April 25 at 120 Schermerhorn Street, 9:30 am

Monday April 29, 7:00 pm Next Stop Mass Incarceration Network Meeting.  Riverside Church
120th & Claremont.  Agenda will be discussion of Carl Dix' proposal for action to support the
July California prison hunger strike.

Next freedom-fighter trial: Monday May 20, Queens Criminal Court for Greg Allen, Noche Diaz,
Ribka Getachew and Matt Swaye.

Note:  This was received from the Alan Blueford Coalition back in October 2012, and we thank them, and apologize for the late posting.

The Justice 4 Alan Blueford Coalition (http://justice4alanblueford.org/) stands in solidarity with Jamel Mins, Carl Dix, Robert Parsons, Morgan Rhodewalt and their eight companions, standing trial in New York City on trumped-up charges brought by the Queens County District Attorney, Richard Brown, for peacefully protesting the unconstitutional Stop & Frisk policies of the New York Police Department.

Alan Blueford, an 18-year old black student, was murdered as the consequence of an illegal stop & frisk in Oakland, California on May 6th, 2012. Recognizing this, the Coalition has made the elimination of stop & frisk -- a de facto policy of the Oakland Police Department -- one of its five demands in seeking justice for Alan Blueford.

Countless youth and men of color have been harassed and their lives put in jeopardy by this police tactic designed to intimidate an entire generation. The Justice 4 Alan Blueford Coalition salutes all those in New York City who have taken up the battle against Stop & Frisk. We here in Oakland are watching as events unfold in New York City: every
march and every press conference, developments in each trial and lawsuit, and your struggle to legislatively end Stop & Frisk by enacting the Community Safety Act.

We call on everyone from coast to coast and in between to demand that District Attorney Richard Brown drop all charges a against these peaceful protesters, and we also ask everyone to sign the Stop Mass Incarceration petition calling for dismissal of all charges at stopmassincarceration.org/resolution.html.

Thursday January 24 through Saturday January 26 we are going to the area where the NYPD beat Jeffeth James last March, and where Noche Diaz was arrested while observing the beating.  We are building support in the neighborhood, and looking for people who saw the beating, so that we can verify video footage to be used at trial.

JOIN in Thursday & Friday 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm, and Saturday afternoon 1:00 - 5:00 pm.  Meet at McDonald's, near the Elder Avenue Station of the 6 train in the Bronx at Westchester & Boynton Avenues.  Call 347 979 7646 for updates.
You can help post a flyer in the area with this message:

Can You Help Keep Noche Diaz from Getting Locked up Because He Observed the NYPD Beating Jeffeth James near this corner?

March 12, 2012 , in late afternoon at the corner of Westchester & Boynton, Noche Diaz saw NYPD beating Jeffeth James, right, in the street as they pulled him out of his car.  NYPD beat Jeff so badly, allegedly because of a faulty license plate light, that his dreadlocks were left on the street. 

Many people gathered in outrage, and pulled out their phones. Noche Diaz, left, told the police he had the right to observe them without interfering, but got hauled to jail with two other observers.

Noche, a revolutionary freedom-fighter, goes on trial Monday January 28 in Bronx Criminal Court.  IF YOU SAW what NYPD did to Jeffeth James, we need you to verify video footage of the beating. Jeffeth's trial is Monday February 4.

Contact:  Stop Mass Incarceration Network

347-979-7646 or [email protected]

Your conversation will be CONFIDENTIAL

Originally posted on No War No Torture by Nancy Van Ness

Police can and do make errors and give orders that are not legal, sometimes accidentally like every other human being and sometimes on purpose. It is chilling that a judge, who is supposed to be impartial and not a tool of the police, would tell someone that he has to do what the police tell him.  The moment that we citizens allow the police to think for us, we live in a police state and when judges back that up, we are in real trouble.

It appears from the following incident in the Bronx court today that we are in real trouble. Below is a report from that court room today:

“Josh [Norkin, attorney for Noche Diaz, activist against the Stop and Frisk police, see more here and here] went in front of the judge, who immediately started lecturing Noche that when a cop tells him something, he has to do it.  She went on at length speculating that, whatever Noche had done, he didn’t want to obey the cop, or tell the court what he was doing.  Josh took her on in a loud clear voice.  ‘We know exactly what was going on. The police were beating a man terribly in the street, and a crowd gathered.  Noche was in the crowd, observing.’ The judge said Noche had to follow the police order to move.  Josh said no, he didn’t.  ‘It wasn’t a lawful order.’

“The judge didn’t like this at all.  ‘I suppose he wants to stand on his constitutional rights, but he doesn’t have them here.’  She asked the DA if they would offer an ACD (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal).  They did offer it.  Josh told the court, “‘We will refuse an ACD’

“Hell, yeah.  The whole point of defending ourselves against these unjust arrests is to establish that people have the right to observe and document police abuse.  Just because the NYPD arrests you while doing it, doesn’t mean they’re right.  It’s great to have attorneys on our side who see this, and who are just as outraged as we are.”  See the rest of Debra Sweet’s report here.

Are you outraged at the way the NYPD treat people of color in this city?  Are you outraged that the judge lectured Noche and wonder if she would lecture a Wall St criminal?

If you are, what are you doing about this?  Go the Stop Mass Incareration website, learn more and sign the resoultion.  Go to the fundraiser on Thursday for legal expenses for these defendentants who are standing up to police abuse in this city and to a policy that targets black and brown persons.  If you can’t make the party, you can still contribute online.  Link that site to your facebook page and other social media.  Go to a hearing yourself if you are in NYC.

Stop Stop and Frisk protesters are making an impact.  Though the corporate media don’t give this very much attention, alternative media in this city do.  Maybe most importantly,  the people in the courtrooms where these hearings are held, many of them from the populations being targeted, are getting to see resistance for a change.  They may be gaining some hope for a better world.

WE WON’T STOP TILL WE STOP STOP AND FRISK

by Debra Sweet

Noche Diaz appeared in Bronx Criminal Court today on a disorderly conduct charge from an arrest in March when the NYPD was trying to beat Jeffeth James.  Noche, as is his right, stood and observed the police abuse, got arrested with two other observers, and has refused to take an ACD to make the arrest "go away." 

So the prosecution once again wasn't ready.  Fine with us -- we don't care if it ever goes to trial -- but Noche needs to have charges in four boroughs off his back.  (He's on trial Wednesday December 5 in Brooklyn on another disorderly from a group protest against stop-and-frisk from November 2011).

We had yet another judge today, this time a retired Supreme Court judge whose role is to get pleas to violations.  The room was filled with adult and middle aged people of color.  Probably most of them were charged with "open container" or other so-called "Quality of life" issues like public urination, disorderly conduct or other things not considered misdemeanor crimes.  They are violations and some can bring fifteen days in jail.

Legal Aid attorney Josh Norkin has been representing Noche at what seems like ten appearances so far. Noche and Josh went in front of the judge, who immediately started lecturing Noche that when a cop tells him something, he has to do it.  She went on at length speculating that, whatever Noche had done, he didn't want to obey the cop, or tell the court what he was doing.  Josh took her on in a loud clear voice.  "We know exactly what was going on. The police were beating a man terribly in the street, and a crowd gathered.  Noche was in the crowd, observing."  The judge said Noche had to follow the police order to move.  Josh said no, he didn't.  "It wasn't a lawful order."

The judge didn't like this at all.  "I suppose he wants to stand on his constitutional rights, but he doesn't have them here."  She asked the DA if they would offer an ACD (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal).  They did offer it.  Josh told the court, "We will refuse an ACD".  

Hell, yeah.  The whole point of defending ourselves against these unjust arrests is to establish that people have the right to observe and document police abuse.  Just because the NYPD arrests you while doing it, doesn't mean they're right.  It's great to have attorneys on our side who see this, and who are just as outraged as we are.

This trial is now scheduled for Monday, January 28.