Squatting at the Tombs With the Watchdogs of Our Rights
I was holding off writing anything else until I finished the epic piece de resistance (pun intended) about my day in court; as the projected deadline for completion has now been extended until 2007 (and the projected end of the trial too, no doubt), I figured perhaps its time to move on. Actually, I think part of the problem is that I moved on... to focusing on the upcoming counter-inaugural actions and got swept away in a wave of uberfocus, as I'm wont to do. Uberfocus is the inverse of multitasking; its the nice way of saying I can't walk and chew gum at the same time (I forget to chew). So the last few days have been spent jumping from one site to another, sifting through all the listserve e-mails, setting up my local dc contact in the event of an arrest, getting ready for this weekend's nyc rehearsal march and meetings, and getting mentally psyched for next week. The last few nights have been spent down by the Lincoln Tunnel, trying to earn back the money I'm losing from the missed time at work and the cheap crazy Chinatown bus ticket.
It is far too late at night to try and start a new post- anything above mundane rambling is far too ambitious considering my tendency towards the long winded combined with the fact that I have to be up very early to get down to the courthouse (100 Centre street...my favorite place in the whole city!) for the city's contempt hearing. Damn, now I have to go into it anyway. Oh well, it would somehow be wrong if I entered that building in any state other than sleep deprived.
The short version (if I am indeed capable of that) is that a NY State Supreme Court judge by the name of Cataldo repeatedly found the city of New York and the Bloomberg administration to be in contempt of court for holding the RNC arrestees for over 24 hours before their arraignments. The NLG filed a writ of habeus corpus while we were still in the process of being shuffled from cell to cell intentionally trapped within the system, and Cataldo ordered the city to release the protesters immediately. When the city did not comply with these orders, Cataldo found the city and the Bloomberg administration to be in contempt of court. The city was continually called back into court as Judge Cataldo's deadlines passed unmet; finally after 6 hearings and a threat by Cataldo to fine the city up to $1000 per person detained over 24 hours (which still might be implemented), all of the protesters were released. The city was then given a hearing date at the end of September with the State Supreme Court, but they appealled the contempt ruling and the hearing was postponed pending the outcome of the appeal. In mid-December, 5 Appellate Division judges unanimously dismissed the city's appeal and now they have to be called into account for their unlawful detainment. Tomorrow is the re-scheduled hearing and the process can now resume, albeit at a snail's pace.
The unsung heroes at the NLG (including my fabulous bad-ass lawyer who's the president of the NYC chapter) put a call out to pack the courthouse tomorrow; as an individual concerned about the continual theft of civil liberties and an arrestee held for over 50 hours without ever being charged or arraigned, I think its important that I attend. After all, this suit is in part on my behalf.
Big shout out to Norman Siegel, champion of rights, the NYC NLG whose volunteers and members have worked tirelessly (literally- they were sleeping in the crappy little office protecting the video evidence for months) on behalf of arrestees, and the Legal Aid Society for bringing this suit against the city in the first place. When we caught wind of it in jail, it lifted our dejected asses and barely recognizable spirits out of the toilets they were mired in.
For all that is so very wrong about what's going on in this country in terms of first amendment violations, its incredibly uplifting to see people out there fighting so fiercely for you and not allowing injustices to go unchallenged. This is my second trip to the tombs this week, a place I'd rather forget. Both are empowering in completely different ways, and its nice to know and own that places, memories and indignities can be reclaimed and vindicated.
In Solidarity,
Synge
It is far too late at night to try and start a new post- anything above mundane rambling is far too ambitious considering my tendency towards the long winded combined with the fact that I have to be up very early to get down to the courthouse (100 Centre street...my favorite place in the whole city!) for the city's contempt hearing. Damn, now I have to go into it anyway. Oh well, it would somehow be wrong if I entered that building in any state other than sleep deprived.
The short version (if I am indeed capable of that) is that a NY State Supreme Court judge by the name of Cataldo repeatedly found the city of New York and the Bloomberg administration to be in contempt of court for holding the RNC arrestees for over 24 hours before their arraignments. The NLG filed a writ of habeus corpus while we were still in the process of being shuffled from cell to cell intentionally trapped within the system, and Cataldo ordered the city to release the protesters immediately. When the city did not comply with these orders, Cataldo found the city and the Bloomberg administration to be in contempt of court. The city was continually called back into court as Judge Cataldo's deadlines passed unmet; finally after 6 hearings and a threat by Cataldo to fine the city up to $1000 per person detained over 24 hours (which still might be implemented), all of the protesters were released. The city was then given a hearing date at the end of September with the State Supreme Court, but they appealled the contempt ruling and the hearing was postponed pending the outcome of the appeal. In mid-December, 5 Appellate Division judges unanimously dismissed the city's appeal and now they have to be called into account for their unlawful detainment. Tomorrow is the re-scheduled hearing and the process can now resume, albeit at a snail's pace.
The unsung heroes at the NLG (including my fabulous bad-ass lawyer who's the president of the NYC chapter) put a call out to pack the courthouse tomorrow; as an individual concerned about the continual theft of civil liberties and an arrestee held for over 50 hours without ever being charged or arraigned, I think its important that I attend. After all, this suit is in part on my behalf.
Big shout out to Norman Siegel, champion of rights, the NYC NLG whose volunteers and members have worked tirelessly (literally- they were sleeping in the crappy little office protecting the video evidence for months) on behalf of arrestees, and the Legal Aid Society for bringing this suit against the city in the first place. When we caught wind of it in jail, it lifted our dejected asses and barely recognizable spirits out of the toilets they were mired in.
For all that is so very wrong about what's going on in this country in terms of first amendment violations, its incredibly uplifting to see people out there fighting so fiercely for you and not allowing injustices to go unchallenged. This is my second trip to the tombs this week, a place I'd rather forget. Both are empowering in completely different ways, and its nice to know and own that places, memories and indignities can be reclaimed and vindicated.
In Solidarity,
Synge
posted by Le Synge Bleu at 1:18 AM
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