On Wed., Aug. 11, and Thurs., Aug. 12, Pierce County District Court in Tacoma will be the site of "the first defense stemming from [PMR] arrests that will have the opportunity to argue before a jury that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are illegal, and that citizens have both a right and an obligation to resist illegal acts of war," attorney Larry Hildes said Tuesday.[1] -- See here for the official court schedule. -- "On January 27, 2010, Pierce County District Court Judge Margaret Vail Ross ruled that the necessity defense was appropriate for such a case." -- Star witnesses for the defense in the prosecution of Port Militarization Resistance activist Patti Imani will be Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg and Michael Honey, Fred and Dorothy Haley Professor of Humanities at the University of Washington-Tacoma. -- The trial is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. on Wed., Aug. 11, in Pierce County District Court. -- A defense team morning press briefing is scheduled for 8:00 a.m.-8:30 a.m. at the main entrance of the County City Building, 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, WA. -- Jury selection is to begin shortly thereafter. The trial is expected to begin soon after the lunch hour break, at about 1:00 p.m. -- Daniel Ellsberg is expected to testify on the morning of Aug. 12. -- In addition, Ellsberg will make a public statement and hold a press conference at 12:00 noon on Thurs., Aug. 12, in Room 2007 of Tacoma’s Evergreen Campus, 1201 6th Avenue, Tacoma, WA. -- Ellsberg is expected to focus on the importance of civil disobedience in ending an unpopular war, how release of the Pentagon Papers affected the anti-war movement during Vietnam, and the recent release of documents from the Afghanistan War Logs by Wikileaks. -- POST-TRIAL ADDENDUM: Honey testified, Ellsberg testified, but on Aug. 12, 2010, Patricia Imani was convicted of disorderly conduct by a six-member jury nevertheless. -- She was sentenced to a 90-day suspended sentence and a $500 fine that can be paid off by working at community service....
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DANIEL ELLSBERG TO TESTIFY IN TACOMA ANTI-WAR TRIAL
From the office of Lawrence Hildes, attorney
Washington Free Press
August 10, 2010
http://wafreepress.org/article/100606war-hildes.shtml
--Note: The courthouse address is 930 Tacoma Ave. S., Tacoma, WA, and according to the courthouse the trial starts at 9:00 a.m. on the 11th. —Ed.
Daniel Ellsberg will appear as a key witness in an antiwar case in Pierce County District Court on Wednesday, August 11, and Thursday, August 12, 2010. Ellsberg will testify that direct acts of civil disobedience are effective and necessary if unpopular wars are to end.
Ellsberg is the noted U.S. military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation who was responsible for release of the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971. The act of releasing the classified documents was technically illegal, but the act of civil resistance turned public sentiment against the Vietnam war, ultimately encouraging an end to the war.
The two-day trial focuses on defense of Olympia peace activist Patricia Imani, who was arrested during a non-violent protest near the gates of Fort Lewis in August of 2008 and charged with disorderly conduct.
Over 160 Northwest peace activists, in association with Port Militarization Resistance, have been arrested in the past four years while taking part in nonviolent civil disobedience to protest the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.
This is the first defense stemming from those arrests that will have the opportunity to argue before a jury that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are illegal, and that citizens have both a right and an obligation to resist illegal acts of war.
On January 27, 2010, Pierce County District Court Judge Margaret Vail Ross ruled that the necessity defense was appropriate for such a case. The necessity defense protects individuals who must technically breach the law in a situation where it is more advantageous to society than the consequence of strict adherence to the law.
This will be one of the first anti-war protest cases heard following release of The War Logs, a massive Wikipedia leak of government files exposing US war crimes. The trial will be held in courtroom 936, Pierce Co. District Court at the City County Building located 930 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma.
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