Thirty-four people were convicted yesterday of misdemeanor charges stemming from a demonstration at the Supreme Court in January in which they decried conditions at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Wendell P. Gardner Jr. said the demonstrators violated the law by protesting at the plaza of the Supreme Court, where such activities are banned. He rejected arguments that they were practicing free speech when they marched to the plaza, despite warnings from police, carrying banners and wearing T-shirts saying "Shut down Guantanamo."
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As Gardner began explaining his ruling, one of the defendants, Paul Magno of the District, stood up and turned away from the judge. Gardner ordered a marshal to arrest Magno for contempt of court. Magno was escorted out, but not before shouting to the judge: "You have committed a crime against justice."The judge ordered all defendants to return to court today for sentencing. Each faces up to 60 days in jail. Gardner said most will probably get probation. Those who had prior convictions, mostly for civil disobedience or disturbing the peace, could be jailed, Gardner said, to stop them from doing "the same thing over and over."
Because the charges were misdemeanors punishable by less than six months in jail, the case was heard by a judge instead of a jury.
After the decision, several defendants said they weren't surprised by the ruling but were pleased that they could voice their concerns about Guantanamo in court.
"We're sad about the convictions, but we're happy, moved and humbled to bring the stories, names and identification of the men in Guantanamo into a court of law," said Frida Berrigan, 34, of Brooklyn. She is the daughter of the late Philip Berrigan, a former Roman Catholic priest who was a major figure in the American peace movement during the Vietnam War.
The protesters are part of a group called Witness Against Torture, which has held demonstrations across the country condemning the prison. Members range in age from 19 to their early 70s.
The defendants represented themselves at trial, and their closing arguments drew emotional responses from each other and from supporters in the courtroom. Several wiped away tears as two defendants spoke on behalf of the group, citing the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and others.
No more surprising than the SP4 verdict a couple years ago (noting that was a jury trial). They were, when you get down to it, guilty of breaking that particular law no matter how silly we might think it is and what "higher law" the protesters were appealing to. Acts of conscience do have consequences, as we all know, and while some folks will perhaps get jail time (Des reports those with priors probably will) they made their point and the penalties they face are nothing compared to the people they bravely represented in their demonstration and trial.
If I'm not mistaken, the 19yo is a woman named Ashley who goes to Wesleyan and marched across the country to protest the war (I blogged about it last July). I met her the other day at the Pink House, along with a couple of other cool students, and she was at the potluck yesterday--didn't get much of a chance to talk to her, but she seems teh cool and I did spend a significant time chatting with her friends, who are also wicked neat.
Anyway, I salute these dedicated votaries of truth and wish them luck in sentencing. Perhaps this judge will be as reasonable as Des' was earlier this month.
ntodd
PS--Since I have skipped 198 Sundays for a while, I will be using some elements of the demonstration and trial for this week's post.
(x-posted at Dohiyi Mir)
It's a shame they didn't get a jury-I think the chances are good a jury would not have found them guilty.
Posted by: Karin | May 29, 2008 at 11:22 PM