The First U.S. Fed Conspiracy Trial of Civil Resisters to the Iraq War Begins on Mon Sept 19th

by Scott - CW Sun Sep 18, 2005 16:30

http://www.counterpunch.org/petras09162005.html

by St Pats 4 Sun Sep 18, 2005 19:05

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/18/nyregion/18ithaca.html

by Dublin Correspondent in Binghamton (NY, USA) Mon Sep 19, 2005 20:34

Sunday 18 September - the day before the SP4 Trial

The roadtrip from the New York Catholic Worker to Binghamton in upstate New York began early Sunday morning. Frida Berrigan, daughter of the
late Phil Berrigan, collected myself, Robbie and Cathy Breen who had spent ten years in Bolivia before joining the New York Catholic Worker
aswell as time in Iraq. Along the way we stopped at St Theresa's, a Maryknoll Nursing Care Centre for missioners, where we picked up Peter
DeMott's brother, Fr Steve DeMott, who had returned from Peru and Chile due to a brain tumour. We arrived in Binghamton early so joined others at the St Patrick's Four office, a six week leased premise in downtown Binghamton, two blocks from the court house. This spacious hub has been made available for media personnel throughout the trial and has a number of computers with internet access, phones, faxes and a photocopier. The next generation Grady's were busy in the office playing a significant
role in organising around their parents' trial. We were eventually bustled back into cars making our way to the local catholic church for mass. The church gradually filled with people mainly from the east coast peace movement including Kathy Boylan and Art Laffin from the DC Catholic Worker and possibly every single member of the Grady family.

The mass was a beautiful celebration of community with the four defendents giving out the bread and wine to all. We then moved off to the
Methodist Church down the road, the location for the Citizens' Tribunal on Iraq - a week long program hosted each evening with numerous speakers discussing the ongoing war in Iraq.

The program commenced with people introducing themselves and explaining why they had come to the trial. Many more people had arrived when we
stopped for dinner - approximatley 200 people. Bill Frankel-Streit from Little Flower Catholic Worker and ANZUS plowshares had joined the
gathering along with Judith Kelly who I had met from the Las Vegas/LA Catholic Worker back in 1996. We reconvened after dinner for the evening
programme, a panel of speakers including Beth Harris, a Jewish Professor, Liz McCalister from Jonah House, Mary Novak from the SP4 legal team, Navan Eely(?) a local Binghamton resident from the All People United Enterprise and Cathy Breen from the New York Catholic Worker. Each of the defendents spoke and were met with standing ovations. The ongoing trial of the Pitstop Ploughshares was also acknowledged during the meeting.

The evening finished early to facilitate time and space for the defendents who still had preparation to complete for the next day and so folks could seek out where they were staying.

by Noel Mon Sep 19, 2005 21:58

The anti-war crowd should make haste.
Afghanistan and Iraq are fledgling democracies.
Lebanon ditto.
Gaddafi has held his hands up.
And now Kim Jong-il has just pissed the pants of his Mao suit at the prospect of the US forcibly disarming NK.

If you're not quick - GWB will have achieved world peace without you - what a catastrophe.
Go cowboy.

by Bingamton Update - StPats4 Mon Sep 19, 2005 22:06

Brief address given on eve of trial to gathering of 200 supporters in Binghamton, New York....

http://www.binghamtonpmc.org/SP4/SP4PeterWeb.mov

by Binghamton Update Mon Sep 19, 2005 22:22

Liz McAllister long time anti-war resister from Jonah House Community addresses supporters on eve of the trial.............

http://www.binghamtonpmc.org/SP4/McAllisterWeb.mov

by Elaine Tue Sep 20, 2005 01:00

.

Ciaron, Paula And Damien - Support The U.S. Anti War Resisters

Free Clare Grady

Free Danny Burns (And Then Give Me Back My Camera)

30,000 Innocent Dead ( And Counting )

War Is Terror Is War

by Elaine Tue Sep 20, 2005 01:05

.

Killing Cannot Be With Christ

Solidarity - Free The Gradys

The Last Rays Of Autumn Sunlight

Information Gathering - The Guards Take A Leaflet

How Much Information Do You Need? Resist The War!

by Dublin Correspondent in Binghamton (NY, USA) Tue Sep 20, 2005 18:05

Day 1 - Jury Selection Completed

The whole day was devoted to jury selection. This process involved the defence and prosecution submitting questions to the judge who put them forward to the potential jurors. The defence and prosecution could
challenge the grounds for accepting and rejecting potential jurors but could not put questions directly to them. Court went overtime finishing at 6pm with the final selection comprising of an all white jury - eight women and four men, including a male and female alternate (standby
jurors if something happens to one of the twelve preventing them from remaining in the jury). There were mixed feelings about the judge (Judge McEvoy) from supporters. There was a lot of light banter between the
judge and potential jurors thoughout the selection process. This was interpretted as attemtping to put the potential jurors at ease but there was also a sense that he was trivialising the seriousness of the issue at
stake. Interestingly, despite it being previously established by the judge that the war and anything related to the war would not be admissable as evidence in this trial, the judge made numerous references to the
war and the use of blood in questioning the potential jurors.

The day began at 8am with a gathering at the peace park in downtown Binghamton. At 8.45am we processed down to the courthouse carrying placards and banners. The procession was led by a large banner displaying an image of the four defendents. Many folks held placards which read
"Acquit the St Patrick Four". The defendents were already inside when we arrived in front of the courthouse. 70 supporters were permitted into the public gallery during the jury selection process with potential jurors taking up half the gallery. The rest of the supporters remained in front of the courthouse in a section cordoned off by the police. An article in a local newspaper indicated that the area was cordoned due to
the planned presence of a counter protest which is expected to continue throught the trial from 12noon to 5pm each day. Under the banner of "support the troops, let them finish" the counter protestors, consisting of locals, some of whom have sons currently serving in Iraq, were stationed in a separate cordonned section adjacent to the SP4 supporters. Tensions rose when Democrat Congressman Maurice Hinchey (the federal
representative for the Binghamton region) gave a speech in front of the court house in support of the St Patrick's Four, however for the most part the two groups kept to themselves. There were various other
speakers in the morning and songs to keep focus and a local cafe provided a venue for lunch. For the rest of the day there was generally a lot of mingling for those who remained outside of the courthouse. Some of the supporters included one of the Catonsville 9, who burnt raided draftcards using homemade napalm during the Vietnam War, and Kathy Kelly from the group formerly known as Voices in the Wilderness.

The Citizens' Tribunal on Iraq continued in the evening with a panel of speakers - Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, Ann Wright, former US Ambassador (who resigned at the outbreak of the war in 2003), and Michael
Meacher, a UK Member of Parliament.

by STPat4 Tue Sep 20, 2005 18:14

http://www.stpatricksfour.org/slideshow/?slide=0

by StPats4 Tue Sep 20, 2005 19:15

http://www.binghamtonpmc.org/SP4/Sep19_PressConferenceWeb.mov

by Dublin Correspondent in Binghamton Wed Sep 21, 2005 19:39

Day two in the courtroom was emotionally charged. The defence
challenged the judge in his explanation to the jury of the first indictment -
to conspire to interfere with the duties of the recruiting officer by
use of force, threat and intimidation. This judge, instead of using the
word 'and' regarding 'force, threat and intimidation' was inserting the
word 'or'. There was some argument between the judge and the defence
over this distinction however the judge eventually conceded that he was
wrong in his explanation.

Clare Grady was the first of the defendants to give an opening
statement (see http://www.stpatricksfour.org/trial.php to view each defendants'
statement). Clare was the only defendant not to read her statement
which she delivered with eloquence and heart. She was also physically
much closer to the jurors when she spoke and despite the many objections
at the beginning she delivered a strong and compelling opening
statement. Danny, Theresa and Peter introduced their family members at the
beginning of their opening statements with each member standing up in the
public gallery in turn. Whilst this seemd to be a strategy to connect
with the jurors, it also revealed the strength of these families who
have resisted war since Vietnam. Each defendant gave an explanation of
how they came to be at the recruitment centre on 17 March 2003 and why
they took the action they did. Their stories are intrinsic to their
defence which relies on 'belief' for cause.

The prosecution began their case in the afternoon. Two witnesses took
the stand: the recruitment officer who was present on the day of the
action and the state trooper who arrested the four. The recruitment
officer, sgt montgomery (an african-american), was a military man of 12
years. He was familiar with some of the defendants from a previous
action at the recuitment centre. His testimony was filled with
embelishments of the day making references to how the four 'splashed' and 'threw'
blood on the walls and 'ripped down the posters'. He talked about how
they were 'chanting' which later changed to 'praying'. He indicated
that some blood landed on his hand as Danny was 'splashing' blood on the
door to the recruitment centre. The most positive reference he made
about the defendents was towards the end of his evidence when he admitted
that they were 'friendly' - not generally a trait of those using
'force, threat and intimidation'!

The defence decided not to cross examine the witness as was the case
with the state trooper who gave quite factual information about the
arrests. The defence will refute the prosecution's witnesses in their
closing statements. The defendants thanked both the witnesses while they
were on the stand.

A press conference was held outside of the courthouse at the end of the day. Peter, Clare, Theresa and Danny spoke with such clarity as they
articulated the real crime which is the war that continues to be waged by the American administration.

The Citizens' Tribunal on Iraq continued in the evening on the theme 'The Voices of Victims". The speakers included Medea Bejamin, cofounder of Global Exchange, the beautiful Kathy Kelly, cofounder of Voices in the Wilderness, Maryann Grady who is the sister of Clare and Theresa and
spoke on depleted uranium and her visits to Vieques, Porta Rico, and Debbie Quigley, a nurse from New Orleans. A short documentary entitled
'The Road to Fallujah' was also screened.

by Treena Lenthall - Binghamton, New York Thu Sep 22, 2005 05:47

The judge has declared that the first indictment against the SP4 (which is the most serious of the four charges they are facing) has been amended to omit the use of force, threat and/or intimidation. It now stands that the prosecution has to only prove that the four conspired to interfere with the duties of the recruiting officer on March 17. The judge has allowed the defendents to talk about their intent to stop the war but to mention in any way as to why they wanted to stop the war is inadmissable. Both Peter and Theresa are in contempt of court for referring to the previous trial in which they were acquited in a county court for the same action. The judge will decide at the end of the trial how he will proceed regarding this matter. Peter is also being held in contempt of court for refusing to answer questions that would implicate others, i.e. possible co-conspirators. The prosecution also questioned Peter about going to Ireland to support the Pitstop Ploughshares in Ireland earlier this year. The prosection declined to cross examine Theresa when she was on the stand. Danny has finished direct examination by the defence and will be cross examined by the prosection tomorrow morning. Clare is still to present her evidence.