Raging Grannies On Trial In N.Y.

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A

Wed, 11 Jan 2006 16:02:31 -0600

[GranniesAgainstGeorge] Fw: Breaking News

 

 

 

GO GRANNIES!!! Go to trial..... bet that prosecutor will regret

that action.

 

 

-

raginggrannies@*********

 

 

 

Dear SoFlo Grans,

In case you didn't see the article in today's New York Times, here

(below) is a report of what happened when the Granny Peace Brigade

appeared in Court in NYC today. (The Brigade consists of Raging

Grannies, Grandmothers Against the War, and others.)

In peace,

Vicki

 

PS: The Dollar Store right next to Sears in the Boynton Mall (Congress

Avenue) has very Granny-ish aprons for just a buck a piece. They were

probably made in some sweatshop in China, but I thought I'd let you know.

 

 

Judge Demands Police Video of Grandmothers' Protest

 

By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS

 

New York Times

 

Published: January 11, 2006

 

A judge ordered the Manhattan district attorney yesterday to turn over

a videotape of 18 women accused of blocking the doorway of the armed

forces recruiting station in Times Square.

 

Their lawyer, Norman Siegel, told the judge that the videotape was

made by the police Oct. 17, while the women were sitting on the

sidewalk in front of the building to protest the war in Iraq. The

women at the time handed out fliers calling themselves Antiwar

Grandmothers.

 

The grandmothers - 16 of them, anyway, plus a doctor's note from a

17th asking that she be excused because of a hip replacement -

appeared yesterday in State Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan armed

with symbolic silver handcuffs. Their toy cuffs, however, were

confiscated by court officers as they passed through metal detectors.

 

" You're not supposed to have handcuffs, " a court officer patiently

explained to Vinie Harrison, one of the women.

 

" That shakes me, " Ms. Harrison said. " It's such a small thing, but

it's symptomatic of what's happening in this country and that madman

in the White House, and Halliburton, and the deficit and Abramoff and

DeLay. "

 

In the fourth-floor courtroom, the clerk called the women to the

railing one by one. Courtroom regulars marveled at the sight of 16

women, some carrying canes and pushing walkers, stretching across the

room. Many wore photos of their grandchildren on chains around their

necks. Some lawyers complained that the group had taken along about 50

supporters, making it hard to get a seat.

 

Addressing Justice Alexander Jeong, Mr. Siegel said he had been told

that the videotape showed that at least one person had been able to

walk past the women into the recruitment center. This was proof, he

said, that they were not blocking the doorway, and that disorderly

conduct charges against them should be dismissed.

 

At first the prosecutor, Karen Corrie, said there was no videotape.

When Mr. Siegel pressed, Ms. Corrie corrected herself, saying she had

misread her notes. But, she said, her office was having trouble

" accessing " the videotape.

 

Justice Jeong asked her to make the videotape available as soon as

possible and set a court date of March 2.

 

Mr. Siegel said the videotape might have been made by plainclothes or

undercover officers, because he did not recall seeing any uniformed

officers videotaping at the scene. Police surveillance of political

demonstrations has become a controversial topic recently. The Police

Department has been criticized for using officers disguised as

protesters to infiltrate demonstrations.

 

Just last month, a group of civil rights lawyers sent a letter to the

police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, demanding an end to what they

said was illegal surveillance of protesters. The letter cited

undercover videotapes of bicycle rallies, antiwar protests and

demonstrations during the 2004 Republican National Convention.

 

There was some dispute over the tape after the hearing. Barbara

Thompson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney, said that she could

not confirm that the police had videotaped the group, but that there

may have been news tapes available. Paul J. Browne, a spokesman for

the Police Department, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

 

Mr. Siegel said that an assistant district attorney had left a message

on his answering machine saying that the local precinct had told her

that the Police Department's technical assistance response unit had

videotaped the demonstration. Prosecutors are required to make such

evidence available to the defense.

 

Prosecutors declined to drop the charges yesterday, instead offering

the women " adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, " meaning the

charges would be dropped if they were not arrested again for six months.

 

The women turned down that offer because it would hobble their

protesting. Calling themselves Grandmothers Against the War, they

demonstrate outside Rockefeller Center every Wednesday afternoon. Mr.

Siegel told his clients that he would go to trial if necessary, and,

after insisting that that was not his first choice, added, " Make my day. "

 

 

 

 

 

 

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