DENVER, COLORADO- Civil liberties champion David Lane has filed a complaint in US district court challenging Denver's office of the city attorney for instituting a permit process at DIA to prevent public protest. Holding signs has become impermissible at the airport, without the issuance of a permit seven days in advnace, although police are not bothering themselves about signs welcoming homecomers or seeking to connect business visitors with their limo service. That selective enforcement is unconstitutional of course, and the lawfirm powerhouse of Kilmer Lane & Newman is filing suit on behalf of two Occupy Denver plaintiffs. last Sunday, January 29, both were threatened with arrest by DIA police. While two earlier attempts to assemble had capitulated to DPD intimidation, the Occupy Denver activists stood their ground. Why did you file your lawsuit? "We know our rights. We want the POLICE to know our rights." 48937
Tag: David Lane
David, Goliath, and Eric Brandt
I must confess, I'm no fan of the Bible, I've never understood how a man's lips are moving and it is called the word of god. The same is true with the written word, the pen is in the hand of the human. But there are stories in the bible with a powerful message. One such story is of a small shepherd boy who goes down into the valley armed with a slingshot and a few small stones. The story of Eric Brandt. 45350
Denver activists seek court injunction to stop jury nullification arrests
DENVER, COLORADO- Civil rights attorney David Lane will address Federal District Court on Monday seeking an injunction to stop the City of Denver from arresting activists distributing fliers to inform fellow citizens about the legal concept of Jury Nullification. UPDATE: An injunction hearing has been scheduled for 2PM FRIDAY, August 21, at the Araaj Federal Courthouse.
Denver’s 2015 Punch and Judy Show
Come One, Come All! Admission: FREE FREE FREE! Where: Denver Municipal Court When: Tues, Aug 11, 2015, 1PM. Featuring MARK IANNICELLI in his premiere performance and David Lane as his big stick. As the drama unfolds, Mark will be charge with seven felony counts of jury tampering for passing free information to the citizen of Denver. David Lane, a seasoned defender of human rights, will protect Mark from the Judge and District Attorney, played by two Kangaroos. You won't want to miss the final outcome of this grand performance by the city of Denver.
Eric Brandt and the horrible, very bad judge.
WESTMINSTER, COLORADO- Eric Brandt was so sure he was going to jail he got a tattoo. The one-man-band of protest movements had court on August 3rd before Westminster Associate Judge Paul D. Basso, who'd declined on a technicality to give Brandt a jury trial. Eric calls him "Judge Fatso" and lampoons Basso on the courthouse steps and so didn't expect more than a brisk push into jail. Knowing they'd take his "Fuck Cops" t-shirt, Eric got a hasty tattoo. "It hurt. A LOT" said Eric, who did not intend to cease his protest behind bars. It's the identical logo, placed just below the sleeve-length of a jail smock, faced forward on the arm he extends to shake hands. Eric's lawyer, the formidable David Lane, joked that he was stung by Eric's lack of faith in his attorney. 44330
City of Denver wins court battle to ignore the homeless, one arrest made
DENVER, COLORADO- The trial of the Tattered Cover Five concluded this week. For three days a municipal court considered whether a complaint made against protesters drumming in front of the downtown Tattered Cover Bookstore should or should not curb the protesters' freedom of speech. And the jury really didn't get it. Not only did their verdict uphold the police's discretion to decide whose speech can be considered to be disturbing the peace, but the jury introduced their own arbitrary enforcement, judging some drummers guilty and some not, even though the complaint which prompted the charges was based on the "loud and unusual noise" generated by the ensemble. 42761
Ward Churchill wants his dollar back
DENVER-- Remember the dollar bill awarded to Professor Churchill last year because the jury took him at his word that return of his tenure at the University of Colorado was the chief demand of his lawsuit for unlawful dismissal? Judge Larry [K]naves vacated the award and the verdict, which is why Churchill v CU is now being reprised for the Colorado Court of Appeals. As Lawyer David Lane outlined for the reporters, Churchill wants the reinstatement of an original secondary claim dismissed without a trial, he wants to resume teaching at CU Boulder, and precisely for its symbolism, Ward Churchill wants that dollar back. This post's title is my guess at the Denver News headline. 20298
Ward Churchill is not guilty of academic misconduct
Literary theorist and legal scholar, Stanley Fish, weighs in on the report of the "committee of faculty peers" that found Ward Churchill guilty of academic misconduct. "The verdict did not surprise me because I had read the committee’s report and found it less an indictment of Churchill than an example of a perfectly ordinary squabble about research methods and the handling of evidence." 7288
Churchill juror Bethany Newill explains
A few interesting things about the Ward Churchill jury came to light today (a sigh of relief from Pirate Ballerina!). The jury thought -- right up until the judge gave them their instructions -- they were to determine whether Ward Churchill was guilty of academic misconduct. When they realized they needed only to decide only whether the 9/11 essay was a substantial motivating factor in his dismissal, they agreed very quickly that it was. 7226
Churchill and his curiously vile detractors
DENVER- There's an interesting sideshow at the Churchill v CU case having to do with a cadre of unsavory Ward Churchill online critics. What they are writing is hardly interesting but their unceasing doggedness, repeating only ad hominem attacks, leads one to wonder who they are and what horse do they have, in not only this race, but in Churchill's ongoing activism. These are the same voices which heckled the DNC organizers, AIM, and the contra-Columbus actions. 7125
Churchill lends trial his sonorous levity
DENVER- Court Room 6 is packed once again as Ward Churchill takes the stand to detail his wrongful dismissal by CU. His testimony began yesterday afternoon, and Attorney David Lane is outlining the basis for damages. Churchill isn't asking for money. Says he, "I want my job." Churchill testified that his publishing output is 5% of his usual, only two or three articles in journals, and four books under contract but still awaiting delivery. But Churchill is quick to reassure the room that the works are forthcoming, and he is upbeat, despite CU committee members having testified, sadly but triumphantly, of having reduced Churchill's reputation, thirty years and twenty books, to a pitcher of warm spit. Lane asked Churchill: "How does this make you feel?" "Angry" is Churchill's reply. "But anger is no new feeling for me." 7120
America on trial, past if not present
DENVER- The Ward Churchill vs. CU trial continues today, featuring the much anticipated testimony of SCRUM hatchet chairwoman Mimi Wesson. But not before two dramatic points had already been made. First, that eugenics did play a part in the disenfranchisement of Native Americans, and second, that a witness brought from California by the plaintiff to talk about The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) would not be allowed to testify. The defense attorney objected that a Psychology School Dean was insufficiently "expert" on ACTA, and the judge concurred. You're going to have to look it up, and the Denver jury is not even going to hear about it. 6964
CU lawyer thinks it was Ward Churchill who may have violated 1st Amendment
DENVER- CHURCHILL TRIAL, DAY TWO. University of Colorado defense attorney Patrick O'Rourke wanted the jury to understand that Freedom of Speech was a complicated matter. He asked Dean of CU's law school, David Getches, to confirm "Is First Amendment Law hard?" "Yes it is." "Are you an expert on First Amendment law?" "No, I am not." O'Rourke also got former Governor Bill Owens to admit the First Amendment concept was "tricky." But no one could have conveyed it better than O'Rourke himself. He described how CU scoured Professor Ward Churchill's work "to look for First Amendment violations." Pretending to detail the school's concern for protecting Churchill's academic freedom, O'Rourke explained that when it was concluded that Churchill's 9/11 Little Eichmann essay was protected speech, CU set about to find other instances where "what he said might violate the First Amendment."
Churchill Trial starts off with a CU joke
DENVER- Opening statements were made and two witnesses gave their testimony today at the Churchill vs. CU academic freedom trial, while a hungry media waited. ROUND ONE, CHURCHILL. Details to follow.