CLMP Forum Report
...by Mark Drake
This year's CLMP annual public forum, which took place at the Mateel Community Center on Saturday, October 23, was widely viewed as the best we've presented so far. It featured a considerable range of speakers and topics, but if there was a thread that tied the presentations together, it would be the pattern of failure by government agencies to enforce law impartially across racial, ethnic, cultural and economic lines.
The event began at 5:30 as about 120 diners enjoyed a tasty fundraiser dinner prepared by Garberville's Sweet Relief catering service, while the Prunella Sisters, a versatile local Celtic trio, set the mood.
At about 7 pm, some tables were removed and additional seating was provided to accommodate people arriving for the free informational forum. MC Fred Inthehills provided an unusual twist for a master of ceremonies, in that rather than merely introducing the speakers, he became part of the core program - establishing the evening's theme of selective prosecution by recounting his own personal story.
As a well-known critic of marijuana prohibition who has often provided entertainment at events like this one, Fred found himself hounded for over a year by the Humboldt DA's office for growing a small number of plants - in strict formal compliance with Proposition 215 - for his wife's medical needs. After pursuing him through fully 22 court appearances, the DA successively reduced the charges from three felonies to two, then to one, then to a misdemeanor, and finally settled for 50 hours of "community service" and attendance at a "drug rehabilitation" program.
Fred pointed out that without the generous pro bono assistance of attorneys Mel Perlston and Hannah Nelson of the Pacific Justice Center, he could never have withstood the DA's relentless (if quite senseless) pursuit.
If you need confirmation of Fred's contention that he was singled out for special prosecutorial attention, consider that the bail amount initially set for his charges was $100,000!
The first program speaker to be introduced was local attorney Eric Kirk, currently CLMP's president, who provided a review of the organization's recent activities. These have been primarily the monitoring of CAMP/MET activities in the hills, of police behavior in the context of traffic stops, and of police relations with homeless individuals. He also mentioned several recent shifts in the legal landscape which bear on civil liberties. In particular, the Federal Ninth Circuit Court (which has long been considered the most progressive of the Circuits) has recently seen the appointment of judges less friendly to civil liberties.
This was followed by a report from Angela Wartes, legal coordinator for Northcoast Earth First! She discussed the general situation facing political demonstrators who confront timber interests in the political atmosphere of Humboldt County, and spoke more specifically about the civil suit recently filed by the family of David "Gypsy" Chain, who was crushed by a felled tree during a forest action in September 1998. She drew attention to the conduct of local police in response to that incident and their behavior in the notorious pepperspray incidents, and compared that with instances in which local police appear to function willingly as publically-financed security guards for politically well-connected corporations.
At one point she offered the following appreciative words for CLMP: "I just want to applaud everyone here that has been so involved - especially CLMP who has helped us out so much with police brutality. . .You guys really help us out for sure. You're the backbone of the movement, and that's definitely where it's at."
A song by Chris Skyhawk served to introduce the next speaker, Bear Lincoln.
Bear reviewed the aftermath of the manhunt, and his two-year imprisonment, trial and acquittal following the deaths of his friend Acorn Peters and Mendocino County Deputy Bob Davis. He indicated in response to a question that although the tensions in Round Valley are by no means a thing of the past, progress is apparent under the administrations of recently-elected Sheriff Tony Craver and DA Norm Vroman. He expressed the importance of citizen involvement, describing how when the abusive manhunt struck immediately after the shootings, "we felt really helpless, we felt isolated. . .it was like we were just cut off from communication with the outside world - just something none of us had experienced before." Now, in contrast, "there's more people that's getting involved, that's watching the police. . .the CLMP people have really encouraged that and helped them to get started."
Later on, when it was mentioned that CLMP's involvement in the case began as a response (primarily by long time CLMP activist Bonnie Blackberry) to multiple reports of massive police misconduct against Native Americans during the manhunt, Bear said, "I'd like to. . .say that when Bonnie came in, and the other monitors. . .when I first learned of it, it was like a breath of fresh air - we were real desperate, and for the monitors to come in - it was like the first help that we received, and we'll never forget it. Thank you, Bonnie!"
Next on stage were Darryl Cherney and Alicia Littletree. After a comic song of Darryl's, Alicia gave a short, upbeat update on the progress of the suit by Darryl and the estate of Judi Bari against the FBI and Oakland Police (in response to those agencies' refusal to undertake a good-faith investigation to find the perpetrators of the car bomb assassination attempt on the activists' lives in 1990). The most recent news was a cheering court decision in the case, which reinstated the allegation that the OPD did indeed conspire with the FBI in the botched "investigation," and a trial date may now at last be set. (See "Updates" section.)
Dale Gieringer of California NORML then introduced his talk: "In many ways things are not much different than they were a year ago when I spoke up here, except that a couple of developments and a couple of cracks have started to appear. At this turn of the century, we're seeing mounting contradictions in the system of current drug laws that I think is going to come crashing down shortly, as I will explain." He went on to speak on the state of implementation of Prop. 215, on progress in loosening the DEA's chokehold on industrial hemp, and the prospects for reform of marijuana policy in general.
On Prop. 215, good-faith attempts to implement the measure by Senator John Vasconcellos and Attorney General Bill Lockyer (among many others) have been torpedoed by Gov. Gray Davis, who is insisting on a poison pill provision in any implementing legislation - a requirement that all medical marijuana patients must register with the government beforehand in order to quality for Prop. 215's provisions.
The final speaker was Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Gary Webb, whose record includes several influential articles exposing questionable government conduct. A couple of years ago, he was hired by the state's Joint Legislative Task Force for Government Oversight. In that capacity, he investigated rumors that the CHP was deploying units which were heavily occupied with stopping and searching Latino motorists. In doing so, he exposed to the light of day the federally-financed "Operation Pipeline" and the nature of the CHP's involvement with it to the light of day. His presentation was a report of those discoveries (and a gratifying confirmation of most of what CLMP's own, highly unofficial investigations have concluded over the past few years). The following article is a report of Webb's talk, and the Task Force report it refers to.
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