WATERFORD,
CT -- Last September about fourteen protesters were "rounded up" and
arrested inside a large mall for protesting fur and Macy's role in the cruel fur
trade. Three of the fourteen were doing C.D. (wearing fur coats with traps attached,
fresh red paint and squirming on the floor toward Macy's crying out like wounded
animals.) The rest of us were chanting, handing out leaflets, and I was documenting
the whole thing on video tape. When the Waterford police arrived, they
were so completely unaccustomed and totally ignorant about protests like this,
they just started grabbing people and arresting us, without giving us warnings,
etc. To make a long story short, seven out of the fourteen either plead out or
payed the fine in order to have the charges dropped. The rest of us went all the
way to trial in front of a judge. The prosecution called about eight witnesses
to take the stand against us, and we subpoenaed five witnesses (including the
manager of the Macy's store, the head of mall security and two protesters.) We
finally went to trial in January, and for the entire two day trial, we conducted
our own defense without an attorney representing us. We all represented our selves
(pro se) and were allowed to cross examine all the prosecution's witnesses and
examine our own. We questioned the witnesses and educated the court in depth about
the cruel fur trade, animal suffering, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. It was great! I wore
a fur jacket covered in red paint without anything underneath (this was done to
make absolutely sure the judge would not force me to take the jacket off because
it was offensive to the court or something like that.) After two days of
testimony, examination, cross examination and our closing arguments, five of us
were acquitted and the two who engaged in civil disobedience were found guilty
of disturbing the peace. The judge asked that the two guilty parties pay seventy
five dollars in fines, but of course both refused and told the judge they would
go to jail before they would pay a fine. The judge said he wouldn't hear of it!
He said that he knew going to jail was part of the protest and therefore did not
want them to go to jail. So, he gave them both thirty hours of community service
at the non-profit of their choice. All in all, it was a very successful trial
and proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt, that trials like these can be done
without an attorney. We used an attorney only for some of the paper work which
we did not know how to complete ie. discovery, subpoenas, etc. Post Script:
I am suing the Waterford police for false and unlawful arrest and my civil rights
attorney thinks I will win now that I have been acquitted. If I receive any type
of monetary reward, I will put it right back into animal rights-hey, this strategy
could be a money maker for our ADL group! Now, that's sweet revenge! |
