Event Occupy the Farm: Two Upcoming Court Dates

[Slingshot Collective]

 

[landpirate]

I've moved this over to events, so that it can have the event prefix and hopefully get noticed more.

 

[Slingshot Collective]

I've moved this over to events, so that it can have the event prefix and hopefully get noticed more.

Thanks, but it looks like the text disappeared and I can't re-edit it... Is it just the computer I'm on?!

Wednesday, March 2 at 9:00 AM in PST

Wiley Emmanuel Courthouse, Oakland, CA

Come fill the court to show love for Jean and Jean, who put their bodies on the line for the land at the #GillTract! Let's show the judge it'd be best to dismiss all charges!

Wednesday, March 9 at 9:00 AM in PST

Wiley Emmanuel Courthouse, Oakland, CA

Come show support for Pancho, Tyler and Sam's beautiful Civil Disobedience action to Love the Land and halt development of the #GillTract. Let's get these charges dropped!

http://takebackthetract.com/

 

[landpirate]

It seems to be working on my phone and laptop. In your first post I can see the two event links and when I click on them they go through to Facebook events.

 

[tony longshanks]

A friend who is involved in these actions sent me this message which I've been asked to share concerning new court dates coming up in just a few days. The friend who sent me this notice is also involved in Gill Tract defenses, but this pertains to a squatting (adverse possession) incident. So I'm pasting it below. If this is misposted or if I should move this to Events or something, I apologize for being somewhat new here, just let me know & I'll move it.

______________________________forwarded message follows_________________________

Dear Friends, Allies, Comrades

The District Attorney is aggressively prosecuting me and three of my fellow Land Action organizers for our involvement in a recent adverse possession project. There are seven criminal charges, including three felony counts and four misdemeanors. Contrary to established precedent from similar cases in Oakland in recent years, the District Attorney (DA) has deliberately, and in violation of the law, pushed this civil dispute into criminal court.

Why?

The case was brought to the DA’s attention because the property’s owner of record was personally connected to the DA’s office. By taking advantage of this backdoor connection, the owner persuaded the DA to drastically overreach its jurisdiction and intervene on the owner’s behalf.

What’s more, the DA’s keen interest in Land Action is politically motivated. The DA is aware of Land Action’s significant victories in recent years around squat law and adverse possession. By dragging Land Action through the mud, the DA intends to discourage the practice of adverse possession. Adverse possession, enshrined in the legal code of all 50 States, is a time-honored legal mechanism as old as property law itself. It allows people with very little capital to acquire full ownership of real property, which makes it antithetical to the ruling-class agenda of keeping working people enmeshed in the cycle of rent-wage-exploitation.

In short, the DA is defending the commonly held belief that home ownership should be very, extremely, prohibitively expensive—a perception that plays right into the interests of capital.

The DA’s aggressive prosecution of Land Action’s organizers is occurring at a time when local government has developed exceedingly cozy relations with gentrifying forces. Last year, Oakland City Council came under fire for offering a luxury housing developer the acre-sized 12th Street Remainder Parcel for much less than its market value. In a confidential memo, the City Attorney informed the Council that state law requires them to first offer surplus land to low-income housing agencies, park agencies, school districts, and other entities that serve the public interest. But against the advice of their own attorney, the Council proceeded with their illegal plan, which was already underway when the City Attorney’s memo was leaked to the East Bay Express. Only then did public scrutiny force the Council to bring their actions into compliance with state law.

Local government is all too willing to disregard the law in the service of Capital and at the expense of the poor. The DA has aligned itself with this agenda, using public funding to defend the property interests of the land-holding class. The DA has chosen to flout the very laws it is charged with upholding, for the sake of consolidating property rights and maintaining access barriers to home ownership. IT IS TIME TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE!!!

We are writing to ask for your support in the upcoming legal battle. Please come pack the courthouse with us for our initial hearing!

Time:

April 1st, 9 a.m. (no foolin!)

Place:

Department 115

Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse

661 Washington St (at the intersection with 7th St.)

Oakland 94607

Free parking:

There is plenty of 4-hour parking available, south of the 880 freeway on 4th, 3rd, and 2nd Streets, within walking distance of the Courthouse.



I truly hope that you can find time in your day to come show your support for this form of political organizing. In the midst of the East Bay's housing crisis, no house should be left abandoned to crumble into disrepair and uselessness.

Please forward this letter and request for support far and wide. Historically, packing the court room has been a very effective tactic to get political charges dismissed and reduced. So.... Let's show them what people power looks like!!!

Thanks for your time and support,


Kelly Jewett

Land Action, CEO land-action.org

Occupy the Farm, co-founder occupythefarm.com

 

[tony longshanks]

And since I'm so late in posting this, there's already been an update, from the same friend, pertaining to the same cases, which I post as follows:


Hi again friends, family and comrades,

Just a little update on my court situation with Land Action. Myself and three fellow housing rights organizers-The Land Action 4-are indeed facing a total of 7 criminal charges, including three felonies. We potentially face serving up to 8.5 years imprisonment and owing up to $89,000 in fines. But, the National Layers Guild is providing us with beyond excellent legal support. We have some of the best civil rights lawyers in the country. So, this April 1st, the Land Action 4 backed by Tony Serra and our all-star legal team will present the court with a 400 page Common Law motion to dismiss all criminal charges in the support of substantial justice and in light of the civil nature of the case.

I don't want to bore you with too much technical, legal jargon, but if you are in the area and would like to support me and my fellow organizers you can do so in a couple of ways!

And…. If you aren't in the area you can still help us out by donating to our legal defense fund at www.land-action.org. So far, we have had to borrow and pay $3600 out of pocket, and that's a lot for us!!

On April 1st at 9 a.m. we need folx to selectively prosecuting housing rights organizers. By packing the courtroom, you are showing the judge and the court that this is about a larger movement and that we are fighting the housing crisis in Oakland! Homes Not Jails/Coffee Not Cops will be serving free, French roast caffeine outside the courthouse before the hearing. And the passionate arguments of Tony Serra will surely keep you on the edge of your seat.

But, if you really can't imagine yourself doing court support or if you really like doing court support and live music you should come to the Benefit Show for the Land Action 4!!

Sunday, March 27th 6-10pm at LoBot Gallery 1800 Campbell St. West Oakland. Live music, dinner and a beer/wine donation based bar (way more details to be found at the link above). Proceeds from the door and the bar will go to the Land Action 4 legal defense fund.

Please forward this email widely, invite your friends to the FaceBook events linked here, contact me if you can help distribute flyers, etc…. Etc…. Etc….

I hope to see a bunch of you in coming weeks!! And thank you so much for all of the support that you can offer <3

 

[Slingshot Collective]

And since I'm so late in posting this, there's already been an update, from the same friend, pertaining to the same cases, which I post as follows:


Hi again friends, family and comrades,

Just a little update on my court situation with Land Action. Myself and three fellow housing rights organizers-The Land Action 4-are indeed facing a total of 7 criminal charges, including three felonies. We potentially face serving up to 8.5 years imprisonment and owing up to $89,000 in fines. But, the National Layers Guild is providing us with beyond excellent legal support. We have some of the best civil rights lawyers in the country. So, this April 1st, the Land Action 4 backed by Tony Serra and our all-star legal team will present the court with a 400 page Common Law motion to dismiss all criminal charges in the support of substantial justice and in light of the civil nature of the case.

I don't want to bore you with too much technical, legal jargon, but if you are in the area and would like to support me and my fellow organizers you can do so in a couple of ways!

And…. If you aren't in the area you can still help us out by donating to our legal defense fund at www.land-action.org. So far, we have had to borrow and pay $3600 out of pocket, and that's a lot for us!!

On April 1st at 9 a.m. we need folx to selectively prosecuting housing rights organizers. By packing the courtroom, you are showing the judge and the court that this is about a larger movement and that we are fighting the housing crisis in Oakland! Homes Not Jails/Coffee Not Cops will be serving free, French roast caffeine outside the courthouse before the hearing. And the passionate arguments of Tony Serra will surely keep you on the edge of your seat.

But, if you really can't imagine yourself doing court support or if you really like doing court support and live music you should come to the Benefit Show for the Land Action 4!!

Sunday, March 27th 6-10pm at LoBot Gallery 1800 Campbell St. West Oakland. Live music, dinner and a beer/wine donation based bar (way more details to be found at the link above). Proceeds from the door and the bar will go to the Land Action 4 legal defense fund.

Please forward this email widely, invite your friends to the FaceBook events linked here, contact me if you can help distribute flyers, etc…. Etc…. Etc….

I hope to see a bunch of you in coming weeks!! And thank you so much for all of the support that you can offer <3

There is a separate Land Action thread under squatting.

 

[physics]

UPDATE:
After reading about this initially here, I had to do some good google kung-fu to find updates.
Apparently, the court didn't have time to hear their arguments TWICE, so finally it's been rescheduled to MAY 20 at 9 am.

May 20 at 9 am

They even have the court to themselves, which is a good sign according to the article:
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2016/05/04/18786054.php

I really, really, REALLY wish I could be there. This case tugs at my heartstrings, even though I only just learned of it.