Law and Disorder July 30, 2007

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Anti-War Iraq Veteran Fights Back When Targeted by Marine Corp for Protesting in Uniform

US Marine Corporal Adam Charles Kokesh and other members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) wore parts of their Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniforms during a street theater demonstration that marked the 4th anniversary of the Iraq War. The Marine Corp warned the soldiers of disciplinary action for violating uniform policies at political demonstrations. Kokesh tells hosts that he responded with a letter (ending it with “[I] … ask you to please, kindly, go f&%# yourself.”). As a result, a military court convened to look at changing Kokesh’s military discharge from “honorable” to “other than honorable” because of “Disrespect toward a Superior Commissioned Officer”, and violating “Wearing of the uniform” regulation.

At the time Kokesh was part of the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) Kokesh’s attorney, Mike Lebowitz, claimed that the Marine Corps is attempting to stifle Kokesh’s constitutional right to free speech. Lebowitz and JAG defense counsel LT Joseph Melaragno argued that the military did not have jurisdiction over Kokesh based on the Marine Corps’s use of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, since the UCMJ does not apply to members of the IRR. Ultimately Kokesh was given a general discharge a step lower than honorable, instead of the harsher penalty that included losing access to certain veteran’s health benefits and being forced to pay back more than 10 thousand dollars in educational benefits.

Guest – Adam Kokesh

Guest – Michael Lebowitz, attorney for Adam Kokesh.

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Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejía

Former Staff Sergeant of the Florida National Guard and anti-war activist Camilo Mejía became known in the antiwar movement in 2004 when he applied for a discharge from the Army as a conscientious objector. After serving in the Army for nearly nine years, he was the first known Iraq veteran to refuse to fight, citing moral concerns about the war and occupation. Mejia spent six months in combat in Iraq where he witnessed the killing of civilians and the abuse of detainees.

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After he returned to the United States he decided never to return to fight in Iraq. He went into hiding to avoid redeployment and was classified as AWOL by the military. Mejía was ultimately convicted of desertion by a military court and sentenced to a year in prison. He has recently written a book titled – Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejía which recounts his journey of conscience in Iraq.

Guest – Camilo Mejia

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Visit Michael Ratner’s Blog for news on the progressive frontlines.

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Law and Disorder July 23, 2007

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Troy Anthony Davis Update: 90 Days Stay of Execution

The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles granted a 90-day stay of execution to Troy Davis. On July 16, less than 24 hours before Troy Davis was scheduled to be executed in Georgia, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles issued a stay of execution, to be not longer than 90 days, “for the purpose of evaluating and analyzing” the information submitted to it during the clemency hearing earlier in the day. Act today to ensure that the the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles grants Troy clemency!

Fax your message to: State Board of Pardons & Paroles 404-651-8502.

Troy Davis was sentenced to death in Georgia, for the murder of a police officer. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimonies that were full of inconsistencies, even at the time of trial. Since then, all but two of the states’ nine non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted their testimony. Many state in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis. Listen to Law and Disorder interview with Troy’s sister Martina Correia.

Vatican Urges Georgia To Spare Inmate

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Where is the justice for me? The case of Troy Davis facing execution in Georgia

Dalia Hashad, co-host and Director of Amnesty International’s USA program gives us this update.

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National Lawyers Guild Report: Punishing Protests – Government Tactics That Suppress Free Speech

Co-Host Heidi Boghosian and National Lawyers Guild members publish a powerful report chronicling government tactics employed on city, state and federal levels aimed at suppressing public dissent. The report outlines the hierarchy of government attacks on free speech, from sophisticated data collecting agencies to arresting demonstrators without probable cause. Order yours here $3

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Marjorie Cohn – Cowboy Republic, Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law.

National Lawyers Guild President, legal scholar and co-author of Cameras in the Courtroom: Television and the Pursuit of Justice, Marjorie Cohn has written a new book titled, Cowboy Republic, Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law. She provides an in-depth analysis of six significant ways in which the Bush administration has undermined the rule of law in this country. Professor Cohn details the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq; the policy of torture; war crimes; the kangaroo courts of Guantanamo; unconstitutional laws; and the unlawful surveillance of American citizens. Her book contains practical ways to strengthen the rule of law domestically and internationally, including both political and legal remedies.

Guest – Marjorie Cohn President of the National Lawyers Guild.

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Visit Co-Host Michael Ratner’s Blog – JustLeft.org

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Law and Disorder July 16, 2007

 

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Laying the Foundation for a Police State – Part 1 – Building Blocks

 


Since July of 2004, Law and Disorder has brought Pacifica listeners the voices of activists, authors and attorneys from the front lines.

In the weeks to come, Law and Disorder hosts will examine in a four part series, the foundation for what many see as a police state in the United States. In this series they will talk with guests about the post 9/11 blueprint of this dictatorship/ police state and how the nefarious turn to war, the use of torture and the domestic propagation of fear unfolded.

Law and Disorder hosts have covered at length topics such as torture, domestic surveillance, criminalizing dissent, racial profiling, indefinite detentions and the destruction of constitutional rights as vital information to bring an understanding to listeners as to how it happened and where we go from here.

In this first series, the hosts begin with a look back at where they were on the day of September 11th, and how the Patriot Act was pushed through the Legislature immediately after the attacks on that day. They look at the racial profiling and roundup of Muslims and the rush to invade Afghanistan and Iraq using the Authorization for Use of Military Force.

Co-host Dalia Hashad describes her experiences as an attorney formerly with the ACLU right after September 11th as thousands of Muslim-Americans were rounded up or corralled because of their ethnicity or political affiliation.

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Tracked in America Samina Sundas

Samina Sundas with American Muslim Voice helped her fellow Muslims and Pakistani-Americans integrate into mainstream American society, and her role intensified after 9/11. When the National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS, also known as the Special Registration program) was instituted in September 2002, Muslims all over the United States contacted her confused and worried about how it would affect them. She couldn’t get clear answers from federal immigration officials despite several meetings. After that, she set up an ad hoc hotline that has since become part of an organization called American Muslim Voice.

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Framework of Police State laws since 9/11

Co-host Michael Ratner leads the way through the timeline from setting up the legal basis for a global war on terror to justifying a secret system of prisons and interrogation techniques that evade historic safeguards in the Geneva Convention.

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Guest – Scott Horton, Chair of International Law Committee at the New York City Bar Association and adjunct Professor of Law at Columbia University. He is also the author of over 200 articles and monographs on legal developments in nations in transition.

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Law and Disorder Co-host Michael Ratner Launches Blog:  Just Left

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Law and Disorder July 9, 2007

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Alamo Car Rental – Discrimination Verdict

In our ongoing coverage of racial profiling and religious bias since 9/11, we go now to look at a case that ended in a big verdict for an employee who was fired for wearing a head scarf. Recently, a federal jury in Phoenix awarded more than 280 thousand dollars in a religious discrimination suit against Alamo Car Rental. The suit was brought by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Alamo Car Rental was charged on a post-9/11 backlash discrimination based on religion.

The case involved Bilan Nur, a woman of Somali descent who was let go from her customer service position in December 2001 after the Alamo car rental office she worked at in Phoenix refused to let her wear a headscarf to work.

Guest – Valerie Meyer, EEOC Attorney in Phoenix, Arizona.

Guest – Bilan Nur

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Verdict in Post 9/11 Roundup

Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that former Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller may be sued from ethnic and religious discrimination after 9/11. Former detainee, Javaid Iqbal was among the hundreds of muslims rounded up after 9/11 being held in maximum security conditions after they were identified as being of high interest to the investigation.

Iqbal, a Pakistani Muslim, was arrested at his Long Island home on Nov. 2, 2001, and was charged with nonviolent federal crimes unrelated to terrorism. Two months later, he was moved to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where he was held in solitary confinement for more than 150 days without a hearing, his lawsuit alleged.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan recently recognized that Iqbal had the right not to be subjected to needlessly harsh conditions of confinement, the right to be free from the use of excessive force and the right not to be subjected to ethnic or religious discrimination.

Guest – Alex Reinert, Attorney and Law professor at the Cardoza School of Law.

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Law and Disorder Co-host Michael Ratner Launches Blog

Just Left

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