For 30 years, Lynne heroically
defended America's poor, underprivileged, unwanted, and forgotten. Without
advocates like her, they never have a chance for due process and judicial
fairness.
Lynne championed equity and justice. She devoted her life and work to
upholding principles too important to reject.
She defended controversial figures like Weather Underground activist
David Gilbert, United Freedom Front's Richard Williams, Black Liberation
Army figures Sekou Odinga and Nasser Ahmed, and many others like them.
She knew the risks, yet took them courageously. She did so because it's
the right thing to do.
At former US Attorney General Ramzy Clark's request, she joined his
Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman's defense team.
In 1995, he was wrongfully convicted of seditious conspiracy, solicitation
of murder, solicitation of an attack on American military installations,
conspiracy to commit murder, and conspiracy to bomb in connection with
the 1993 World Trade Center attack. Evidence proved his innocence, not
guilt on all charges.
No matter. He never had a chance. Prosecutorial injustice framed him.
Show trial theatrics assured imprisoning him for life. He's currently
at Butner (North Carolina) Federal Medical Center northwest of Raleigh.
Defending Rahman got Lynne spuriously charged with:
"conspiring to defraud the United States;
conspiring to provide and conceal material support to terrorist activity;
providing and concealing material support to terrorist activity; and
two counts of making false statements."
Charges stemmed from claiming she violated US Bureau of Prisons Special
Administrative Measures (SAMs). They included a gag order on her client.
They prohibited discussing topics the Justice Department (DOJ) ruled
outside "legal representation." Doing so inhibits how lawyers defend
any client.
Ramsey Clark issued press releases like Lynne's. So do other attorneys
for their clients. Punishment doesn't follow. Penalties at most might
be mild reprimands. Vengeful recrimination is inconceivable.
Charging Lynne had nothing to do with alleged SAMs violations. It was
about silencing a powerful voice for justice. Tactics involved disbarring
and imprisoning her.
They took aim at the American Bar Association's Model rules. They say
all lawyers are obligated to:
"devote professional time and resources and use civic influence to ensure
equal access to our system of justice for all those who because of economic
or social barriers cannot afford or secure adequate legal counsel."
They're also about practicing law ethically, morally and responsibly.
It's to assure everyone is afforded due process and judicial fairness
in US courts.
Reality belies the rhetoric. US courts give kangaroos a bad name. Lynne
was denied what she did for others heroically and unselfishly.
Doing so sent other lawyers a chilling message not to defend clients
Washington wants convicted.
Lynne devoted her life and career to it. She's now in prison for doing
the right thing.
On February 10, 2005, she was convicted on all counts. She was automatically
disbarred. New York's Supreme Court's Appellate Division denied her
petition to resign voluntarily.
On October 17, 2006, she was sentenced to 28 months in prison. At the
time, she remained free on bond pending appeal before the US Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit.
On November 17, it revoked her bond, upheld her conviction, ordered
her surrender forthwith, but stayed it until November 19 to permit filing
a motion for reconsideration. It was denied. She reported to federal
marshals and was imprisoned.
At the behest of Second Circuit judges, her sentence was increased from
28 months to 10 years. She appealed and lost.
On June 28, AP headlined "NY court upholds lawyer's 10-year prison sentence,"
saying:
Second Circuit justices upheld her sentence. They claimed "she earned
it through serious crimes that she refuses to acknowledge."
Saying so reflects police state justice. Defendants charged are guilty
by accusation. Innocence doesn't matter. The power of the state decides
what's right or wrong. Heroic figures like Lynne suffer. She never had
a chance.
Imprisoning her for 10 minutes is unjust. Second Circuit justices claimed
28 months was too lenient. They wanted her put away for life.
They remanded her case back to district court Judge John Koeltl. They
settled for increasing her sentence to 10 years. They pressured him
to comply.
Originally he felt 28 months was unjust. He pronounced sentence then
under pressure. Venal systems operate that way.
Lynne's lawyer, Herald Price Fahringer, said options going forward will
be considered. "We're awfully disappointed in the decision but we're
going to keep going," he explained.
Lynne's imprisoned at Federal Medical Center, Carswell.
She can be reached as follows:
Lynne Stewart #53504-054
Federal Medical Center, Carswell
PO Box 27137
Ft. Worth, TX 76127
She recently underwent surgery. Fahringer said she remains "awfully
weak and apparently has difficulty moving around."
On June 29, New York Law Journal contributor Mark Hamblett headlined
"Circuit Rejects Speech Claim in Upholding Stewart Term," saying:
Lynne failed to win a sentence reduction. She claimed her First Amendment
rights were violated. Second Circuit judges disagreed, saying:
"Stewart was not punished for violating a governmental restriction on
speech."
"The district court did not treat her speech as a violation of any law—it
considered the content of that speech to be helpful in enabling the
court to craft a sentence 'sufficient, but not greater than necessary,
to comply with the purposes set forth' " elsewhere in sentencing guidelines.
"Stewart does indeed argue that she was prosecuted and punished for
her political beliefs. The most obvious — and fatal — shortcoming in
Stewart's argument in the context of this appeal is that there is not
a hint in the record of any fact to support an assertion that the district
court did so."
"The sentencing judge was determining the characteristics of the defendant,
which were legally relevant to a determination of the appropriate sentence
to impose on Stewart, through the comments she voluntarily and publicly
made."
Jeff Mackler is West Coast Coordinator of the Lynne Stewart Defense
Committee. On June 29, he headlined "Court Confirms Ten-Year Sentence
for Lynne Stewart," saying:
Lynne's 2005 conviction was "outrageous." Her "crime" was doing the
right thing. US "justice" finds that intolerable in defending clients
prosecutors want to convict.
"Barring an unlikely Supreme Court reversal, she will now serve her
ten-year sentence with perhaps a one-year or ten percent reduction for
'good behavior.' "
Justice Department prosecutors and hanging judges sought vengeance.
They took issue with Lynne's sworn duty to represent all clients honorably.
She didn't "bow to authority (or show) required deference." They rejected
her three core arguments:
(1) Violating her fundamental First Amendment rights.
(2) Unreasonably increasing her original sentence fourfold. Doing so
failed to consider her lifetime commitment to justice.
(3) Falsely claiming she perjured and misused her position.
She did her job honorably and courageously. She deserves praise, not
prison. She's one of many thousands wrongfully imprisoned in America's
gulag.
Judicial fairness is just a figure of speech. Malice substitutes for
doing the right thing. Federal courts are especially repressive. They're
infested with right-wing hacks.
They're ideologically hardline. They hand down rulings any despot would
love. They defend privilege at the expense of justice. They deplore
civil liberties and social fairness.
They oppose labor rights, environmental protections, regulatory checks
and balances, and women's reproductive choice. They mock rule of law
principles.
Guilt by accusation is policy. Lynne and others like her never have
a chance. Why else would America have by far the world's largest gulag.
Their job is supplying it with more warm bodies. Innocence is no just
defense.
Mackler said " 'Free Lynne Stewart' must remain the rallying cry of
all those who cherish civil liberties and democratic rights."
She wouldn't kiss their ring and paid dearly.
America is on a fast track to tyranny. Nations that imprison its best
and most honorable aren't fit to live in.
Lynne's treatment symbolizes what's wrong. Only public rage can change
things. There's no other way.
Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.
His new book is titled "How Wall Street Fleeces America: Privatized
Banking, Government Collusion and Class War"
http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html
Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge
discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News
Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time
and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy
listening.
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour
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