Reportback from Court:
There is good news and bad news. They dropped the felonies and E- is currently being charged instead with one misdemeanor, PC 647c "Obstruction of a Thoroughfare", which is about as garbage and low level of a charge as you can get. That is great. He was granted OR (release on his own recognizance- ie release for free without having to post bail) on the condition that he accepts a stay away order from the Albany Bulb (and actually a huge surrounding area too) while his case is open.
The Stay Away thing sucks and they've been used consistently to disrupt people's ability to return to a protest site after an arrest. (We saw a lot of Stay Aways from Oscar Grant Plaza for instance- this is more of the same.) Stay Aways are used commonly in Alameda County/SF in non-political (or less overtly political) cases also, its a real abuse/expansion of power.
The other piece of news is that SF put a "hold" on E-, we believe for a bike ticket. SF has five days from today to come and get him, so that means that even though he should have been released tonight, the earliest he's getting out is Fri.
E- is back in court MON at 9AM in Dept 104 (4th fl) at Wiley W Manuel Courthouse on 6th/Washington in Oakland.
E- is not doing great but not doing super emergency bad either. He can get visitors (at specific times) and letters and cash on his books for comissary.
That's pretty much what I know. Some of this is second hand which is annoying bc actually I was busted for having my phone on vibrate (gasp) in the courtroom instead of being fully off and the Bailiff threw me out. This was completely stupid because court wasn't even in session yet, it was way early, no judge in the room, but whatever. Just another friendly reminder about law enforcement....
Gabby
Good News:
They dropped the felonies, E- is being arraigned on misdemeanor charges in Dept 107 4th Fl now.
Gabby
On Jun 2, 2014 12:14 AM, "Gabrielle Silverman" <gabbywingnut@gmail.com> wrote:I'm planning to print up any charachter letters for E- that people send me tomorrow (Mon) at about 1 pm, so if you feel inspired and want someone else to print it, send it to gabbywingnut@gmail.com before 1-ish.
Reminder: Court for E- Tomorrow
MON 2pm Dept 112 (6th Fl)
Wiley W Manuel Courthouse
6th St/ Washington St
Downtown OaklandDouble Reminder: E-'s family is concerned about potential of friends/supporters pissing off the judge and making more trouble for E-....
Reminder also Pigeon is in court Mon @ 9am, Dept 104 (4th fl) also at Wiley.
Gabby
On May 31, 2014 12:41 PM, "Gabrielle Silverman" <gabbywingnut@gmail.com> wrote:Update from E-'s Family:
They are very worried that someone will make a big scene at court Mon. They are nervous about big public calls for court support because of this. They are stressing that close friends should come (I think this includes the Sudo fam) but not random people who might potentially make a scene to piss off the judge. This is their concern. They have spoken to E- from jail.
Something people can do meanwhile is write letters to the judge to help establish community ties and good charachter.
Dear Judge,
I have known [insert name] for several years blah blah. Wonderful asset to our community, blah blah. We need him back with us so he can continue to carry on his good work blah blah. I urge Your Honor to release [name] on his own recognizance blah blah.
Sincerely,
Your Name,
Fancy TitleThese letters can be emailed to me directly at
I will print em out and bring them to court Mon, or you can do the same yourself.
In other bad news, Pidgeon has court also on Mon for the Bulb arrests. You might remember Pigeon from Kill the Bill meetings at Sudo, etc. Pigeon will be in court in Dept 104 on 4th Fl at 9 am on Mon. Wiley W Manuel, 6th and Washington, downtown Oak...
Gabby
On May 30, 2014 8:48 PM, "Gabrielle Silverman" <gabbywingnut@gmail.com> wrote:E- was arrested yesterday (Thurs) while he was leaving the Albany Bulb.
He's facing two felony charges that seem random and bizarre. No one is sure what the story is, he got snatched up while he was alone.
E- is in custody at Santa Rita Jail and is being arraigned at 2 PM MON in Dept 112, 6th floor at Wiley W Manuel Courthouse at 6th/ Washington in Downtown Oakland. I have heard that he is currently facing charges of felony posession of tools to escape from jail and felony posession of weapons.
This is the fifth arrest of Bulb activists in Albany in the last three or four days.
We are trying to get E- a pro-bono lawyer through the National Lawyers Guild Demonstrations Committee and personal connections that people have. If you are/know a sympathetic criminal defense lawyer, please get in touch.
We are also trying to get E- a jail visit sometime this weekend to check on him. Before his first courtdate, only a lawyer can visit. It can be any lawyer though, they don't have to take on his case.
Packing the courtroom is good for E-'s morale and good for the judge to see also. Largely what they will determine at this first court appearance is community ties, which determines whether a person will be freed with or without having to post bail, or if that's even an option.
Sometimes the cops are pissed and you get crazy trumped up felony charges that get thrown out or lowered down at arraignment. Let's hope this doesn't get too serious, but also it potentially is. Let's hopefully come together and have a big sudo showing for E- Mon at court!
Feel free to contact me for updates...
Gabby