Oregon Daily Emerald: "Eugenean to stay in jail until jury ends"

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Eugenean to stay in jail until jury ends

Jeff Hogg will not be released until March, or until he agrees to testify in the eco-sabotage case

By: Eric Florip | News Reporter

The Eugene resident who has been jailed since May 18 for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating the Operation Backfire eco-sabotage case could remain in custody until March 2007 after the jury's term was extended by six months.

Jeffrey Hogg, a 32-year-old nursing student, was brought in by the jury last spring to answer questions relating to the federal investigation of 13 defendants accused of numerous arsons in the Northwest for environmentally motivated causes.

When he refused to testify, Hogg was held in contempt of court and imprisoned. Hogg is not facing charges himself.

The jury, originally set to expire on Sept. 30, will now continue to the end of March, meaning Hogg will not be released until then, unless he testifies.

Stephen Peifer, a prosecuting attorney in the case, said Hogg can be held for a maximum of 18 months or until the grand jury expires, whichever comes first. Since Hogg has only been in custody since May, according to the current schedule the jury will expire before 18 months pass.

Peifer said the fastest and easiest way for Hogg to be released is to simply come forward and testify.

"He is in jail without being accused of anything," said Lauren Regan, executive director and staff attorney of the Civil Liberties Defense Center in Eugene.

Regan said the grand jury was used improperly to subpoena Hogg because it was used to prepare a case for the trial, which likely won't begin until next year.

"What they chose to do was illegal use of a grand Jury," she said.

Peifer said it is the court's order for a person to comply with a grand jury and testify in any situation.

Hogg was given a Grumbles hearing, which was intended to determine if Hogg's imprisonment would actually coerce him into testifying, on Aug. 15, according to the CLDC Web site, but his release was denied by Judge Michael Hogan.

A hearing will be held Oct. 31 to set a date for the trial in Eugene before Judge Ann Aiken, Peifer said.

Of the 13 charged defendants in the case, four will be on trial before Aiken in Eugene, six have already entered guilty pleas and three are fugitives, Peifer said.

Regan said Hogg was likely brought in to testify because of his active role in local environmental causes, and because he may have known some of the defendants personally.

"Apparently they think he has some information that they want," Regan said.

Since he refused to testify in May because of his disagreement with the secret nature of the grand jury, Regan said, Hogg has also been forced to give up his schooling and to quit his job.

"He has certainly sacrificed a lot for his principles," she said.

Regan said Hogg has received a lot of support from the local environmental community in the form of letters and financial support to his life partner Cecilia Story, who had lived with Hogg.