Court Support Needed For Oscar Grant Supporters

by spread the word
indybay.org
Sunday Jul 11th, 2010

   Here is the latest update from members of the Legal Support team of
the National Lawyer's Guild Demonstration Committee:

On Thursday, July 8, 2010, about 80 people were arrested protesting the
verdict of the Mehserle trial for the murder of Oscar Grant. Johannes
Mehserle was found guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter. 17 people remain in
custody at Santa Rita and North County Jails since their arrest.

Court support is needed for the folks arrested in the aftermath of the
verdict. Friendly faces in the courtroom is a positive way to show support
for the arrestees. People are facing some really serious charges, let's
show our support for them in court!

For folks coming to court, please be respectful in the courtroom. We want
to be present and show the judge we are paying attention, but not
disrespectful, as this can negatively impact the arrestees.

Please remember to leave anything that could be construed as a weapon or
drugs at home. You do have to go through a metal detector to get into the
court house. If you have uncharged conduct from Thursday night, please do
not come to court. There are always other ways to help out.

Out of the 80 or so arrests, there are about two dozen people who have
more serious charges or other issues. Those arrestees have court on Monday
and Tuesday. Of the 22 court appearances, there are 17 people who are
still in. All appearances are at Wiley Manual Courthouse which is at 661
Washington St in Oakland.

On Monday at 9 am, there is one arraignment in Dept 107. At 2 pm, there
are 14 felony arraignments in Dept 112. Also at 2pm, there are 4
misdemeanor arraignments in Dept 107.

On Tuesday at 9 am, there are 2 misdemeanor arraignments in Dept 107. At 2
pm, there are 2 felony arraignments in Dept 112.

Police were brought in from many cities and used excessive force in some
people's arrests. Many of the folks arrested Thursday night were injured.
Some folks still in custody are injured and could use community support in
the courtroom. If you have footage or were a witness to an incident
involving an arrest, please contact us at 415-285-1011. Please use
discretion when posting photos in the media or online that may incriminate
yourself or others in the community.

A statement about the verdict from the NLG:
http://www.nlgsf.org/news/view.php?id=130
http://www.indybay.org/oscargrant