A relatively uneventful day in court on Monday for Scott DeMuth was followed by
an unexpected subpoena for former grand jury resister Carrie Feldman.
During pre-trial hearings for Scott held at the federal courthouse, lawyers
discussed pending motions in need of resolution before trial. There were no
oral arguments or decisions by the court. There will be a suppression hearing
before the trial to determine whether evidence seized in a raid on Scott's
house prior to the 2008 Republican National Convention can be legally used at
the trial. This hearing is scheduled for the morning of Monday, September 13.
Prosecutor Cliff Cronk has indicated that he will appeal the decision of the
courts if they suppress that evidence, likely postponing the trial until that
issue is resolved. For the time being, though, trial is scheduled to begin on
Tuesday, September 14 at 9 am.
Cronk also indicated that he intends to call up to sixty witnesses at trial.
Many of these witnesses could be cut if the defense is willing to stipulate to
various facts of the case. Cronk also said that he expects the trial to take
around three weeks, three times as long as we had been expecting.
Cronk was ordered to file a list of expert witnesses by Wednesday and to
respond to a motion in which the defense argues that he should be barred from
talking about a number of things at the trial, including other ALF actions,
Scott's associations with the RNC Welcoming Committee, and the use of the words
"terrorism" or "terrorist" to describe the actions Scott is being charged with.
Later that evening, the Conspiracy Tour had an event in nearby Rock Island,
Illinois. Two federal agents waited outside the event in plain clothes until
Carrie walked outside to get something from the tour van. When she did, they
handed her a subpoena to testify at the trial. A scanned copy of the subpoena
will be available on http://davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com shortly.
In the weeks before trial, we will be finalizing our support plans for Scott
and Carrie, so stay tuned for more information. And we're inviting all of you
to join us in court if you're able. To find out how to help with support work
in Davenport, email us at scottandcarrie(A)riseup.net. Even if you can't come
to the trial, you can help spread the word and help us raise legal defense
funds in your own community.
In solidarity,
the Scott & Carrie Support Committee (SCSC)
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