Case Dismissed!!!!!!!!!!

Greenpeace lawyers, members and supporters gather outside of the courthouse after the acquittal.

This afternoon the Bush Administration's case against Greenpeace USA was thrown out of court.

Judge Adalberto Jordan acquitted us after accepting our claim that the U.S. government provided insufficient evidence to the court.

Speaking from the Miami Federal Courthouse, Greenpeace USA Executive Director John Passacantando said, "America's tradition of free speech won a victory today, but our liberties are still not safe. The Bush administration and its allies seem bent on stifling our tradition of civil protest, a tradition that has made our country stronger throughout our history.

"Greenpeace is grateful to everyone who stood with us, from Al Gore and Julian Bond to the citizens of Miami and people around the world. We will never give up the struggle to protect our forests, our air and oceans, and to build a green and peaceful future."

A record 100,000+ people worldwide sent messages to George Bush and John Ashcroft, the U.S. Attorney General, demanding that the case be dropped.

Ruling on the Acquittal

Returning to give his verdict, Judge Jordan said that he had looked at the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. He had to decide if the jury could find Greenpeace guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

In the substantive charge, the language at issue was the term "about to arrive".

He agreed with Greenpeace that the term connotes immediacy. The term also had to apply to all vessels, big and small, with and without the need for a pilot.

Continue reading "Ruling on the Acquittal"

Greenpeace Calls for Acquittal

After the U.S. rested its case, Attorney Jane Moscowitz asked for an acquittal because of insufficient evidence and grounds that the statute that Greenpeace was charged with was too vague in its language of when exactly a ship is "about to arrive".

Continue reading "Greenpeace Calls for Acquittal"

U.S. Rests Its Case

After calling five more wittnesses today, the government rested its case.

Witnesses called were,

• Timothy Keating, the Executive Director for Rainforest Relief


• David Allen, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer


• Scott Paul, Greenpeace Forest Campaign Coordinator


• Robert Ellis, Border Patrol Agent


• David Grazer, Special Agent for FBI

Continue reading "U.S. Rests Its Case"

Witnesses

In addition to opening statements, several witnesses were called by the prosecution today. They were:

• Thomas Wetterer, General Counsel for Greenpeace USA
• David Leech, Pilot for Biscayne Bay Pilot Association
• Scott Anderson, elementary school teacher from Utah and one of the two individuals who boarded the APL Jade
• Petty Officer David Ramirez, from U.S. Coast Guard

Thomas Wetterer confirmed the evidence that he produced in response to the government's subpoena. Evidence included photographs, video, job descriptions and job offers for Greenpeace staff and contract employees.

Scott Anderson, a third and fourth grade school teacher from Utah, testified that he had boarded the APL Jade. He explained that he asked APL Jade crew for permission to board and was greeted warmly and helped aboard. He and Hillary Hosta came aboard using the same ladder that the pilot had, located on the side door. After boarding the ship, they explained to the crew why they were there and what they intended to do: hang a banner.

Several pieces of evidence were introduced. These included photographs of Anderson and the crew engaged in dialogue, sharing a snack and exchanging e-mail addresses. Also among the photographs was the image shown here of Hosta with crew members, one of whom was flashing a peace sign.

Anderson testified that he boarded the ship to highlight the illegal mahogany on board so that the U.S. Government would take action.

Opening Statement

Trial began today with opening statements from the prosecution and defense. Jane Moscowitz, Greenpeace's lead attorney, opened for Greenpeace.

She began by saying she was priveleged to represent Greenpeace, a worldwide organization devoted to protecting the environment through peaceful means. This devotion led two climbers to board a ship in the Atlantic Ocean, because the ship was carrying illegal mahogany from Brazil's rainforest.

Continue reading "Opening Statement"

Jury Selection

Today 12 jurors and two alternates were chosen out of a pool of 45.

They were given standard instructions for a criminal case:

-- Greenpeace is presumed innocent.
-- The burden of proof is on the Government.
-- The Government must prove their case beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Judge Jordan also ruled that Greenpeace will, in our opening statement, be permitted to argue the reasons we were on the water on April 12, 2002 and boarded the ship carrying illegal mahogany as part of our campaign to save the Amazon rainforest.

You Can't Sink a Rainbow

Many of you know about the role of rainbows in Greenpeace's life and history. They appeared almost magically at moments of despair or victory -- at the Brent Spar and during our early work on whaling.

This morning, there was a sudden downpour that was confined to downtown Miami. The legal team, Rose, and I were driving along the inland waterway to the courthouse. All of the sudden, we noticed the most beautiful rainbow that arched across the city. We took it as a good omen as we remembered that you can't sink a rainbow.

Silent March

So here it is Sunday, and the local volunteers have struck again.

For the last couple of months scores of people from all over the Miami area have been creating human and animal cardboard cut-outs and painting them with messages conveying themes of defending our forests or defending our freedoms.

One of my favorites is a cut-out of a guy saying, "We refuse to be what you want us to be: Silenced".

Today a group of supporters participated in a silent march. They carried the cut-outs and didn't speak a word the whole time. Instead they let the cut-outs do the talking for them. These people marched all the way up South Beach and silently outreached to thousands of on-lookers.

Like I said before, it's so inspiring to witness this diverse group of citizens see something wrong with the world and choose to take positive action. Not just here in Miami, but people throughout the world have spoken out through the cyberaction. To me that's what its all about. Thanks so much to all of you, and stay active!

Benefit Concert Rocks

Following up on the success of last night's town hall meeting there was a benefit concert for Greenpeace at The Tree of Zion (a local vegan deli and progressive hang-out spot).

From 5pm until midnight several local bands played. A number of local artists were there as well and had artwork on display. We had an information table set up with ways for people to get plugged into showing support. The music was great and folks ate and danced the night away.

A large number of people also signed up to become members of the volunteer chapter down here.

This event would not have gotten off its feet without the superb and tireless efforts of local activists. They did on ground coordination and scheduling.

The Greenpeace Miami volunteer chapter, as a whole, continues to provide a fantastic base of support down here in this rather critical time. They deserve much credit. More to come.

Local Support

Our second town hall meeting brought together a diverse group of civic activist groups, environmental groups and unions. The turn out was good, we estimated about 130 individuals. All in attendance had heart, passion and moved me with their dedication and willingness to help support our right to speak out for forests and to speak out period.

Many intelligent questions were asked and lots of networking went on.

We updated those in attendance about our recent meetings with several commissioners about a local resolution which urges Miami Dade county to buy only legal and sustainable "good wood" with public money. Commissioner Sorensen's office is leading the way in this initiative by using similar criteria in an environmental program her office is working on.

Local Greenpeace volunteers continue to work on this initiative and we will keep you updated as it progresses.

For more information on how to pass a resolution in your area, see http://consumerscouncil.org.

At the end of the meeting one woman particularly moved me when she stood up and encouraged everyone to hand over all of the contacts' information they have to ensure that we bring together our extensive networks.

It was incredibly inspiring to see this many active voices joining together in support.