Excerpt (from Fight Back), minor editing by Carolyn Bennett
“Subpoenas”
By veteran Civil Rights lawyer Lynne Stewart from Carswell Federal Prison
“I began my career as a political movement lawyer. The government was rounding up the last of the diehard militants, many of whom had been underground, and prosecuting them as a part of the pincer movement.
“The government also subpoenaed anyone with any tangential relationship to those arrested — their daters, their lovers, their teachers, their religious leaders, their estranged relatives, those who had attended meetings, rallies, etc.
“… The government's purpose — To intimidate that branch of the movement that could be counted on to support militancy; [to] troll for even the most insignificant crumbs of information that might be fitted together to enmesh suspects.
“What happened — Most people who had been tapped by the government lawyered up with movement lawyers, guided in part by the legal work of Bob Boyle and Guild lawyers who had written legal representation before Grand Juries. This work remains the standard on what to do and when to do it.
“A person subpoenaed is in the unenviable position of having only the vaguest idea of what the government may want and is faced ultimately with the choice of testifying against comrades or spending long months in jail.
“A person may even face a possibility of being indicted for contempt and facing a sentence that is completely up to a judge. In the face of this challenge, in that day, I can only say that most people chose not to testify and to wait out the government. They gave up an existence as they were living it — jobs, relationships, all that constitute daily life; and they went to jail. They stayed in jail for many months, and they didn’t give in.
“Now we are in another era — one not rising from the euphoria and idealism of the 1960s — and the government is once again arresting, subpoenaing and tormenting movement people, hoping they will become informants.
“The reaction of the movement — We resist.
“We stand strong with the resisters who elect not to become part of the same prosecution team that has terrorized the world. Now the so-called Department of Justice (ha!) has decided to focus on support groups of the world’s peoples, also on eco-terrorism. Why? Because they can! [They are sending] a message to the people that [resistance] is dangerous: 'Don’t join.' 'Don’t resist.'
“The State's message must once again be shouted down: first by the resisters who will go to jail; second by us — the movement that must support them by always filling those cold marble courtrooms to show our solidarity and by speaking out so that their sacrifice is constantly remembered.
“Our principle of non-collaboration has so far proved robust. There has been no wavering. Our support must continue to convince everyone involved that these are issues of principle. There can be no compromise.
“Resisters must be defended to the utmost of our strength and abilities.”
Alissa Clare wrote of lawyers in 2005 —
“We Should Have Gone to Med School: In the Wake of Lynne Stewart, Lawyers Face Hard Time for Defending ‘Terrorists’”
On February 10, 2005, “A federal jury in Manhattan convicted Lynne Stewart, a New York civil rights lawyer and self-proclaimed radical, ‘on on all five counts of providing material aid to terrorism and of lying to the government when she pledged to obey federal rules that barred her client, Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, from communicating with his followers.’
“With this conviction, the Justice Department scored a major victory in its War on Terror, by applying to attorneys the statute proscribing material support to terrorism. Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez stated, ‘these convictions send a clear, unmistakable message that this department will pursue both those who carry out acts of terrorism and those who assist them with their murderous goals.’ Stewart faces thirty years in prison and was immediately disbarred as a result of her felony conviction.
“…Stewart’s case implicates diverse political, constitutional, and ethical issues. Her conviction creates a grave danger of chilling legal representation for accused terrorists due to the lack of clear guidelines and notice regarding the application of criminal statutes to the lawyers who defend them.
“Times of national crisis exacerbate the persistent tension between civil liberties and national security. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, sparked our current national crisis, upsetting the balance ...”
Sources and notes
“‘Subpoenas’” (Lynne Stewart, Carswell Federal Prison) — “Lynne Stewart’s message to January 25 protests” Fight Back News Service is circulating on the day of protests “against the FBI and Grand Jury witch hunt that has been unleashed on anti-war and international solidarity activists.” Lynne Stewart [is] a heroic and long-time progressive lawyer [now] serving a ten-year prison sentence in Fort Worth, Texas, for allegedly helping terrorists. Her courage and determination stand as an example to all of us who are working for peace, justice and equality. http://www.fightbacknews.org/2011/1/25/lynne-stewart-s-message-jan-25-protests
CURRENT DEVELOPMENT 2004-2005: “We Should Have Gone to Med School: In the Wake of Lynne Stewart, Lawyers Face Hard Time for Defending Terrorists,” Summer, 2005, 18 Geo. J. Legal Ethics 651, Author ALISSA CLARE, Excerpt INTRODUCTION
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