In my post of Jan
18, I wondered what the verdict would be in the Delta 5 case. Five
defendants had blocked a train in 2014 carrying fracked gas,
stripmined coal, and fracked Bakken oil from North Dakota. Well, the
verdict is in, and the defendants were
acquitted of “obstruction” and any financial losses accruing from their
action. Four of them were convicted on the charge of trespassing, for
which they had to pay fines, as well as court fees.
What is significant
about this trial is that the judge, Anthony Howard, allowed a
necessity defense to be argued for the first time in such a case (the
trial of Jay Ohara resulted in an
implicit honoring of this rationale for blocking a coal tanker in Massachusetts, but there were
no legal arguments to this effect). However, when it was time to
charge the jury, he explicitly told them not to consider this
argument in their deliberations, because there was no precedent to do
so. One juror said later that if he had allowed them to consider
that line of defense, there would have been an outright acquittal.
Another juror
thanked the defendants for the “education” they had received by
listening to the witnesses for the defense. A defendant quipped,
“Welcome to the movement.” Jurors and defendants hugged at the
conclusion of the proceedings. It was a heartwarming victory, as
well as a toe in the door opening to the necessity defense. Setting
that precedent, which Judge Howard, though sympathetic, was reluctant to
do, would link the climate movement and the insurgents who are its
leading wave directly with the Justinian Code on res communes.
That would be a huge step
forward for enforcing the Paris accord and climate realism in
constitutional governments. And with James Hansen now directly
advising China, all of the major players in the unfolding endgame of
the climate drama would be involved.
(Hansen
told me via e-mail several years ago that he had given up on our
wishy-washy government to focus upon advising China, a more direct
process than having to make continual end-runs around a reactionary
Republican Congress. He was responding to my post on the
philosopher-king cutting the Gordian climate knot.)
Building
on this victory, 350.org is calling for a global wave of civil
disobedience aimed at keeping fossil fuels in the ground this May in
a campaign called “Break Free.” In the first four days of the appeal, 12,000 people signed up
worldwide, including this blogger. Read
about the campaign, and please discern what your part may be in
helping us Break Free, fulfilling Obama's 2008 campaign pledge,
something we all now know he could have never accomplished alone - or with virtually any Congress. Look around you - the fossil fools are everywhere, but you need to choose your targets strategically and wisely. The
time is ripe. Pluck the berry of opportunity while ye can. Let's talk about this!
Labels: 350.org, Break Free, Delta 5, James Hansen, Jay O'Hara, Justinian Code, necessity defense, Paris Accord, philosopher-king
# posted by Robert McGahey @ 6:49 PM