Eastern District of California Blog

Government Dismisses Charges Against All Beale AFB Drone Protesters

In advance of their scheduled Sept. 9 arraignments, I've learned that the EDCA U.S. Attorney's Office has dismissed all charges against 15 or so persons who had been charged with misdemeanors for trespassing on Beale Air Force Base in two April protests against the United States' use of drone warfare.   

You can see the two alleged drone protest trespassing incidents at Beale AFB in April on youtube here:  Good Friday protest and April 29 protest. 

For the latest information on drone protests at Beale AFB, check out OccupyBealeAFB.org.

Eleven Arrested At Good Friday Beale AFB Drone Protest

The Sacramento Bee reports that eleven anti-drone protesters were arrested and cited for trespassing at Beale AFB on Good Friday, April 18.  And here's the video of the alleged crime:

Drone Protester Acquitted!

The Sacramento Bee reports that Judge Drozd found Beale Air Force Base drone protester Shirley Osgood not guilty today in a misdemeanor bench trial, explaining that he harbored a reasonable doubt based on the inconclusive video.  Congratulations to McGeorge law school and Federal Defender clinic students Katie Reed and Michael Heumann for their victory!

According to the Bee: "The government did not prosecute three others who were arrested with Osgood in November. Likewise, no charges have yet been filed against five protesters, including three ministers, who were arrested after they stepped across the line on Ash Wednesday and knelt in prayer. They carried crosses and sprinkled ashes to commemorate the deaths of children allegedly killed by U.S. drones."

EDCA Court Denies Jury Trial To Drone Protester

Once again a federal judge in Sacramento has denied a jury trial to a defendant who is a regular among anti-drone protesters at Beale Air Force Base.

U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd, like two colleagues before him, cited U.S. Supreme Court precedent holding that there is no right to a jury trial if the penalty is capped at six months in prison.

And, like his colleagues, he said it is unclear whether he has the discretion to grant a jury trial, but, even if the law allows him that latitude, he would not do so in this instance.

Drozd did not mention the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment, which guarantees a jury trial to criminal defendants, without exception.

* * *

In the motion for a jury trial, Chief Assistant Federal Defender Linda Harter argued that, in cases outside the Eastern District of California, “where the charges against the defendants stemmed from protests or actions against the government, (they) have been granted jury trials, even where the charges have been considered petty.”

Sacramento Bee, 4/1/14

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/04/01/6287486/judge-denies-jury-trial-to-beale.html#storylink=cp

EDCA US Attorney Seeks To Deny Drone Protesters Jury Trials

They have been demonstrating since 2010 against unarmed surveillance drones based and operated at Beale that are used to pinpoint targets for armed killer drones in war zones and elsewhere overseas.

The protesters run the gamut from ministers and rabbis to longtime peace activists and military veterans.

At least 18 have been arrested for trespassing since Oct. 30, 2012, some more than once. One was an 88-year-old Lutheran minister, arrested nearly three weeks ago on Ash Wednesday, who was also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran – he served on the honor guard aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, where the treaty was signed marking Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II.

“I call it divine obedience,” the minister, Jerry Pedersen, said in a recent interview at his South Land Park home. “I’m not breaking the law, I’m following the law that’s written in our hearts.”

The federal government has a different point of view, and has begun filing misdemeanor charges of unauthorized penetration of a military installation. The charge carries the potential of up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, although federal prosecutors have assured judges they have no intention of trying to put any of the protesters behind bars.

But that is where the charity stops. The government has succeeded so far in persuading two judges to deny protesters jury trials, something the defendants contend deprives them of their Sixth Amendment rights and the chance to have their civil disobedience judged by their peers instead of the third branch of the federal government – the very establishment they are targeting.

Osgood, a retired social worker and 66-year-old grandmother from Grass Valley, is facing trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dale A. Drozd, who will be hearing her pleas for a jury trial and the opportunity to present a “necessity defense” on Tuesday.

Despite arguments that the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial, the federal government adamantly opposes a panel in these prosecutions.

“They are not entitled to a jury,” Benjamin Wagner, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, said in an interview last week. “I understand that they are interested in maximum publicity for their cause, but we don’t have an interest in accommodating that.

“Our business is promoting respect for the law. We have tried to be as light-handed and reasonable as possible. But, in these cases, a jury is not an effective nor efficient use of our resources, or the court’s resources for that matter.”

Wagner argues, as do his assistant prosecutors in court, that the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that defendants facing six months or less time in prison have no right to be judged by a jury.

“These defendants don’t qualify for special treatment just because they are motivated by ideology,” Wagner said.

Lawyers for the protesters and some constitutional experts dispute that, saying the right to be judged by your peers is a bedrock of the nation’s justice system.

“The (Supreme) Court has concluded, based on ‘historical practices,’ that trial courts may dispense with a jury when the maximum punishment is less than six months incarceration,” said Gabriel “Jack” Chin, a professor at the UC Davis School of Law and a nationally recognized expert in criminal procedure.

“That is a highly questionable conclusion,” added Chin, whose work has been cited twice in U.S. Supreme Court opinions. “The court has decided the Sixth Amendment doesn’t mean what it says, that it means something else.

“That’s highly dubious. One of the reasons we had a revolution was that some practices were not acceptable. A trial without a panel of the defendant’s peers was one of them.”

Sacramento Bee, 3/29/14

 

 

ead more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/03/29/6279355/drone-strikers-say-the-government.html#storylink=cp

Clergy and Veterans Arrested At Ash Wednesday Drone Protest At Beale AFB

Five persons, including clergy and veterans, were arrested at Beale Air Force Base on Ash Wednesday last week while protesting the United States' use of killer drones.  See TheUnion; KCRA; YubaNet.  It's the fourth series of arrests in the last year.  Two groups have been convicted of trespassing in misdemeanor EDCA court trials; a third trial is set for next month.  Here's a video of the alleged offense and the arrests via (veteransforpeace.org):

 For more information on drone killings and Beale AFB protests, see OccupyBealeAFB.org.

Anti-Drone Protesters Refuse Fines, Sentenced to Community Service

Five peace advocates convicted of trespassing at a demonstration opposing the Obama Administrations killer drone program at Beale AFB near Marysville were sentenced here Monday to only 10 hours community service – after they said they rather go to prison than accept a fine and probation.

Judge Carolyn Delaney listened to passionate statements (below this release) by the defendants, who told the judge they were willing to go to federal prison rather than pay any fines or accept 3 years probation. They faced up to six months in federal prison and a $5,000 fine each for trespassing at Beale.

Delaney relented, and after acknowledging prison would serve "no purpose," sentenced the most minimum of community service to Janie Kesselman, Camptonville; Sharon Delgado, Nevada City; Shirley Osgood, Grass Valley; and David and Jan Hartsough, both of San Francisco.

The "Beale 5" considered the very light sentence a "victory." They were arrested October 30, 2012 protesting the U.S. drone program at Beale AFB, which provides surveillance drones that scout locations for killer drones, responsible for killing hundreds of innocent people, including children, around the world.

The defendants were convicted by Delaney August 12 after she  refused to allow a jury trial. She also refused the admit the "Necessity" and  "Nuremberg Principles" defenses, which argues citizens have a duty to prevent the killing of civilians by their own government. She also disregarded key testimony by witnesses.

The all-volunteer defense team – Sacramento lawyers Mike Hansen, Mark Reichel, Joe Marman and Tatiana Filippova – was coordinated by the National Lawyers Guild of Sacramento. They objected to the court's decision to exclude a jury trial. They have 14 days to appeal.

The NLG/Sacramento also said the judge in the case refused to allow key witnesses – including people who have seen the devastation to civilians in Pakistan and other parts of the world.

Truthout.com, 9/12/13.  This link also includes the sentencing statements of the five peace advocates.

 

Peace Advocates Found Guilty Of Misdemeanor Trespassing On Beale AFB

Five peace advocates who oppose the Obama administration's use of killer drones were found guilty Monday by a Sacramento judge of trespassing at Beale Air Force Base.

After a daylong trial, U.S.Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney pronounced the four women and one man guilty of penetrating the boundary of the Yuba County installation.

She set Sept. 9 for the sentencing of Sharon Delgado, Jane Kesselman, Shirley Osgood, David Hartsough and his wife, Janet Hartsough.

* * *

"Civil disobedience, which at one time was honored in this country in the wake of the civil rights movement, suffered a terrible fate today at the hands of –incredibly – the administration of our first African American president," said defense attorney Mark Reichel after the verdict.

Fresno Bee, 8/13/13

Feds Deny EDCA Drone Protestors Jury Trial On Beale AFB Trespassing Charges

From today's Sacramento Bee:

Against a backdrop of furor – both at home and abroad – over the Obama administration's use of killer drones, five protesters who oppose the policy and who are charged with trespassing at Beale Air Force Base were told Thursday by a federal judge that they will not get a jury trial.

Defense lawyer Mark Reichel said when contacted after the hearing: "This is a political prosecution, and the defendants should not be judged by a branch of the federal government but by a jury of their peers."

The hearing was short, but not so sweet for the defense. In addition to denying the defendants a jury trial, U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney barred them from claiming that their actions were a benefit to society.

The U.S. attorney's office in Sacramento did not want the protesters to have a jury trial. After hauling the five into court on a charge of entering the base for an unlawful purpose – a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in prison, a year of supervised release and a $5,000 fine, or five years on probation – the office argued that the crime is not serious, and thus not legally worthy of a jury trial.

Once the defendants sought a jury trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Fogg further blunted the defense contention that the punishment could be serious by assuring Delaney that, if she decides one or more of the protesters are guilty, he will not seek incarceration, supervised release, or special conditions of probation.

* * *

An Aug. 12 trial before Delaney is scheduled for Sharon Delgado, 64, of Nevada City; David Hartsough, 72, and his wife, Janet Hartsough, 71, of San Francisco; Jane Kesselman, 58, of Camptonville, and Shirley Osgood, 65, of Grass Valley. They were arrested Oct. 30 at the Yuba County base.

* * *

The U.S. attorney's office was asked why, aside from its interpretation of the law, it is opposed to a jury trial for these five people.

U.S. Attorney Benjamin Wagner is out of the country and not reachable. Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Sylvia Quast wrote in an email: "The government's approach to this case has been reasonable and evenhanded from the beginning … and there is not a right to a jury trial here. Under the circumstances, the magistrate judge's decision to hold a bench trial … was the correct one."

When it was pointed out that her answer did not address the question, Quast messaged back: "We are satisfied that this answers the question."

Beale has been a target of anti-drone protests for years. It is home to the U-2, the venerable 1950s spy plane, and the unmanned Global Hawk, an unarmed reconnaissance drone that is an "accomplice" in strikes carried out by armed drones. It gives a theater commander a broad overview and pinpoint target surveillance.

From the outset, deadly drone attacks have been at the heart of President Barack Obama's national security strategy, and their use in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and Libya increased dramatically after he took office.

The targeted killing program has come under heightened scrutiny amid charges by some human and civil rights groups and others that it violates international and U.S. law, has claimed hundreds of civilian lives, and has provoked intense popular anger that has helped al-Qaida and other terrorist groups recruit radicals.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/28/5530481/no-jury-trial-for-beale-afb-anti.html#storylink=cpy

Beale AFB Protesters Arraigned

Five people cited at Beale Air Force Base while protesting the U.S. military's use of drones were arraigned Tuesday in Sacramento federal court on charges of unlawfully entering military property.

Through their attorneys, they pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanors and asked for a trial.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney set April 15 for a non-jury trial before her. If convicted, each faces a fine of not more than $5,000 and/or a prison term of not more than six months.

* * * *

Tuesday's hearing was preceded by a drone protest on the plaza and sidewalk outside the federal courthouse at Fifth and I streets. The defendants were among the 30 to 40 protesters. Some displayed banners and signs with messages such as "Do the Drones Hear the Cries of the Children Dying On the Ground?"

* * *

Lawyer Mark Reichel said after the hearing that it is likely he and other defense attorneys will argue their clients are entitled to a jury trial.

"This is a political issue," he said, "and these people should have a right to present their case to a jury of their peers, not a judge."

Sacramento Bee, 1/9/13; see also Occupy Sac, 10/30/12.