Judi Bari - still waiting for verdict Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit source - MichaelP http://www.monitor.net/~bari/ Thursday, May 30, 2002 Friends, It is impossible to know when the verdict in Bari v. FBI will come in, but we expect it to be soon. One suggestion for packing the courtroom at verdict time is to maintain a vigil between 8:45 am and 2:15 pm today and Friday. We can resume the same vigil Monday if we don't have a verdict, but it seems that the jury is really, really close. Our lawyers tell us the two weeks we've been waiting is one of the longest deliberations they've ever experienced. So come down to our law office and media center at 1611 Telegraph Avenue, Room 205, Oakland CA, to join us in the waiting, or over to the courthouse at 13th and Clay where the reporters are gathered. Please stay away from the entrance of the Federal Courthouse. The legal team is banned by court order from remaining near the courthouse while the jury enters or leaves. While the public is not banned from being at the courthouse square, we emphatically urge you not to talk, motion or communicate in any way to jury members at any time. Hope to see you soon. Viva Judi! and, Peace, Darryl Cherney ================================= THE JURY'S COMPLICATED TASK To illustrate the complexity of the jury's task, here is an analysis of the unanimous jury decisions required to deal with the principal claims against each of the 7 defendants, for each of the two plaintiffs: FOURTH AMENDMENT VIOLATIONS false arrest by up to 6 defendants (12 * verdicts) unlawful search on May 25, 1990 by up to 5 defendants * (10 verdicts) unlawful search on June 26, 1990 by up to 5 * defendants (Bari only, 5 verdicts) FIRST AMENDMENT VIOLATION violation of 1st Amendment rights by up to * 7 defendants (14 verdicts) CONSPIRACY conspiracy to violate the 1st Amendment by any two of up * to 7 defendants (14 verdicts) That's 55 unanimous verdicts required to dispose of all claims. The standard of proof in a civil case is the preponderance of the evidence, which simply means more likely than not. In addition, if they find in favor of the plaintiffs, the jurors also must unanimously agree on damages, including: * the dollar amount of damages for each of up to 7 (counting both plaintiffs) 1st and 4th Amendment claims (7 decisions) for each of * those 7 amounts the share to be paid by each of up to 7 defendants (49 decisions) for 4th Amendment violations, for each * plaintiff, the amount of punitive damages against any of up to 6 defendants. (12 decisions) * for 1st Amendment violations, for each plaintiff, the amount of punitive damages against any of up to 7 defendants. (14 decisions) There is no damage amount connected with the conspiracy claim, but all defendants found to have taken part in a conspiracy are fully liable for the total of damages caused by all conspirators, instead of only for the portion they themselves caused. So that's up to 92 more unanimous jury decisions required to determine damages. But there's even more! On the 41 First and Fourth Amendment claims, the jurors must decide if a reasonable officer in the defendant's position could have believed his action was lawful. If so he's immune from suit under the doctrine of qualified immunity. That's up to 41 more, making a grand total of up to 188 unanimous decisions the jury must make in order to clear all the claims in plaintiffs' favor. No wonder it's taking them a while! As Dennis Cunningham said, "Good things are worth waiting for." (Note: The above is based on analysis of the Jury Verdict Form. The analysis is not the product of the legal team.) ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytrad-05.30.02-23:53:47-13497