WA: necessity defense okayed for Olywa port protesters
By Christian Hill of the Olympian, photo by Toni Bailey:
Port protesters win right to prove acts were justifiable
Seventeen people who will stand trial next month for allegedly trespassing on secured Port of Olympia property during a raucous May 30 protest got an early victory Tuesday. Thurston County District Court Judge Susan Dubuisson ruled that she'll allow them to use a "necessity" defense in attempting to justify their actions in trying to stop a military shipment from leaving the Port of Olympia...
I especially like this photo from inside the courtroom, a good tableau of life and law in Oly. The guy in the scarf is happy, the seated prosecutor is not. That's my OAC colleague Dave on the far left (of the photo, not the spectrum).
2 Comments:
Assuming the decision of Judge Dubuisson was legal, not policy or personal, then she would allow Operation Rescue abortion opponents to use the necessity defense when they block entrance to Planned Parenthood: the greater good is preventing abortion. This is a dangerous concept which allows jurors to make policy decisions on the law, which is why caselaw precludes the necessity defense except for acts of nature and, to a limited extent, in escape cases. The quote by the prosecutor ("You can't put forward contradictory defenses to a jury") is wrong. Lawyers certainly can submit inconsistent defenses. "I didn't do it but if I did I was insane" is a legitimate, albeit doomed, defense.
Skelly, thanks for the update on this story. I remember reading about the protest and was wondering whatever happened to the group. Curious to see what happens next.
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