[Freethe SF8] Report on bail hearings for Hank Jones & Cisco Torres, 8/20/07

[SF-8 case]

Report on Bail Hearings Aug 20

Bail hearings continued today, Monday, August 20 in the SF 8 case. 
Arguments were made on behalf of Henry W. (Hank) Jones and Francisco 
(Cisco) Torres.  Tomorrow, Tuesday August 21, arguments will be made 
for Harold Taylor's bail reduction.  Judge Moscone reiterated that he 
will make rulings on bail for all the men on Wednesday, August 22 
once the individual arguments have all been completed.

Hank Jones

Speaking on behalf of Hank Jones, attorney John Philipsborn 
introduced Hank's family - his wife, daughters, and sister. He 
described Hank's history:  a San Francisco native, raised  under 
difficult circumstances in a Chinatown Hotel, joined the Marines, 
fought in Vietnam.  In 1968, he became a community activist 
struggling for fair housing, better schools, and other human rights 
issues in the Black community. Along with Ray Boudreaux, he was a 
founder of the Black Student Union at San Francisco State.

The Context of the 60's

Addressing the bail issue of "Danger To Society," Philipsborn 
referred  to the extraordinary community support, the volume of 
letters for Jones and others, but stated that in order to address the 
legal issues relating to bail, you had to understand the context of 
the period of 1968-77.  1968  marked the assassination of Martin 
Luther King, Jr., urban "riots", the height of the Vietnam war, and 
the end to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's.  Black citizens 
were harassed, beaten and many were killed by  police.  It's true, 
Philipsborn stated, the perception that the police attacked rather 
than protected the Black Community  led to calling them "pigs".

FBI Surveillance

Along with other activists, Jones was  put under police and FBI 
surveillance, but was not ever a member of the Black Panther Party. 
Nevertheless, because of the repression, Jones feared for the safety 
of his family and broke ties with them for several years.

Philipsborn noted that the BPP can be compared to the African 
National Congress in South Africa, i.e., illegal organizations at war 
with a "legitimate" government, with the ANC banned in South Africa 
and the BPP made de facto illegal by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI.  "What do 
bail issues mean" Philipsborn asked, "when actions are a result of 
community perception of being oppressed and marginalized?"

Francisco Torres

Speaking on behalf of Francisco Torres, Chuck Bourdon presented 
Cisco's family and described his personal history: VISTA volunteer, 
Vietnam Vet, long time community organizer, and devoted family 
member.  Cisco is loved by his community, and is known as someone who 
helps everyone. He has been showered with letters of support.  Cisco 
is the primary caretaker of a son with sickle cell anemia, who was 
too ill to join his family at the hearing today.

Summarizing the bail issue of "Flight Risk," Bourdon emphasized that 
the men are not  flight risks because the case is totally weak. 
Previous attempts at prosecution have been thrown out, and there is 
no new evidence.  The men expect to win.  One concrete new example of 
this is that the defense learned today that in contrast to the 
results of fingerprint tests with "new" techniques that would 
implicate Cisco, current DNA testing contradicts those results. All 
of the DNA evidence obtained at the scene does not match any of the 
eight defendants. Result:  No new evidence.

Unreasonable Delay

A critical legal argument remains:  a 36 year old case with no new 
evidence constitutes an "unreasonable delay."   Arguments towards 
dropping the charges will take place once the discovery motions have 
been completed.

Come to Court

Come to court Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. for the last bail hearing (Harold 
Taylor) and at 9:00 on Wednesday August 22 for motions on discovery 
and the judge's ruling on bail.

The next scheduled court appearance after that will be Tuesday, 
August 28 on further motions (demurs), but check back on the 
FreeTheSF8.org web site to confirm (all court dates are subject to 
change).
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