[News] on the death of Susan B. Jordan

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Susan B. Jordan, died on Friday.  Her amazing life and contribution 
to the struggle has not received the recognition she 
deserves.  Please send us : 
<mailto:info at lynnestewart.org>info at lynnestewart.org your thoughts on 
her life.  I first heard of Susan Jordan around the case of Inez 
Garcia many many years ago, Lynne mentions her case below.  I was 
honored to meet her when she came to New York to help in Lynne 
Stewart's case.  Pat Levasseur

Dear friends and comrades:

     Susan B. Jordan, lawyer, died in the crash of a small plane in 
Southern Utah on Friday morning.  Susan, at 67, had represented 
during her almost four decades, both political persons and political 
causes.  I first became familiar with her work when she defended Inez 
Garcia, accused and convicted of murder in the shooting death of her 
rapist.  Susan brilliantly argued self defense on behalf of this 
battered woman and WON.  It was a revelation and it was born of 
Susan's instinct which never deserted her, of what was just and 
right.  She went on to represent captured members Emily and Bill 
Harris of the Symbionese Liberation Army;  Judy Beri, who the 
government claimed was an environmental terrorist when a bomb 
exploded in her own car (later totally disproved);  Marilyn Buck, 
political prisoner in her bid for parole from federal prison and 
Susan Olson, a political fugitive and Mom arrested in Minneapolis and 
now serving parole there. This is just culling from my far from 
perfect memory, some of the work Susan did.

     Personally, after I was falsely convicted of materially aiding 
terrorism in February 2005, it was necessary for me to put together a 
team of lawyers who would represent me at sentencing and fight the 
government's outrageous demand of  thirty years.  Susan and I had 
first met personally at the National Lawyers Guild Convention of 
2002. She was writing an article about my case (which later appeared 
in Guild Notes and also the San Francisco Law Journal).  It was a 
friendship that was pre ordained.  At the end of three hours of 
interview, laughter, exchanging "war" stories, exploring mutual 
friends; Susan smiled her beautiful smile and said heartily "You're 
my new best friend !" Indeed it was to be so for the entire time of 
my trial, my fight with breast cancer (she accompanied me to the 
hospitalfor the followup to the mammogram) at sentencing.  The legal 
team I had asked to represent me consisted of  Joshua Dratel, Jill 
Shellow, Ellen Yaroshevsky, Liz Fink and Susan.  Each one of these 
lawyers had sterling qualities but it was apparant at times that 
"teamwork" was not their forte--something about legal egos (mine 
included).  Susan, transcended the turmoil and whether it was her 
Buddhist belief or her zen and yoga training, she was the force that 
made it possible for us all to work together and ultimately submit to 
the Court a memorandum that resulted in the thirty years becoming a 
twenty eight month sentence.  She labored for hours--in person and 
coast to coast, with me, in the preparation of a statement to the 
Judge that accurately portrayed my thinking and feelings, which I now 
realize,  I could never have done without her.

     And now she is gone.  It does not fill the void to comment on 
the length of her exemplary life and career, for she still had miles 
to go before she slept.  I last saw her at the  Lawyers Guild dinner 
honoring Steve Bingham in Oakland California, last month.  We were 
able to talk only for minutes but we planned to see each other in NYC 
or she would fly us up to Eureka in her beloved Mooney-- now that is 
never to be.  I miss Susan presently and forever, as my mentor, my 
Sister lawyer but mostly as a kindred spirit loving life and fighting 
for justice.  Susan B. Jordan, presente !

Lynne Stewart, client



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