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<font size=3><br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=4>Susan B. Jordan, died
on Friday. Her amazing life and contribution to the struggle has
not received the recognition she deserves. Please send us :
<a href="mailto:info@lynnestewart.org">info@lynnestewart.org</a> 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<br>
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</font><font face="Tahoma" size=4>Dear friends and comrades:<br>
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</font><font face="Tahoma" size=4>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.<br>
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</font><font face="Tahoma" size=4>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.<br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font face="Tahoma" size=4> 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, <i>presente !<br>
</i></font><font size=3> <br>
Lynne Stewart, client<br><br>
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<font size=3 color="#FF0000">Freedom Archives<br>
522 Valencia Street<br>
San Francisco, CA 94110<br><br>
</font><font size=3 color="#008000">415 863-9977<br><br>
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<a href="http://www.freedomarchives.org/" eudora="autourl">
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