[Ppnews] Closing Arguments in Rod Coronado's trial

[Political Prisoner News]

http://supportrod.org/?page_id=50


For immediate release ­ September 17, 2007

Contact: Karen Pickett on-site cell: 510-316-2722; message phone 510-548-3113

Closing Arguments in Coronado Free Speech Trial on Monday

Case expected to go to jury by Monday afternoon

San Diego, CA- Attorney Tony Serra for the 
defense and the government’s attorney will 
present closing arguments in activist Rod 
Coronado’s First Amendment trial at 9 a.m. Monday 
morning in room 16, 5th floor of the Federal 
District Court, 940 Front St., San Diego, 
California. Preceding closing statements, the 
judge will issue jury instructions. The case will 
then be in the hands of the jury.

On Thursday Sept. 13, testimony of a San Diego 
police officer present at the speech at issue, 
was impeached, as a key piece of new evidence was 
introduced. After undercover San Diego 
counter-intelligence cop Joseph Lehr insisted 
that Coronado responded to a question about 
making a “bomb for an action,” a 
recently-surfaced audio recording clearly 
established that the question from the audience 
on August 1, 2003 did not include the words 
“bomb” or “for an action.” The exact wording of 
the question following the environmental speech 
is central to the case, since government charges 
are based on Coronado’s answer.

The government is prosecuting Coronado under an 
obscure statute (18 USC § 842 (p)(2)(A)), which 
makes it a crime to demonstrate how to build a 
destructive device with the intent that it be 
used in furtherance of a crime of violence. They 
say he intended to foment criminal activity based 
on his answer, and that his speech is not 
protected by the First Amendment. In order to 
deny that protection, however, the government must prove his intent.

The Supreme Court has carved out three famous 
exceptions to free speech: the “fighting words” 
exception (Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire), the 
obscenity exception (Miller v. California), and 
the “clear and present danger” exception 
(Brandenburg v. Ohio). However, each exception is 
extremely limited. The Brandenburg decision 
states the incitement to violence must be 
imminent—unlike, one assumes, the public call for 
assassination of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez 
by Christian fundamentalist and broadcaster Pat Robertson in 2005.

After the audio recording played for the jury 
with a transcript on screen on Thursday, the 
defense called as a witness Cari Shaw, the young 
woman who actually posed the question. She 
corroborated the words on the recording as a 
question about how an incendiary device is made, 
and testified that her impression was that Rod’s 
explanation of incendiary devices was a recital 
of his and others’ acts of the past, rather than 
a specific call to action. Two subsequent 
witnesses, also present at the 2003 speech, both 
testified to an absence of incitement to immediate action by Coronado’s words.

The jury seated in this case includes seven women 
and five men, with two alternates, one Hispanic 
male and one Caucasian female. The jury includes 
one African-American, one Hispanic, one Filipino; 
the remaining jurors assumed to be Caucasian.

A press conference will be held in front of the 
courthouse after the verdict is delivered. Press 
packets with background information are available 
electronically and at the courthouse through Karen Pickett.

More info at http://supportrod.org



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