[Ppnews] Court today in Brooklyn grand jury subpoenas of Puerto Rican independentistas

[Political Prisoner News]

Report: July 28, 2008 court date
on Tania Frontera & Christopher Torres grand jury subpoenas

Motion to intervene
Judge Carol Amon said she first wanted to address the Motion to 
Intervene, as she had already determined that this could be discussed 
publicly. The National Boricua Human Rights Network and the Comite 
Pro Derechos Humanos de Puerto Rico, represented by National Lawyers 
Guild lawyers Alan Levine and Jeffrey Rothman, had filed a Motion to 
Intervene in the Motion to Quash filed by Tania and Christopher's 
attorneys. The judge denied the motion, concluding that the two 
organizations had not made out a sufficiently concrete injury 
directly related to the subpoenas. The judge did say that she would 
consider the intervention papers as if they were an amicus brief as 
to the motion to quash. She also said that in the event that the 
grand jury asks Tania and Christopher questions about political 
activities or associations, the intervenors could renew their motion.

Motion to Quash
Tania and Christopher's attorneys, National Lawyers Guild lawyers 
Martin Stolar, Susan Tipograph, and David Brankin,, had filed a 
Motion to Quash the subpoenas, asking the court to require the 
government to show that the grand jury was conducting a legitimate 
criminal inquiry and not a political witchhunt against the Puerto 
Rican i ndependence movement. The judge denied the motion, ruling 
they had not shown sufficient infringement on their associational 
rights for her to order the government to reveal the nature of the 
grand jury investigation.

Electronic Surveillance
Tania and Christopher's attorneys had also asked the court to require 
the government to show that the grand jury and its questions were not 
based on illegal electronic surveillance. The judge said she did not 
think they had made a colorable claim that would require a more 
detailed response from the government, but said that the better 
practice would be for the government to have one of the agents with 
knowledge of the investigation submit an affidavit addressing this 
issue, and ordered the government to do so within 10 days.

Secrecy
The government had asked the court to file all documents, except 
those related to intervention, under seal, and to conduct all 
hearings in chambers and closed to the public. The judge ruled that, 
while the papers must remain sealed, the proceedings could take place 
in open court, since she planned to say nothing that would violate 
the rule requiring that grand jury matters remain sealed. She also 
allowed unsealing the sealed papers to the extent that the parties 
can agree to the redactions.

What happens next
There was no date set for the next court appearance.



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