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Dear Friends,<br><br>
We are sending you this legal update from Mumia's attorney, Robert <br>
Bryan, knowing full well how disturbing this news is. We will be
<br>
sending you further analysis, and plans for our continued work very <br>
shortly, and hope to hear your feedback very soon. We already have a
<br>
Town Hall Meeting planned for August 9th in Philadelphia. More on
<br>
that later. But, mainly, we did not want to delay your getting this
<br>
news and hearing it for the first time from the mainstream media. <br>
Vicious injustice continues to dominate every branch of this <br>
government and society, the courts being a prime example, and the <br>
attacks on Black revolutionaries never cease. That is why we fight
<br>
back and RESIST!<br><br>
a luta continua,<br><br>
Suzanne Ross, for the Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
Legal Update<br><br>
<br><br>
Date: July 22, 2008<br><br>
From: Robert R. Bryan, lead
counsel<br><br>
Subject: Federal ruling regarding Mumia Abu-Jamal, death row, <br>
Pennsylvania [please circulate]<br><br>
<br><br>
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia Today our
<br>
Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc, submitted on behalf of
<br>
my client, Mumia Abu-Jamal, was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals <br>
for the Third Circuit. Simply put, we did not receive the needed
<br>
majority vote from the nine sitting judges; at least five votes for a
<br>
rehearing were necessary. However, Justice Thomas L. Ambro
continues <br>
to urge the granting of relief on the issue of racism in jury <br>
selection. That position, as detailed in his brilliant dissenting
<br>
opinion of March 27, 2008, will continue to serve as a beacon of hope
<br>
as we press on for a new trial and Mumia's freedom. Judge Ambro
said <br>
that the "core guarantee of equal protection, ensuring citizens that
<br>
their State will not discriminate on account of race, would be <br>
meaningless were we to approve the exclusion of jurors on the basis <br>
of . . . race. . . . I respectfully dissent." A copy of
today's <br>
decision is attached.<br><br>
<br><br>
Reaction Mumia and I had a legal conference this afternoon.
He, as <br>
I, was stunned by the federal court's refusal to grant relief since <br>
it flies in the face of established legal precedent in both the U.S.
<br>
Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. I am furious because
<br>
racism continues to raise its ugly head in this country, and should <br>
have no place in our legal system. The indisputable facts are that
<br>
the prosecutor engaged in racism in selecting the jury in this case,
<br>
and that bigotry lingers today in Philadelphia. It would be naive
<br>
not to realize that this case continues to reek of politics and <br>
injustice. <br><br>
<br><br>
U.S. Supreme Court We will be seeking relief in the Supreme
Court. <br>
The Petition for Writ of Certiorari will be filed by October 20, <br>
2008, unless there is an extension. The racism issue will be <br>
presented, along with the fact that the prosecutor made <br>
misrepresentations to the jury in order to obtain a murder conviction
<br>
against Mumia.<br><br>
<br><br>
Conclusion My goal remains a complete reversal of the conviction,
<br>
even though the federal court has already granted a new jury trial on
<br>
the question of the death penalty. We will not rest until Mumia is
<br>
free. <br><br>
<br><br>
Yours very truly,<br><br>
<br><br>
Robert R. Bryan<br><br>
Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan<br><br>
2088 Union Street, Suite 4<br><br>
San Francisco, California 94123-4117<br><br>
<br><br>
Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal<br><br>
[RobertRBryan@aol.com]<br><br>
<br><br>
*As to panel rehearing only.<br>
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS<br>
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT<br>
Nos. 01-9014 & 02-9001<br>
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL,<br>
a/k/a WESLEY COOK<br>
Mumia Abu-Jamal,<br>
Appellant at No 02-9001<br>
v.<br>
MARTIN HORN,<br>
PENNSYLVANIA DIRECTOR OF CORRECTIONS;<br>
CONNER BLAINE, SUPERINTENDENT, SCI GREENE;<br>
DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR PHILADELPHIA COUNTY;<br>
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE<br>
STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA,<br>
Appellants at No. 01-9014<br>
(D.C. Civ. No. 99-cv-5089)<br>
SUR PETITION FOR REHEARING<br>
Present: SCIRICA, Chief Judge,<br>
SLOVITER, BARRY, AMBRO, FUENTES, SMITH,<br>
CHAGARES, JORDAN, HARDIMAN and COWEN*, Circuit Judges.<br>
The petition for rehearing filed by appellee/cross-appellant Mumia <br>
Abu-Jamal in<br>
the above-entitled case having been submitted to the judges who <br>
participated in the<br>
decision of this Court and to all the other available circuit judges
<br>
of the circuit in regular<br>
2<br>
active service, and no judge who concurred in the decision having <br>
asked for rehearing,<br>
and a majority of the circuit judges of the circuit in regular <br>
service not having voted for<br>
rehearing, the petition for rehearing by the panel and the Court en <br>
banc, is denied. Judge<br>
Ambro would grant rehearing en banc.<br>
BY THE COURT,<br>
/s/ Anthony J. Scirica<br>
Chief Judge<br>
Dated: July 22, 2008<br>
CMD/cc: Robert R. Bryan, Esq.<br>
Judith L. Ritter, Esq.<br>
Hugh J. Burns, Jr., Esq.<br>
Ronald Eisenberg, Esq.<br>
Christina Swarns, Esq.<br>
Jill Elijah, Esq.<br><br>
<br>
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