In this update:
1. Court orders Carrie’s court docket unsealed with redactions, denies petition for re-hearing
2. Scott’s motions denied (mostly)
3. Update on Carrie’s custody status
4. Donations, please!
5. Feb. 28-March 2: Events with Dhoruba Bin-Wahad
6. March 19: Come dine with us!
7. Call-out for Local Minneapolis Artists! Seeking donations for Scott, Carrie and Eric McDavid benefit
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1. Court orders Carrie’s court docket unsealed with redactions, denies petition for re-hearing
In a partial victory for reporter Sheila Regan, Carrie and the SCSC, the court has ordered Carrie’s court docket unsealed but has given the government 21 days to propose redactions to the unsealed documents. See Regan’s article, here, for more information on the ruling.
Along with this bit of good news, however, comes a big disappointment: Carrie’s petition for a re-hearing has been denied. She and her attorneys are currently discussing next legal steps.
2. Scott’s motions denied (mostly)
Judges Shields and Jarvey have issued orders on recent motions argued in Scott’s case. Shields set a deadline of March 15 for the government to designate expert witnesses and disclose their written reports; the defense has until April 5th to do the same. The court also ordered the government to “to give notice of its intent to introduce any evidence of other crimes, wrongs or bad acts” at least 21 days in advance of trial. All other discovery requests by the defense were denied, some without prejudice. Jarvey denied the motions to dismiss the original indictment “as moot without prejudice to refile,” and issued an official trial order setting the trial start date for May 3 and outlining trial procedures. All three orders are viewable here: http://www.facebook.com/l/319de;davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/resources/legal-documents/scotts-case/
3. Update on Carrie’s custody status
As mentioned previously, Carrie is being held in the disciplinary block at Dubuque County Jail in Iowa. We’ve confirmed that she’s being held there because of the incident at Washington County, where two visitors ran up to her cell window from the parking lot, and for which she was in no way responsible. Because of Dubuque’s visiting policies, Carrie will now only be able to get visits from immediate family members. In light of her increased isolation and the recent denial of her petition for a re-hearing, we want to encourage everyone to take a few minutes to write her and make sure she feels as much support from the outside as possible. You can write to her at:
Carolyn Feldman
770 Iowa St.
Dubuque, IA 52001
4. Donations, please!
As always, we want to remind supporters that the financial burden of defending Carrie and Scott is quite high. In addition to the cost of a good legal defense, the SCSC is also trying to cover the cost of travel whenever necessary to ensure that Scott and Carrie get as much support in Iowa as possible. Please consider donating! Info about how to do so is available here: http://www.facebook.com/l/319de;davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com/what-you-can-do/
5. Feb. 28-March 2: Events with Dhoruba Bin-Wahad
In November 2009 Dhoruba Bin-Wahad, a former U.S. political prisoner, leader the Black Panther Party, and member of the Black Liberation Army, was detained and deported from the West Bank of occupied Palestine by Israeli authorities. He had been invited to attend a conference on political detention by the Palestinian Authority. Dhoruba spent 19 years of a life sentence in jail for a crime he did not commit. He was a target of the FBI’s COINTELPRO, was arrested in 1971 and had his conviction overturned in 1990. He will discuss historic and current struggles against social injustice and state violence in the U.S. and in Palestine, with a specific focus on political prisoners and institutions that repress social movement mobilization within communities fighting oppression. Join the SCSC and a wide array of other Twin Cities organizations to hear this powerful speaker, who challenges conventional wisdom and inspires people to embrace social change. For a schedule of events, visit: http://www.facebook.com/l/319de;www.midwestgreenscare.org
6. March 19: Come dine with us!
March 19th from 6:30-8pm the Scott and Carrie Support Committee is offering a FREE COMMUNITY MEAL at the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association building: 821 East 35th street in Minneapolis. Get some chow in your belly, some info in your head, and some solidarity in your heart.
7. Call-out for Local Minneapolis Artists! Seeking donations for Scott, Carrie and Eric McDavid benefit
Explosive Expressions Minneapolis: Supporting Earth Warriors Through Art
Purity Bakery Building Art Gallery
Saturday April 24th, 2010
6PM to 10PM
*Auction starts at 6 PM and ends at 9 PM
Calling all painters, shanty-makers, photographers, sculptors, people who make art out of condom wrappers/newspapers/lipstick/bicycle tubes oh my!, knitters, sewers, welders, metal-workers, and artists of all other flavors! The Scott and Carrie Support Committee is asking all local Minneapolis artists who support the fight for justice to DONATE works of art to a night of Explosive Expressions Minneapolis: Supporting Earth Warriors Through Art.
On Saturday April 24th, at the Purity Bakery Building Art Gallery, we will be having an Art Exhibition and Auction to help support our comrades Carrie Feldman and Scott DeMuth, two Minneapolis activists who were unjustly taken hostage by the state in November 2009, and Eric McDavid, who has been imprisoned since 2006 and is currently facing almost 20 years in prison for a crime that never happened.
Help be part of the creative resistance against state repression and send questions and/or the following details to
explosiveexpressionsmpls@riseup.net by April 1st, 2010:
-Name
-Contact information
-Starting bid on the auction item
-A description of the piece you are donating
-When the item can be picked up or dropped off
*Any items being dropped off or mailed can be sent to this address:
Explosive Expressions Mpls. c/o Leigh
1909 Elliot Avenue
Minneapolis, MN 55405
For more information on Scott’s and Carrie’s cases and to find out other ways of supporting them, please visit:
http://www.facebook.com/l/319de;davenportgrandjury.wordpress.com.
For more information on Eric’s case and ways to support him, please visit: http://www.facebook.com/l/319de;www.supporteric.org.
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Thanks for your continuing support,
the SCSC
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