[Mar 15, 00] Day 2

Honkala Trial: The First of the WTO Trials to Refuse Media Coverage in the Courtroom

Starting at 9 am we listened to a full day of testimony from six police officers. At the end of the day, we listened to the closing arguments. The defense argued that police officers infringed on Cheri Honkala's and Ward Morehouse's First Amendment rights.

The judge will make a ruling first thing in the morning as to whether or not to dismiss the case based on infringements of freedom of speech. If the motion is denied, we will move immediately to jury selection and proceed with the trial.

At lunchtime, members of KWRU were driven by Marilyn Moch of BCRS to the central district in Seattle. We were welcomed with lunch by Jean Coleman and the Washington Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition. Cheri discussed briefly her trial and the work of the KWRU. The Washington Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition expressed their support for Cheri and KWRU.

[Mar 14, 00] Day 1

The pre-trial hearing of Cheri Honkala started this morning in Seattle. Two motions to dismiss the case were put forward, one has been denied. The second, regarding First Amendment issues, has not been ruled on yet.

Continuing with the pre-trial hearing in the afternoon, we finished up Ward Moorehouse's testimony. Cheri Honkala took the stand, outlining her participation in the WTO protests on November 29, 1999. Building the foundation of the "strengths of her political convictions," Cheri explained how she participated out of a sense of obligation to represent the realities of poor people throughout the United States and the world as they are impacted by major corporations. The longest side bar with the judge was a discussion of the relevance of Cheri's history of expressing her political views and participating in demonstrations. The judge ruled in favor of the prosecution in allowing Cheri's entire history of demonstrating into this case.

The judge also would not allow the media in enter the courtroom.

Lastly, we would like to alert our friends to remain vigilant as this trial procedes to insure that Cheri's history of speaking out does not enter into a decision to silence her as she attempted to exercise her First Amendment rights in Seattle.

We will continue tommorrow morning, March 15th, with the pre-trial hearing by listening to testimony from six police officers of the city of Seattle. We will then await a decision on the second motion for dismissal of the case based on freedom of speech.

Stay tuned for more updates and for an action alert.