Lawyers for Standing Rock Water Protectors who have been arrested in North Dakota for their activist opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline through ancestral Sioux lands are pleading for more help because there aren’t enough attorneys to take their cases in trials that begin next week. From Think Progress:
The Morton County Sheriff’s Department lists 264 people who have no lawyer at all, and the 265 people who have been assigned public defense attorneys aren’t receiving adequate counsel.
In order to fix the problem, advocates from North Dakota and Minnesota are now trying to convince the North Dakota Supreme Court to give the green light to lawyers from other states — who have no license to practice in North Dakota — to come in and help. A group of 10 legal organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and lawyers from both states filed an official petition to the the court on Wednesday.
There have been mass arrests of DAPL protesters since August, when thousands of protesters set up camps on the Standing Rock reservation. The protesters, who call themselves Water Protectors, faced persistent, militarized policing by the Morton County Sheriff’s Department over the past few months. More than 550 people were detained for trumped up misdemeanor charges — including disorderly conduct, inciting a riot, and trespassing — and felony charges for reckless endangerment and conspiracy charges.
North Dakota State’s Attorney Ladd Erickson filed a motion against out-of-state lawyers whose consulting he claims are burdening the state’s legal system. He claims their strategy is to drain state resources and that the Water Protectors should be forced to foot the bill for their arrests and subsequent court appearances.
To date, the State has spent $17 million [...] to address violence, lawlessness, and protection of our citizens and their private property. The belligerent actions of DAPL protesters are done intentionally, and for political communication through social media.
Yes, social media has been so effective for Standing Rock that those arrested are not being allowed to present VIDEO evidence in court. From Kelli Love’s Facebook page:
WE ARE THE FIRST GROUP OF WATER PROTECTORS WHO WERE ARRESTED AND WE NEED YOUR HELP! We are in a situation right now where we need media on our situation in order for the world to know what's going on. The judge has so far approved every motion granted by the States attorney and has denied every one of our motions.
Right now, the states attorney, same guy who tried to charge Amy Goodman with terrorism for covering the story of Standing Rock, is asking the court to disallow all of our video and evidence that would prove our innocence and uphold our constitutional right to express under our first amendment, while simultaneously submitted false lies against us.
Please share!!!! We would love to have an interview with Amy Goodman so that the public can know what's going on. What happens in our cases will affect the rest of the cases behind us. We need a really good legal advice and media to support us.
Please stand with us and help! Share and keep us in your prayers!
In addition to that, according to The Bismarck Tribune:
The first pipeline protesters will go on trial Monday and the prosecutor is asking that they keep issues of tribal sovereignty, the concerns about the Dakota Access Pipeline and "any other social or political cause" out of the courtroom.
Without legal defense, without evidence being allowed, and with the REAL motivation for the peaceful Water Protectors’ actions being disallowed as a defense, the North Dakota prosecutors are headed for a slam dunk in convictions.
Justice?
If you need more background on Standing Rock, Meteor Blades and I have a News Timeline of Standing Rock Water Protectors' resistance to Dakota Access Pipeline.
