Sometimes a good direct action strategy throws you into a legal mess. Currently EEF! is embroiled in three major legal cases:

Swamp Defenders

On January 10, 2009, seventeen Earth First! activists were arrested for entering the Barley Barber Swamp to demand the protection of Florida old growth ecosystems. Many were bailed out using EEF! funds (please donate!), while a few chose to serve time. Currently one activist is in jail, and several others are awaiting trial, which is currently set to begin May 18 in Martin County, where the judges are harsh and the jails have plenty of room. Cory Cockerman started a 30 day sentence on May 13 - please support him NOW. The others are realistically facing jail times of up to 90 days.

 

Support Swamp Defender Brittany!

On May29th, one of the Barley Barber 17, Brittany, was sentenced to 30 days in Martin County Jail. She plead no-contest to three charges. Back in January, Brittany bravely defied law enforcement officers as well as Florida Power & Light security guards by crossing into Barley Barber Swamp through a water way that is both waters of the State and waters of the U.S. Brittany carried out a swamp occupation attempting to protect and call attention to the old growth cypress swamp with 1000 year old cypress trees. Barley Barber is a gem, a primeval landscape, and one of the only old-growth cypress forests left in the Southeast Coast. FPL's Martin Power Plant, the largest fossil fuel power plant in the U.S. is pulling water from below the forest causing soil subsidence and the eventual collapse of the entire ecosystem. Please support Barley Barber Swamp, Brittany, and eco-defense by writing to her at the following address. She could also use lots of books! Also, consider donating to Everglades Earth First! to help with legal funds! Check out our paypal link on the home page.

Martin County Jail
Brittany Pottle #877391
800 SE Monterey Rd.
Stuart, Florida 34994

Martin County Jail Regulations on published materials:
"Inmates may receive Newspapers, magazines, books and periodicals sent
directly from the publisher or approved vendor such as a retail book seller,
internet distributor or book club via the US Postal Service or private delivery
service. Inmates may receive educational, and reference books through the
U.S. mail system, provided they are mailed directly from the publisher or
bookstore. There are no limitations on religious material. All reading material
must be in paperback form."

Another EEF!er Goes to Jail!

Support Cory!

May 14 - Yesterday, Cory, one of the activists on the Barley Barber campaign was sentenced to 30 days in the Martin county jail after he pleaded no contest. We need moral support in the forms of letters and commissary donations for this young activist. Please send letters or money orders directly to:

Cory Cockerham, Inmate # 877396
Martin County Jail
800 SE Monterey Rd
Stuart, FL 34994

You are also invited to send paperback books mailed directly from a publisher/bookstore (such as from AK Press, Microcosm, or Amazon). Please do not delay as time in jail without letters or books is very boring!

 

 

WCEC Blockaders

Of the 25 arrested for blockading the entrance to the construction site of the West County Energy Center, 19 used a neccessity defense in jury trials and received convictions on multiple charges. All were put on probation, while two were sentenced to jail time of 30 and 60 days. Two of the groups convicted at trial are currently pursuing appeals. The prosecutors were also seeking restitution in the amount of $21,000 from the protestors. In two of the three group trials, that motion was denied, while the ruling on the third has not, as of early May 2009, been released. Lynne has written an account of the legal process and her time in jail.

Lawsuit

After dozens of administrative hearings and state legal challenges against FPL's West County Energy Center, the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC) filed a challenge in federal court claiming violations of NEPA (Natural Environment Protection Act) and RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrup Organizations Act. The plaintiffs are the PBCEC and several local activists and community members from Palm Beach and Martin Counties. Lead attorneys are David Reiner and Barry Silver.

The NEPA challenge is focused primarily on the Army Corps of Engineers failure to require a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of the massive power plant and its needed pipelines.

The RICO challenge is based primarily on the corruption of disgraced County Commissioners, Tony Masilotti and Warren Newell, who are serving time in prison for Honest Services Fraud related to the power plant siting and land zoning.

This challenge has made it through multiple attempts at dismissal by our opponents, but is still awaiting a final hearing in federal court. In the meantime, the FPL keep building with full knowledge that their plant could be deemed illegal and forced to close operations.

We are looking for financial support to continue strengthening our legal challenge. Please get in touch to make donations: pbcenvirocoalition@gmail.com

Opponents of Florida Power & Light GO TO JAIL!

February 2, 2009—After being found guilty of misdemeanor trespassing, blocking traffic in an act of civil disobedience during the February 2008 protest against Florida Power Light's West County Energy Center, Lynne Purvis and Panagioti Tsolkas are sentenced to 30 and 60 days in jail.

During their court case, Purvis and Tsolkas argued that the environmental damages caused by FPL's power plant necessitated non- violent civil disobedience. Scientist Dr. John van Leer and Dr. Sydney Bachus testified in defense of Purvis and Tsolkas, stating that the completion of the FPL West County Energy Center could lead to higher levels of Mercury in the Loxahatchee Preserve area and aquifer contamination; in addition to the acceleration of global warming. The State Attorney's Office contested the environmentalists' claims, arguing that proposed power plant impact on global warming was not an imminent threat.

Once open, the Florida Power and Light West County Energy Center will be the largest fossil fuel burning power plan in the United States, emitting twelve million tons of potentially toxic carbon emissions and dispensing 13.5 million gallons of contaminated water into Florida's aquifer every year.

In addition to jail, Judge Johnson sentence restrains Purvis and Tsolkas from coming within 500 feet of FPL property. Both remain committed to protecting Palm Beach County's natural resources.

Sentencing Fiasco

August 29, 2008 - When four defendants and their supporters walked back into Judge Cohen's courtoom on August 29th to receive their sentencing, they were surrounded by 41 of their closest friends in uniform! That's right, forty one police officers filled the courtroom, each summoned to testify at what turned out to be an impromptu restitution hearing within the sentencing hearing. The judge took a look at the courtroom and essentially said, "Oh hell no!"

He recognized that the state attorney had the right and the duty to bring in those officers, since he had denied the restitution request in the case of 8 other defendents, but he did not want to sit there and listen to it all. He said of course each one of them could testify, but neither he himself nor the defendants needed to be there, and that they could take testimony and then send him the transcript! 

So the sentencing was reset for September 12, but the defendants did get to waive their appearances.

Restitution Denied!

In the restitution hearing for the first 8 defendants, Judge Barry Cohen denied the state's request for over $20,000 to be paid to the county sherriff's office. We have not seen the judge's order, but the denial seems to be based on grounds that the officers were not victims in the case, but actually received more payment than normal, nor were the eight defendants solely responsible for the officers' presence that day.

 

Second Group Trial
by rebecca

August 15, 2008 - On August 11th, at 1pm, four more activists arrested at the February 18th direct action against the West County Energy Center began trial in Palm Beach County. The afternoon began with a pretty interesting round of jury selection, continuing into the next morning, the outcome being a mostly symapthetic jury - people that had made some pretty strong comments during jury selection, as well as some that were a little more questionable. 

The state brought up their witnesses first - the manager from the Palm Beach Aggregates, followed by a string of police officers and the self-incrimnating police-made video from the protest.  The public defenders stepped up next, again using the necessity defense for the defendants, but this time focusing more on some really clear legal aspects of the case - trying to build the argument that we were not, in fact, actually trespassing or assembling unlawfully, and thereby knocking out the resisting arrest charge as well.  Our expert hydroecologist came back with another strong testimony, followed by someone form the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition, speaking to the history and prior attempts that the community has made to try to stop this power plant. 

The trial wrapped up on August 14, ending with great testimony from the defendants, and a strong closing statement by the public defenders.  The public defenders have been working hard coming up with related case law and statutes to use in their argument, some of which was read directly to the jury in their jury instructions.

The results of this work could be seen in the verdict - not guilty on the count of unlawful assembly, and guilty on the counts of trespassing and resisting arrest without violence.  Their arguments on the trespassing count were also very strong and they have a pretty good chance of beating the charge in the next round of trials. 

Sentencing for these four defendants will be handed down August 29; dates for the additional eight activists awaiting trial have not been set; and the question of restitution still hangs in the air, awaiting a decision from the judge.

First Round of FPL Protestors Go to Trial

Carry message of ongoing opposition to new fossil-fuel infrastructure in in the Everglades

June 17, 2008 - Jury trial began on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at the Palm Beach County Courthouse for 6 of the 25 environmental activists with the Everglades Earth First! movement who were arrested on February 18 while protesting at the entrance to the construction site of FPL's West County Energy Center (WCEC). The trial will take place in Judge Barry Cohen's courtroom 9F, around 9am and is expected to last 3 to 4 days.

The protest centered around growing resistance to 3800 megawatts of gas-and-diesel-fired power generation, located on site of the scandal-ridden Palm Beach Aggregates. The WCEC is 1000 feet north from the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge which serves as the functional headwater of the remaining southern Everglades ecosystem. The facility includes pipeline directly adjacent to the L-8 canal and neighbors the massive reservoir which is intended to improve water flow in the Loxahatchee Basin, as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).

"When someone stands up to defend the environment, they are treated as criminals; a corporation threatens to pollute and destroy the environment, they are awarded with permits. It makes no sense." says one Earth First! arrestee. "They have the wrong people on trial here."

The protest was also supported by the Palm Beach County Environmental Coalition (PBCEC), who have filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop construction until a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) is completed for WCEC'ss fuel source, the Gulfstream Pipeline. An EIS requires that all cumulative and secondary impacts must be assessed. The PBCEC challenge claims that the plant, presently under construction, is in violation of Federal and State laws, including: NEPA, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, RICO, and others. The PBCEC also has three open cases at the administrative level alleging faulty permits issued under the Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

According to the PBCEC: the completed project will consume over 6.5 billion gallons of water and emit 12.3 million tons of climate-changing CO2 annually; 18.9 million gallons of diesel fuel will be stored on-site; Up to 21 million gallons of industrial waste water could be deep well injected on site per day; It would provide the power to invite over a million new homes worth of sprawl into the region.

The activists contend that power use could be met through conservation, efficiency, and renewable options immediately, if only greed and corruption wasn't standing in the way. "We believe the jury will find our actions justifiable, and that they will condemn the actions of FPL and this system of runaway development that promises to destroy Florida," states another Earth First! arrestee.

Following the February protest, the Everglades Earth First! group began an ongoing effort to monitor construction and document immediate impacts to wildlife and public health.

Although originally scheduled to be a mass trial for the 19 remaining FPL defendants, the judge denied the motion to consolidate the cases. Only the six that had traveled the farthest were selected to begin trial. The remaining defendants were tentatively reset for trial in mid-July.

A full 10 hours was spent selecting a jury, after which, on Wednesday the state attorney began their case. Continuing through Thursday, several officers testified, as well as an employee of Palm Beach Aggregates, the site where the protest was located. The police video of the protests and arrests, showing a chaotic scene with intimidating police dogs and peaceful protestors screaming in pain from officers' actions, was shown to the jury.

After the state rested their case, their were arguments made on both sides on whether to allow the defendants to use a "necessity defense" in the trial. A necessity defense allows that a person may have committed a crime, but did so out of necessity to prevent a greater harm to themselves or another person. Despite the state attorney's best efforts to squash it, the judge upheld the defendant's right to use this defense and present their side of the story. This could be a precedent setting case in the use of environmental necessity to legally defend direct actions.

Two expert witnesses presented thorough and objective testimony on the disastrous effects of FPL's West County Energy Center before the day ended. One witness, a hydroecologist, stated that the number one environmental stressors was disruption of hydrology, and showed that WCEC's plant is sure to do just that based on its enormous water usage in an area prone to drought, saltwater intrusion, and water mismanagement. The other expert spoke to the effects of the plant on water quality and rain pH.

After a final day of testimony from two of the defendants and one of the protest organizer's, on Friday a jury spent two hours deliberating before finding the defendants guilty on three counts: unlawful assembly, trespassing, and resisting an officer without violence. The judge was sympathetic to the defendants and respected their motives, and he withheld adjudication on the charges. Waiving the state attorney's request for a community service requirement as part of the sentence, he stated that the protesters had "performed community service in their own way." A year of probation was ordered (with possible early termination) as well as $333 in court costs, which can be paid in community service. A hearing will be set up within two months to determine if restitution towards the sheriff's office will be ordered in this case. The public defenders believe that their case against restitution is legally very strong.

We want to thank all the attorneys who worked on this case and all the people who showed up in court to support our efforts. It was very heartening to those in front of the Judge to see green shirts in the audience, representing the cross-generational solidarity in our fight to stop the FPL's new fossil fuel plans.

The trial was a success in capturing people's attention and informing the public on the pending threats of the WCEC through the media, the jury selection and the our week long presence in the courthouse. And there is certainly more to come...

There are 13 remaining defendants who have been given a court date of July 15. They are likely to also take their cases to a public trial and will be looking for a showing of community support in the courtroom. Although we were fortunate to have representation from the Public Defenders office, we have incurred legal costs in this case, and of course are also amassing legal costs for our civil challenges to the WCEC construction. Donations would be greatly appreciated.