Attorney Lynne Stewart faces 30-year sentence

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Socialist Action july 2010 7 The full force of the U.S. criminal “justice” system is today aimed at an innocent political prisoner, 30-year humanrights attorney and radical political activist Lynne Stewart.

On July 15, Federal District Court John Koeltl, who in 2005 sentenced Stewart to 28 months in prison following her frame-up trial and jury conviction on four counts of “conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism,” is set to reconsider his sentence. Koeltl was ordered to do so when his relatively short sentence was vacated by a two-judge majority of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Judges Robert D. Sack and Guido Calabresi ruled that Koeltl’s sentence was flawed because he had declined to determine whether Stewart committed perjury when she testified at her trial that she believed that she was effectively operating under a “bubble” protecting her from prosecution when she issued a press release on behalf of her client, blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rachman.

Dissenting Judge John M. Walker, who called Stewart’s sentence “breathtakingly low” in view of Stewart’s “extraordinarily severe criminal conduct,” deemed the Second Circuit’s majority opinion “substantively unreasonable.” Walker essentially sought to impose a 30-year sentence on Stewart.

The three-judge panel on Dec. 20 followed its initial ruling with even tougher language demanding that Koeltl revisit his treatment of the “terrorism enhancement” aspects of the law.

Government prosecutors, who in 2005 sought a 30-year sentence, submitted a 155-page memorandum arguing in support of their original demand, a document that demonstrates how government officials routinely use lies and twisted logic to turn the victim into the criminal.

Stewart’s attorneys, Liz Fink and Jill Shellow, countered with a full rendition of the facts of the case. They argued convincingly that the Special Administrative Measure (SAM) that Stewart was convicted of violating by releasing a statement from her client to the media was well within the established practice of Stewart’s experienced and mentoring co-counsels—former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark and past American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee President Abdeen Jabarra. Both had issued similar statements to the press with no government reprisal.

At worst in such matters, government officials refuse defense attorney visiting rights with their clients until an agreement on the meaning of a SAM is reached. Indeed, in Stewart’s case, when the matter was brought to then Attorney General Janet Reno, the government declined to prosecute or otherwise take any action against Stewart.

But in the post-9/11-generated climate of political hysteria five years later, Bush-appointee Attorney General John Ashcroft decided to make an example of Stewart, an example aimed at warning future attorneys that the mere act of defending anyone whom the government charged with “conspiracy to aid and abet terrorism” could trigger grave consequences.

On July 15, Judge Koelt will make the decision of his lifetime. Known for his meticulous preparation in such matters, and already having enraged the powers that be with his “light” sentence of Stewart, he will either bend to the heavy political pressure exerted on him from several quarters or reaffirm his original opinion.

Should he do so, Stewart—70 and in poor health—can be expected to leave prison in less than two years to recover and lead a productive life. An extended sentence would likely lead to her demise behind bars, a brilliant and dedicated fighter sacrificed on the altar of capitalist vengeance.

We can only hope that the winds of change that are stirring the consciousness of millions today in the context of an American capitalism in economic and moral crisis catches Koeltl’s attention and assists in his doing the right thing. n