Drop the Charges Against Robert Norse and Robert Farcer!

Drop the Charges Against Robert Norse and Robert Farcer!

No Illusions in The Capitalist Courts!

Statement of the League for a Revolutionary Workers' Party (LRWP)

Today Robert Norse and Robert Farcer go on trial for singing songs downtown Santa Cruz that informed of the high number of homeless deaths in Santa Cruz and the presence of police laws that ban sleep and covering-up with blankets, laws that have caused deaths.

The fact that they are going on trial for this is yet another violation of First Amendment rights to free speech by the Santa Cruz City Council. This same city government lost a lawsuit in Federal Court for arresting, beating, and jailing for three days activist Steven Argue, with Federal Judge Ware ruling that what had been done by the police was not only a violation of First Amendment rights, but the way the city was trying to defend itself showed that it is city policy to violate those rights.

Under this system, on extremely rare occasions, we can win victories from one or more of these representatives of the capitalist class and we can celebrate those rare victories that are usually due to public pressure and publicity. Steven Argue's case in Federal court was one of those victories. But we see that as a victory won by these activists who fought back by making it a civil case and by bringing publicity to the case. In addition, the fact that cops are very rarely prosecuted for their crimes in these cases, nor are they even fired, and more often promoted, we should understand that although a civil case was won, the root causes of that crime remained. And while the tax payers were made to pay for police crimes, similar crimes continued.

Despite past victories against the Santa Cruz City Council for free speech rights, this current case shows a continuation of the same attitudes and methods in the city council's attempts to silence criticism. This case should have never gone to trial and, instead, all responsible for this act, from the police to the government that gave the orders, should themselves go to trial for this basic violation of rights.

The LRWP also does not hail the fact that Norse and Farcer are getting their day in court. This should have been thrown out of court from the very first day. And while we support the legal efforts of Robert Norse and Robert Farcer in defending themselves, we have no illusions in the possibility of a fair trial in America's capitalist courts. It is public pressure on the courts that usually brings justice on those rare occasions that working class and poor people get it in America.

Prosecutors are government attorneys who represent the case of the capitalist state against the defendant in a criminal prosecution. It is they who actively sweep the misconduct of the police under the rug and don't prosecute cops for their crimes while at the same time prosecuting victims of police repression, violence, racism, or other police misconduct.

Judges are also representatives of the same capitalist government who carry out the same sorts of crimes as prosecutors, but they do it while hiding behind a facade of fake impartiality.

Cops are violent and cynical representatives of the capitalist system who, in a chain of command, follow the orders of the mayor or city council. The mayor or city council, in turn, are elected with the money of the capitalist and petty bourgeois classes. They are also elected on the basis of what kind of coverage they get in the capitalist owned press. These politicians have cops that are violent and repressive against the left, the poor, people of color, and the working class in general because that is the kind of cop that represents the interests of the classes that put them in office.

Defend Free Speech Rights! Drop the Charges Against Robert Norse and Robert Farcer! End the Anti-Homeless Laws of Santa Cruz!

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