Attorney David Beauvais to Discuss Rare Victory in Mock-Nazi Salute Case

Yesterday the 9th Circuit Court announced an 11-member en-banc panel would review the earlier decision by a Court of Appeals throwing out my lawsuit against the Santa Cruz City Council and arresting cops.

In 2002 I was arrested for refusing to leave Council chambers after Mayor Chris Krohn ordered me to leave because I had made a silent fleeting mock-Nazi salute. I made the gesture of protest and dissent when he threatened peace activist Susan Zeeman with jail and denied her the right to speak at Oral Communications.

The hearing will be held in Pasadena in June.

If the court decides in my favor, the case will be returned to the original trial court, where I may finally have a right to a jury trial and the Councilmembers involved (Fitzmaurice, Krohn, Porter, Reilly, Sugar, Kennedy, Primack) will be called to account.

The real issues in this case involve broader City Council repression against activists and members of the public, of which the ridiculous arrest for a silent "don't act like a bunch of fascists" gesture is only one instance.

The story can be found on indybay at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2010/03/12/18640683.php .

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