Tuesday, November 09, 2021

LETTERS FROM A MIAMI COURTROOM - WE CALL FOR A SIT IN

 Every judge who dons the black robes fantasizes about standing up for justice against popular opinion. "Oh, if only I was a Judge in Mississippi in the 1960's, I would have dismissed all those charges against civil rights activists" they say to themselves. 

In his famous April 13, 1963 letter from a Birmingham Jail, where he was incarcerated for his civil protests, Dr. Martin King famously wrote:

I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

The words have deep philosophical meaning. The concept of "mutuality", that we are all inhabitants of this world, this globe, this nation, our own city. When one person acts with injustice, all are affected. That in the words of President Kennedy in a speech two months later "For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." 

Now, in November 2021, with nearly three-quarters of a million Americans dead from an insidious virus that has been more than our equal, our judges in Miami are faced with a choice. Do they, like the southern racist Judges of Alabama and Mississippi, and all of the South (with a few notable exceptions like US District and Circuit Court Judge Frank  Mins  Johnson) look the other way and shrug their shoulders as Florida's Governor and the Florida Supreme Court race to the bottom of science, and pander to the fears and ignorance- the same type of fears and ignorance that allowed racism to flourish- and watch people kill themselves and potentially fatally infect others by not requiring people to wear masks in their courtrooms? 

Judges can tell litigants when to appear in court; they can dictate the manner and method of a trial or a hearing; they require men to wear jackets and ties during August in Miami when humidity is 8000%; but they cannot require a person to wear a mask in court to protect themselves, other participants, and their staff? 

Judges can incarcerate; they can take money; they can order the mechanism of the State to end the life of a citizen; but they cannot require a person to wear a small mask? 

If  our judges do not decide to protect us, we shall decide  to protest like the civil rights activists of the 1960s. AND HERE IS HOW WE DO IT. 

WE SIT

Dr. King organized sit-ins. We sit and we do not stand when Judges who will not protect us do not require everyone in their courtroom to wear a mask, enter a courtroom, because they are not worthy of our respect. 

A simple act of defiance that says "you can order me to appear, but you must also protect my health."

WE CALL FOR ALL ATTORNEYS AND THEIR CLIENTS TO NOT STAND WHEN A JUDGE WALKS INTO A COURTROOM UNLESS THAT JUDGE REQUIRES ALL PAETIES TO WEAR A MASK. 

Dr. King wrote these words and it is time to put them into action:

In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action. We have gone through all these steps in Birmingham.

This is the moment for all those judges who were sure they would do the right thing. Will you protect the people in your Court? We are watching.

13 comments:

  1. Lol ok yeah..I'll be standing unmasked...why don't you move to the woods somewhere and hide out for a few years just to be on the safe side?

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  2. Covid is never going away. I will not wear a mask the rest of my life.

    You are not vaxxed?

    You know, they work.

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  3. Rumpole, I believe if you are fully vaccinated and also took the booster shot plus use two masks, you will be fine even if others do not wear their masks. I am a strong proponent of vaccines and boosters and maintaining our masks.

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  4. You really jumped the shark here, Rumpole.

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  5. I don't care what others do as it is their own problem. I care about me, so, even though I'm fully vaccinated, I wear a mask without anyone requiring me to, just because I feel it protects me better than the vaccine. I thought you were an Rand-type libertarian.

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  6. The feds want more than 4 years -- 4 freaking years! -- in jail for the QAnon shaman who entered the capitol on 1/6. The guy who was diagnosed not by a private doctor, but by the BOP!, with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The guy who was put in pretrial solitary confinement. The guy who **trespassed** without violence!

    Rump?

    When will the libs, supposedly against mass incarceration, have the courage to say...enough!

    Un freakin believable, and incredibly sad, to launch this poor wack job...

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    1. Disgrace , now let these turds drone on about how these people where trying to overthrow America.

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  7. Shumie is on board. He will sit.

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  8. @936

    Jacob Chancley ("The QAnon Shammon") was among the first people to push through and into the Capital. He was armed with a spear. He was using a bull horn to encourage and direct others to charge and overtake Capital police. He made it all the way to the Gallery of the Senate and onto the dais. He left a note on the dais informing (i.e. threatening) that "Justice is coming" for the Senators.

    Yes, this guy deserves every minute of those 4 years.

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    1. 243

      Wasnt the schizophrenic shaman "incited" by trump?

      Why not 10 years? 20?

      You just happen to think 4 is great because thats what the feds want?

      You do realize people are sentenced to less time for actual violence?

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    2. You do realize people are sentenced to more time for no actual violence. Not to mention the guy plead to punching a cop in the face, which in the real world is violence. Go back to your Trump rally.

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  9. My mask protects others more than it protects me. I agree masks should be worn in court. We can’t social distance in the courtroom. If the judge can demand proper attire, that can include masks. If it’s one thing I learned from this pandemic, Is that We all need to take care of one another.

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  10. Republicans-the party of law and order. I think.

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