Rally defends attorney Lynne Stewart
By
Richard Duncan
Published Feb 23, 2005 10:31 AM
A near-capacity crowd assembled at the Community Church in New York on Feb.
17 to support peoples' lawyer Lynne Stewart and her co-defendants. It was
sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild. Supporters have denounced what they
describe as a frameup by the state on charges of allegedly aiding terrorism.
Shortly after outrageous guilty verdicts had been returned against
Stewart, the NLG called for events around the country on Feb. 17, deeming it "A
Day of Outrage."
Despite the setbacks of a week earlier, all in
attendance seemed ready for struggle. The mood in the church was not one of
sorrow or fear but of determination to do what is necessary in the coming period
to defend this courageous woman, who has spent 30 years defending others in the
legal arena, including some of those most demonized by the state.
When
Stewart arrived at the meeting, the audience stood and gave her boisterous and
sustained applause.
The meeting commenced with a panel of speakers.
Various lawyers working on her defense team gave brief presentations in order to
allow for the participation of the audience. They went over the legal aspects of
the case and encouraged everyone to come out to support Stewart when she and her
co-defendants return to court for post-conviction procedures.
In her
remarks, Stewart gave a stirring talk that showed her fierce determination.
Clearly not intimidated by the verdict, she called for unity in the movement and
recognized death row political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal's support for her
case.
Esteemed lawyers Ramsey Clark and Leonard Weinglass were in the
audience to show support for Stewart.
Many attendees lined up at the end
to give solidarity messages from either themselves or organizations they are
affiliated with.
Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action
Center, encouraged everyone in the audience to invite Lynne Stewart to every
event they organize in order to help build support for this important
case.
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