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An independent journalist was acquitted October 1 in Illinois 19th Circuit Court, of trespassing and resisting arrest charges going back to July 2006 when he covered a war protest at the Midwest Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) at the Great Lakes Naval Base.
Mike Ferner, of Toledo, Ohio was pleased when Judge Patrick Lawler announced his decision from the bench on both counts.
“The case was ridiculous from the first,” Ferner said after the acquittals. “I was there photographing three people kneeling down in the MEPCOM parking lot, reading the names of those killed in the war in Iraq. I never should have been arrested in the first place and certainly no one should be put through an ordeal like this, having to make five trips back to Illinois before finally getting my day in court. I was glad to see the court finally told the arresting officer and prosecutor they had no case.”
The three protesters, members of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, had just finished a month-long, 320-mile walk from Springfield to the Navy base north of Chicago to protest the war in Iraq and the occupation of Palestine.
Tom Brejcha, Chicago pro bono lawyer, faulted the many Lake County prosecutors who handled the case over the last 14 months for failing to check their facts before putting Ferner -- an oft-published journalist and author of the 2006 book, “Inside the Red Zone,” -- to so much expense and travail.
“The office of prosecutor is primarily to see that justice is done,” said Brejcha, “and only secondarily to win convictions. Here the State's Attorney's office went to unpardonable lengths to avoid interviewing a key witness, chief of security at MEPCOM, who told us from the beginning that this was 'a bad rap.' We will do our best to see that those responsible are called to account."
Mike Ferner, of Toledo, Ohio was pleased when Judge Patrick Lawler announced his decision from the bench on both counts.
“The case was ridiculous from the first,” Ferner said after the acquittals. “I was there photographing three people kneeling down in the MEPCOM parking lot, reading the names of those killed in the war in Iraq. I never should have been arrested in the first place and certainly no one should be put through an ordeal like this, having to make five trips back to Illinois before finally getting my day in court. I was glad to see the court finally told the arresting officer and prosecutor they had no case.”
The three protesters, members of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, had just finished a month-long, 320-mile walk from Springfield to the Navy base north of Chicago to protest the war in Iraq and the occupation of Palestine.
Tom Brejcha, Chicago pro bono lawyer, faulted the many Lake County prosecutors who handled the case over the last 14 months for failing to check their facts before putting Ferner -- an oft-published journalist and author of the 2006 book, “Inside the Red Zone,” -- to so much expense and travail.
“The office of prosecutor is primarily to see that justice is done,” said Brejcha, “and only secondarily to win convictions. Here the State's Attorney's office went to unpardonable lengths to avoid interviewing a key witness, chief of security at MEPCOM, who told us from the beginning that this was 'a bad rap.' We will do our best to see that those responsible are called to account."