[Imc] Wed. AM Staley Trial report

[Peter Miller]

Update from the trial--Lamb vs. Decatur

Urbana, IL--Three plaintiffs were questioned in the trial this morning, by both plaintiff and defense attorneys.  Most of the testimony centered around the actual pepper-gassing with the jurors watching several different video clips, including video recorded by the police, WAND-TV, and independent journalists in the crowd.

Judge Baker began the trial yesterday afternoon with opening statements and questioning of plaintiff Gary Lamb.  (If anyone saw the opening statements, I'd be interested in hearing about them.)  Gary completed his questioning this morning, and was followed by Dick Schabel and the start of testimony from Jerry Tucker.  Lamb and Schabel are former Staley workers, and Tucker was a consultant to them.

Plaintiff attorneys showed the spraying, and asked the witnesses to show where they were when the sprayings occurred.  (The police sprayed once at 2:32 and again, about 30 minutes later.)  They also asked what the plaintiffs were doing when the police sprayed.  Gary said he was sitting with his back to the police.  Dick said that he was falling to the ground because he'd been pushed.  He was sprayed once while falling, and again after he was on the ground.  Dick also noted that the sign he was wearing around his neck blistered and turned brown from the pepper spray.

Two defense attorneys cross-examined each witness, and they took a hostile stance, perhaps to agitate the witnesses.  (The courtroom is not a friendly place.)  They pointed out small inconsistencies in testimony, such as Dick stating on the witness stand that he was looking one way when the gas was sprayed, which contradicted a January 1998 deposition in which Dick said he was looking the other way.  

The defense also refers to civil disobedience that took place on June 4, three weeks prior to the pepper spraying, and contrast the number of people at the two rallies.  On June 4, they say that approximately 50 people were at the gates when members of the clergy, and supporters and spouses of the workers crossed the line in pairs and were arrested.  On June 25, they estimate that 2500 people were present.

Finally, defense attorneys dwell on questions about planning:  "Who led you to the gate?"  "You knew you were breaking the law when you stepped onto Staley property, correct?"  "At these meetings about civil disobedience, did they prepare you for pepper gassing?"  

Witnesses responded that the official rally was to have ended in front of the Staley office building, not at the plant gate, but an "unofficial" action moved over to the plant gate, where people sat down and were prepared to be arrested.  It wasn't clear who, exactly, planned the civil disobedience.  Some of the workers had trained for civil disobedience, but not for pepper spraying.

Jerry Tucker was introduced this morning, giving his background and how he became involved in the lockout.  This afternoon, beginning at 1:30, he'll begin testifying about what happened to him.

The courtroom:

It's windowless but new, reminding me of a hotel lobby.  Space is just barely sufficient for the plaintiffs, defendants, and the jury.  The plaintiffs sit to the judge's right, with two attorneys, the four defendants, and two extra witnesses, Joann Wypijewski formerly with the Nation, and another woman who arrived late.  

The defense sits facing the judge, with three attorneys and three defendants who are police officers from Decatur and the Illinois State Police.  The eleven-person jury is all white (as are all the plaintiffs, defendants, and lawyers), has six women and five men, and looks entirely older than 40.  

Judge Baker is a 60-ish white man who asserts his authority over the courtroom but also engages in some small talk with everyone, lightening the mood a little.  The judge does appear to be favoring the defense of the police in supporting their objections and allowing leading questions, while denying plaintiff objections and dis-allowing leading questions from them.

The gallery consists of a few supporters of the plaintiffs, including Larry Solomon, former president of Decatur's UAW Local 713 from Caterpillar, C.J. Hawking a minister from Bloomington, Indiana, and Rust Gilbert, a supporter from Chicago.  A couple defense supporters were also there, but law students dominated the crowd.  One reporter, from the Decatur Herald-Review, attended.  (The News-Gazette has declared that this story "isn't local enough" to cover.  217-351-5211 is where you file complaints.  Talk to Mike Howie, city editor.)

Background:

This is a class-action lawsuit over police pepper-spraying of nonviolent protesters.  Supporters of 768 locked out workers at Staley Mfg. held a mass rally in Decatur, on June 25, 1994, the one-year anniversary of the lockout's start.  Several people blocked a gate to the factory and were pepper-sprayed while seated on the ground.  Four primary plaintiffs represent up to approximately 70 members of the class who were directly sprayed or were wafted by pepper gas.  Plaintiffs seek financial damages.  A jury is hearing the case at the federal courthouse in Urbana, Illinois.  The trial began on October 31, 2000, over six years after the pepper-spraying took place.