LPDC National Office PRESS RELEASE JULY 25, 1991
The official order staying Leonard Peltier's hearing was
handed down by Magistrate Karen Klein, on July 24, and is based
on the government's motion to dismiss 2 of the 3 issues and limit
the evidence that could be presented at his hearing.
The two issues are manipulation of the jury through fear and
intimidation and government misconduct. They refer to a recent
Supreme Court case (McCLESKY v. ZANT) and argue that any issue
which could have been raised in an earlier writ which was not
raised can not be raised in a later writ. Magistrate Klein in an
order dated 4/24/91 agreed and is recommending that the issues of
manipulation and government misconduct be dismissed.
Leonard's lawyers now have ten days to submit objections
before the final recommendation is made to Judge Benson. There
will be no new hearing date set until Judge Benson hands down a
ruling on these issues, and Leonard's attorneys' have made an
effort to appeal Benson's long string of biased rulings and
opinions.
Magistrate Karen Klein on the 24th of May issued an order to
hold the hearing in Fargo. The government's motion to dismiss
was filed on June 18th. We feel that the motion to dismiss
should have properly been dealt with at the time of its filing.
The obvious reason for the cancellation of the hearing 3 working
days before it was to commence leads us to believe that the
postponement is another attempt by the government to diffuse the
interest that the media is now giving this case and to disrupt
the national and international support that has been built around
this case, and most significantly, to prevent the presentation of
evidence of government misconduct of a most outrageous and
criminal nature.
This last minute change by the court comes as no surprise to
us because the history of this case clearly demonstrates the acts
of disruption and manipulation by the U.S. government. We feel
that this delay by the court is an attempt to diffuse the
national and international support that was to attend this
hearing. But I have personally spoken to many of the supporters
and to the media, and they have expressed their renewed
commitments to attend the hearing at its new date; despite the
inconvenience that their plans hate to be canceled and rearranged
at great expense. Senator Daniel Inouye, upon hearing about the
postponement, has committed his presence to the rescheduled
hearing date.