Posted on 12/10/2010 5:14:55 PM PST by marktwain
Thursday, December 9 Hennepin County Judge Orders Pre-Trial Punishment
Civil rights activist Joel Rosenberg remains in jail today, after a judge refused to set reasonable bail.
In a disappointing but not entirely surprising move, Hennepin County District Court Judge Toddrick S. Barnette today set bail at $100,000.
This unusually high bail came despite the fact that Rosenberg has no criminal record, is a homeowner, business owner, family man and 23-year resident of Minneapolis, who was falsely accused of a victimless and non-violent crime.
Rosenberg was charged after legally carrying a holstered gun into the offices of the Minneapolis Police Department, on the spurious theory that the city police department office was somehow a district court facility.
At the hearing, Barnette also revoked Rosenberg's permit to carry.
Rosenberg's next court appearance, a pretrial conference, is scheduled for January 7.
According to his wife, Felicia Herman, Rosenberg has refused both food and medication since his arrest yesterday. Rosenberg has high blood pressure and is an insulin-dependent diabetic. Thursday, December 9 Arraignment today
Joel will be arraigned on the trumped-up charges today, Thursday, December 9, at 1:30 p.m. in room 142 of the Public Safety Facility, 401 South Fourth Avenue, Minneapolis
Here's why the charges are baseless:
* Felony carry in a courthouse Minnesota Statute 609.66 reads, in part:
Subd. 1g.Felony; possession in courthouse or certain state buildings.
(a) A person who commits either of the following acts is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both: (1) possesses a dangerous weapon, ammunition, or explosives within any courthouse complex; ... (b) Unless a person is otherwise prohibited or restricted by other law to possess a dangerous weapon, this subdivision does not apply to: (1) licensed peace officers or military personnel who are performing official duties; (2) persons who carry pistols according to the terms of a permit issued under section 624.714 and who so notify the sheriff or the commissioner of public safety, as appropriate;
First, Minneapolis City Hall is not part of a "courthouse complex." It is a city building housing almost exclusively city offices. There is one seldom-used courtroom two floors up from the chief's office, where Joel was assaulted by Sgt. Palmer.
Next, even if the chief's office were part of a courthouse complex, the law excepts permit holders who have notified the sheriff of their intent to carry there. Joel explained weeks ago:
As Bill Palmer knows, City Hall isn't even the issue. Not only do I have the right to carry in the Hennepin County Courthouse -- I've given notice to the sheriff, repeatedly, as most recent as last month -- but I have the permission of the Sheriff's Office.
And, if necessary, I can and will prove it in a court of law.
* Violation of a court order The court order (PDF) in question includes the following language:
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that all persons, except as provided in this Order, are prohibited from having weapons on their person or in their possession in Hennepin County court facilities, regardless of whether or not they have a firearms permit, and ... IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Hennepin County court facilities include: ... 2. Minneapolis City Hall, 300 South Fifth Street, Minneapolis
There are some problems here as well.
First, Minneapolis City Hall can be found at 350 South 5th St., not 300 South 5th St. You'd think the court would know where its own buildings stood.
Of course, it's not the court's building -- it s the city's. City Hall, and especially the office of the Minneapolis Police Department, is not a court facility, and the court can't make it one by saying so.
Wednesday, December 8 What do you do when a man follows the law to the very letter?
You throw him in jail. At least in Minneapolis. Joel Rosenberg arrested for being assaulted by a police officer
Joel Rosenberg has been arrested and booked into jail by the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, based on a warrant obtained by the Minneapolis Police, related to Sgt. Palmer's assault on Joel at the Minneapolis police chief's office last month.
The charges include contempt, a misdemeanor, and carry in a courthouse, a felony. He will be arraigned today, Thursday, at 1:30 (see the Sheriff's booking record).
As to the first, Joel believes that the order in unlawfully broad -- the city police chief's office is NOT a county courthouse.
As to the second, Joel has made clear several times that even if the chief's office were a courthouse (hint: it's not), he has already availed himself of the statutory exception to that offense by notifying the sheriff's office of his intent to carry at the courthouse. See Minnesota Statute 609.66, Subd. 1g:
[T]his subdivision does not apply to * * * persons who carry pistols according to the terms of a permit issued under section 624.714 and who so notify the sheriff or the commissioner of public safety, as appropriate.
Wednesday, December 8 The Arrest Warrant
Anyone want to count the things wrong with this warrant?
Download warrant (PDF) Wednesday, December 8 Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure
Take particular note of the areas we've highlighted on pages 7-10. Some good questions:
* Why was Joel served with a warrant and not a summons, as required by Rule 3.01?
A summons rather than a warrant must issue unless a substantial likelihood exists that the defendant will fail to respond to a summons, the defendant’s location is not reasonably discoverable, or the defendant’s arrest is necessary to prevent imminent harm to anyone.
* Why wasn't Joel brought before a judge as soon as he was arrested, as required by Rule 3.02, Subd. 2?
Download rules (PDF) Wednesday, December 8 Frequently Asked Questions
WTF? Good question. See this press release and this open letter. No, really, WTF? Okay. From the beginning. Joel's wife, Felicia, was disciplining her kid as permitted by law when a passerby called the cops. The cop on the scene, after clearly establishing that no crime had occurred, promptly arrested Felicia. The city had no case, and they knew it. So they put the family through hell anyway, forcing the family to make bail, forcing Felicia to leave the family home, and stretching the whole thing out a month. This is stadard operating procedure: break down the "perp," innocent or guilty, so she'll plead out and avoid all that annoying "proof" stuff. That often works, but not when the innocent arrestee has a lawyer named David Gross, who called out the city on their utter lack of a case. So, after dragging the family through the mud, the city dropped the bogus charges at the last moment. This led Joel to take a strong and renewed interest in certain actors and actions within the Minneapolis Police Department. In the course of his research, Joel requested some data from the department. Sergeant William Palmer, after first attempting to illegally extort payment to view the documents (which, by law, must be available for view at no charge), made some documents available for viewing at the office of the chief of police. The chief's office is on the first floor of Minneapolis's historic City Hall. While at one time it was shared between the court and the city, the Hennepin County Government Center, built in 1973, and three other buildings in the area, as the county county shows on their web site, house the district court. Oh, up on the third floor, there is, apparently, one lonely, seldom-used conciliation courtroom. More to come...
FReepers, go buy one (or several) of Joel’s books to help out and they’re a good read to boot.
And liberals - who assert a ‘living document’ Constitution - think the law means whatever they want it to mean at any given moment.
It looks like the Sheriff (and the judge) are acting in a criminal manner.
That $100,000 bond is absolutely incredible.
I do have the right Rosenberg (author) right? Tired of making an idiot of myself if it isn’t...
Extreme measures to try and keep Joel from rightfully pressing charges against a police officer.
I hope Joel follows through and nails the corrupt bass turds!
Curious. It was the last paragraph that made me think not all was as reported.
Here is a link to a local news story:
http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/minnesota/joel-rosenberg-minneapolis-city-hall-gun-arrest
In Liberalville, the judges make laws and ruin the lives of everyday law abiding people. They have been doing it for years, but it's worse now. The only thing that makes the news is an arrest if the media can twist the story to make the gun owner look like a crazed nut job. However, the struggle of a law abiding citizen wrongly arrested and accused is swept under the rug. Even if the citizen has money to fight; arrogant liberal judges can and do refuse to recognize the law. They twist it to suit their personal agendas. There is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty, there really isn't.
Unless maybe if you are a lefty. Then it gives you points on your resume.
But I can't imagine why he would refuse food and water;that might be a bogus claim to paint him as a nutcase.
Conspiracy against rights — http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000241——000-.html
If two or more persons conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person in any State, Territory, Commonwealth, Possession, or District in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States, or because of his having so exercised the same; or
If two or more persons go in disguise on the highway, or on the premises of another, with intent to prevent or hinder his free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege so secured—
They shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and if death results from the acts committed in violation of this section or if such acts include kidnapping or an attempt to kidnap, aggravated sexual abuse or an attempt to commit aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, they shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any term of years or for life, or both, or may be sentenced to death.
Sounds applicable to me.
Yes, it is Joel Rosenberg the Science Fiction author.
http://www.amazon.com/Joel-Rosenberg/e/B000AQ6WVA
Thanks, I was thinking of Joel Rosenberg of “Ezekiel Option” and that series. That’s not to take away from this Joel’s plight though.
Where does it say that having a hidden camera negates your rights? In today’s convoluted political clime, doing so only makes good sense!
Neil: ping
“Where does it say that having a hidden camera negates your rights? In today’s convoluted political clime, doing so only makes good sense!”
I like pie. Not all pie, mind you, but some pies. I like a really good apple pie, but it has to be warm. I like a rich chocolate pie if it doesn’t taste too much like pudding on a crust. But, if I decided to make a pie because I like pie, I would have to choose pecan pie. There is something about a really good pecan pie recipe that just embodies pie.
As one Irishman to another, neither of your posts makes a whole lot of sense, but your pie post least of all. EVERYONE knows a good cherry pie tops ANY other!
The second post was a response to.... I don't know, maybe he thinks I was taking sides on the issue. I wasn't. What I was doing was showing that too many people take things at face value. He wasn't clear, and didn't have a point, so I put in a short paragraph on pie.
Now, as for you, EVERYONE DOESN'T know that a good cherry pie tops ANY OTHER. Au Contraire! It is a very rare, indeed almost extinct pie maker that can make a real cherry pie. The best cherry is a fresh cherry. Which, by it's very nature is a difficult pie ingredient. Too many pie makers must glue them together in the pie in almost a syrup mortar dulling the taste of the cherry in favor of the gloop that solidifies the cherry into the pie. Undercooked, overcooked, wrong type of cherry, why there is no greater horror than the average culinary version of a cherry pie.
Now, I caution you that this isn't an indictment of the cooking qualities of cherries. Far from it. But the natural state of the cherry in pastry is either in pocket pie form or in the tart. That is the natural realm of the cherry. While excellent in either delivery format they do not qualify as the standard “pie.”
As far as fruit goes, it is the apple that stands out as the fruit filling. There are many varieties of heirloom apple that lift the apple pie to the very pinnacle of pieness. But, for some odd reason, while they can succeed in the pocket pie version, they fail horribly in the tart.
I can only assume you either know one of the few remaining practitioners of the cult of the cherry pie, or you have never had a decent pecan pie, which is quite in reach of mere mortals.
It's good to hear from another Irishman. What are your views on cheesecake?
Indeed I did think you were taking sides without good, clear cause... Oh, well.
Cheesecake... a good one’s as hard to come by as the perfect cherry pie. We may well have to wait til the hereafter for true perfection in pastries! Now, if you like a GOOD creme brule’, however, my lovely wife makes the BEST EVER!!!
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