Posted on 04/14/2005 11:00:40 PM PDT by RWR8189
usuke Joshua Banno is a college student from Arizona marooned in Manhattan. In his old life, he would be feeding his two chickens, riding his bike and working in the maintenance department of the student union. He would also be graduating next month.
Instead, Mr. Banno is answering phones at a Midtown restaurant, Blockhead's Burritos, to help pay legal expenses. He has fallen a semester behind at Prescott College in Tucson, and is learning more about criminal law than he ever cared to know.
The change in Mr. Banno's life dates from August, when he traveled by bus to New York City to join crowds of protesters at the Republican National Convention.
He was arrested on Aug. 29 and was charged with assault and reckless endangerment, accused of igniting a papier-mâché dragon. For months he has proclaimed his innocence, saying that in the chaos of the crowd, the police just picked the wrong person. Last week, prosecutors seemed to agree, after concluding that a police officer had misidentified Mr. Banno.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office said the case would probably be dismissed.
Behind the story of Mr. Banno's legal travails, there is a personal one. It is a tale of the obstacles and financial hardships faced by an ordinary family in a case that appears likely to be dismissed, like so many others from convention week. As of last month, about 80 percent of the convention arrests had been dismissed, adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, or ended in acquittals, according to statistics from the district attorney's office.
Beyond the immediate problem of the charges, which could have brought Mr. Banno a prison term of up to seven years, money was a serious concern. His lawyer, Sabrina Shroff, took the case for a very low fee, but it would still cost thousands of dollars to take to trial.
For Mr. Banno's mother, Betty Jo Banno, who learned of his arrest while watching television at home in Prescott, Ariz., the amount of her son's bail, $200,000, came as an early shock.
"I just couldn't believe it; I thought it couldn't be real," she said, sitting on a couch in a Midtown apartment that she sublet for herself, her son and out-of-towners involved in the case. "The first thing I thought was, 'I don't have $200,000.' "
"They said, 'What do you have?' and I said, 'I can use my house as collateral.' "
Mr. Banno's friends mobilized for his defense. They held a potluck party in Tucson. One friend started a Web site. Another sold T-shirts. His college put out a jar for donations. A friend, Toby Fraser, watched dozens of hours of videotape at the National Lawyers Guild, an advocacy group for change in political and economic matters.
Mr. Banno spent six days in jail, avoiding the meat dishes and eating canned string beans, mashed potatoes and grits. He was not allowed to make long-distance phone calls, so Ms. Shroff arranged a conference call so he and his mother could talk.
Eventually, Mr. Banno's bail was reduced to $10,000. Mrs. Banno wiped out nearly half her savings to send the bail money. As the case wound its way through the legal system, Mr. Banno's trial was delayed five times, Ms. Shroff said. Mrs. Banno bought plane tickets for herself, Ms. Shroff, Mr. Fraser and four witnesses.
In January, Mrs. Banno took a leave from her job to help with the trial preparations. She took out a $55,000 home equity loan to cover her family's living expenses. In all, she said, she has spent about $30,000 on the case.
"I used to feel pretty free going out to eat and taking a trip to visit my mom in Hawaii," Mrs. Banno said. "All of that has pretty much stopped."
The ordeal has created plenty of tension for Mr. Banno's extended family in Japan. His father, who is Japanese and works in Fukuoka as a yoga teacher, was told by his relatives that his son's arrest had shamed them. Mrs. Banno has not heard from her in-laws since then.
After months of pressing the case for Mr. Banno's innocence, a big break came late last month, when Ms. Shroff and Mr. Fraser tracked down time-sequence photographs taken by a Daily News photographer that showed Mr. Banno was far from where the fire began. A week later, prosecutors stated in court that the officer had misidentified Mr. Banno, and yesterday a spokeswoman said that the case would probably be dropped.
For Mrs. Banno, it was not a moment too soon.
"I want our calm life back," she said. "I can't wait to go home."
Going to the G8 from Arizona
Saturday, June 22, 2002 until Sunday, June 30, 2002
Deadline: Saturday, June 1, 2002.
Contacts or Sponsors:
Josh Banno
Phone: (520) 850-5590
E-mail: fuckthepolice (at} fuckmicrosoft (dot) com
Accessibility
Age Restriction: 18+.
Cost: Your share of the gas from Arizona to Canada and back.
Languages: Some Spanish, Some Japanese.
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Ridiculous statement. In our system it is the DA who files the charges in the first place. Police only have the power to arrest, not charge.
There's a good lesson for mother and son here. Son: don't get arrested, it's unpleasant to your life. Mom: your wealth is not your son's income. Time for junior to pay his own way.
ps. Where's dad?
Most of the detainees are taking ACDs, adjournments in contemplation of dismissal – which means that if you don’t get arrested again within six months, the records are supposed to be sealed, but if you do get arrested again, you have to face both the old and new charges. Others received DATs, desk appearance tickets, essentially a summons.
“There’s something fundamentally wrong with 10 hours in jail for shoplifting and 48 hours for protesting,” says NYCLU executive director Donna Lieberman.
Teaching yoga in Japan. (from one of the articles I read)
His father, who is Japanese and works in Fukuoka as a yoga teacher..
Fukuoka, now there's a funny word.
You could say that his pop said, Fuk-u-ok-a.
When you play with fire, you just might get burnt!
Hiding exculpatory evidence is NOT a technicality!
Indymedia sends out a press release and SABRINA TAVERNISE of The New York Times writes an article on it.
Mulder's been here three years longer than you have. I seriously doubt he's a troll. Get a grip. Simply because he has a different opinion than yours does not necessarily make him a troll. I've seen conservatives use "Amerika" many times, especially in stories about the abuses of government. I've also seen them use "fedgov" and "comsymp" to communicate the same sentiment.
Most likely because most people make sure they follow the law. ESPICIALLY when they are at protests.
I have been to a few and I can tell you I make darn sure to know the law and what is required of me while I am protesting- and if anyone set anything on fire-I would head for the hills.
WHY? Because it is against the law.
Being in the wrong place at the wrong time ,with wrong people- who are breaking the law in a chaotic environment are not rights we have under the US Constitution.
We do not have laws or rights to protect "country bumpkins" from using poor judgment.
What is the the "Doe in the headlights" defense?
The cops weren't corrupt and this man even said so...."For months he has proclaimed his innocence, saying that in the chaos of the crowd, the police just picked the wrong person."
More of an honest mistake than a case of corruption IMHO.
In a true police state, you would now be in prison for saying that. However, fortunately for you, being an ignorant ass is not a crime in this country. Heck, you could even make president. There's even a political party that uses the ass as its formal symbol (how appropriate is that?). I would suggest you look them up, but you're probably already a member.
Fellow FReeper Mulder revealed an anti-government abuse bias.
The troll crap has long since gotten out of hand.
Equating political protest with gang activity is un-American.
It is Amerikan, however.
But that is what they are protesting in the first place.
They have been getting away with it for far too long.
I personally would like to see some more heads roll for it.
It is simple: If you are going to protest follow the laws.
A political protest is not a Law free zone.
Good Heavens what are you advocating here?
If this were a police state all of those freaks would have been arrested and they would never be seen or heard from again. We know that is not the case.
Enough with the "Amerika" stuff.
Learn some history,will ya?
This type of generalization won't cut it. If you believe some individual(s) on this thread are implying that, it is up to you to respond directly to those individuals, so that they have the opportunity to respond directly to your statement.
Glad to see you are enjoying your stay in America.
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