Legal Update on Mumia: The State of the Legal Battle to Save Mumia's Life

by C. Clark Kissinger
(10/11/00)

As of this writing, the federal district judge in Philadelphia has still not set a court date for Mumia Abu-Jamal - but we're not waiting! This court appearance for Mumia's writ of habeas corpus could well be the critical moment in Mumia's fight for justice. And while it has been repeatedly postponed, it will happen and we must be preparing for it now.

Mumia's petition is an appeal to the federal courts to overturn his conviction in Pennsylvania because his constitutional rights were denied. If the judge grants this writ, and if his decision is upheld on appeal, Pennsylvania must then either free Mumia or grant him a new trial.

Knowing that Mumia was about to file in federal court, Pennsylvania Governor Thomas Ridge last year issued a new death warrant for Mumia. But federal district court Judge William H. Yohn, to whom the case was assigned, issued a stay of this execution order. A stay, however, is nothing but a postponement. Mumia is still under sentence of death.

 Judge Yohn has told attorneys for both sides that he will hear oral arguments on the procedural motions first, and then on the petition itself. These procedural motions are vital, because Mumia is asking that the entire Pennsylvania court record be thrown out as hopelessly biased and corrupt. Mumia is also requesting the federal court to grant an evidentiary hearing, which would allow him to present the evidence that was suppressed by the Pennsylvania courts.

The judge may well decide these critical procedural issues on Mumia's first day in federal court. This is why all the organizations supporting Mumia have called for a National Mobilization on Mumia's first day in federal court. It is particularly important that there be a massive turnout in Philadelphia at the courthouse itself on the first day of the oral arguments. For information on this mobilization, check www.j4mumia.org or your local Mumia coalition.

Since the filing of the petition for habeas corpus last year, a number of papers have been filed in support of Mumia's claims of constitutional violations. The original habeas petition outlines 29 separate claims of constitutional violations in Mumia's trial and subsequent appeals in the state court system. In addition, a motion has been made to the court to amend the habeas petition by adding a 30th claim of violation. For all the legal papers in the case and key sections of the trial transcript, see www.refuseandresist.org/Mumia/index.html . While Judge Yohn did grant several requests from Mumia's lawyers over the objections of the state, he has refused to accept any of the amicus briefs filed in support of Mumia's appeal. Amicus briefs are legal arguments submitted by parties not involved in the case, but who have a stake or interest in how the case is decided. These important briefs were submitted by the ACLU and NAACP, the National Lawyers Guild together with a group of national legal organizations, twenty-two members of the British Parliament, and the Chicana/Chicano Studies Foundation.

In an outrageous action, Judge Yohn refused to accept these briefs. Now two of the groups who submitted these briefs have appealed their rejection to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, and have asked other organizations to join with them in this appeal. Information how to join this appeal can be found at www.freemumia.com/joinderform.pdf  and many other web sites.

During this year, the court seems to have moved slower and slower on Mumia's appeal. In part this may be the result of the great outpouring of support for Mumia that has been demonstrated throughout the world. This support has ranged from Amnesty International's scathing report of the injustice in Mumia's trial, to the thousands of young people in the streets and committing acts of civil disobedience, to a major shows of support by educators in a full-page ad in the New York Times. The lesson in this is that only the power of people can bring justice to case of Mumia Abu-Jamal!

 Refuse & Resist!

 

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