Yesterday the Ninth Circuit reversed the conviction of Briana Waters, an environmental activist convicted of burning down a University of Washington agricultural building in 2001. I don't have any experience with federal prosecutors, but the overreaching by the AUSA in the case seems to reflect a "Green Scare" mentality. They just go cuckoo for AR and environmental activists, violent or peaceful!
As laid out in the decision (pdf here), the district judge's rulings forced Waters to defend her case with one hand tied behind her back. The reviewing court found multiple errors occurred (hello, public trial fans!) which resulted in an unfair trial. Most notably, the judge allowed in a folder of anarchist literature but prevented Waters from showing a film of hers about a peaceful demonstration against clear-cutting. The film would support Waters's claim that she was committed to non-violence. The Ninth Circuit held that
[t]hese rulings, in combination, assured that the jury would be provided with a one-sided picture of Waters. The jury saw her connected to violent anarchist propaganda that it may have had a visceral reaction to, while it was prevented from viewing evidence that would paint a contrasting picture of Waters as a person.
The prosecutor is quoted as saying it was a "fair fight."
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