The Amazing Day of Reckoning at the Penobscot County Court House in Bangor, Maine
The Amazing Day of Reckoning for Nancy and Richard
Twas a lovely, mild, sunny, warm day in Bangor, Maine, on October 31, 2003. It was great just lifting my face to the sun and feeling the warmth. A light breeze helped those yellow and orange leaves that were ready to lift off to do their thing. It was the day of reckoning, sentencing, and justice for our friends Nancy Galland and Richard Stander. They had been arrested on March 20, 2003, for sitting on the floor in the lobby of the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building while they waited for a message from their US Senator.
It was a day of anticipation, concern, introspection, and inspiration; a day of smiles, laughter, peace, hope, joy and love. Actually it was an amazing day. And actually the breeze wasn't so light at times. One of the great scenes of the day took place outside the courthouse... Nancy, Richard, Phil, and I were having lunch at Momma B's Kitchen...Richard was eating this great looking Portobello Mushroom sandwich. I always sit with my back to the wall; I like to know who is behind me, and I like to see who's coming into the restaurant. Looking out the large plate glass windows toward the court, I could see a dozen or so young folks standing on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes just in front of the "No Smoking On County Property" sign. Behind them just up three steps was the Assistant District Attorney Greg Campbell holding a two foot high pile of manila folders chocker-block full of probably very important papers, e.g., indictments, legal arguments, and briefs of one sort or another.
All of a sudden...WHOOOOOOSH...a heavy breeze blew all of the folders out of the young prosecutor's hands, up into the air, up, down, and across Hammond Street. The young folks all did their civic duty and scrambled up, down, and across Hammond Street to save the day for the young prosecutor....Portend of things to come for him? Hmmmm. A deal sprang to my not legally trained mind; maybe Nancy and Richard wouldn't press charges against the ADA for littering (misdemeanor), if he would just forget their criminal trespass charge (misdemeanor). Seemed like a good idea to me at the time as I was finishing off some really excellent fish (haddock) and chips.
Sentencing was scheduled for 1PM, but Justice Allen Hunter from Aroostook County had a busier day than he had expected. Before Nancy's and Richard's face to face with him and justice of the State of Maine, the judge had to deal with a couple of very sad cases in which no one won and everyone lost ; cases involving tears, agony, embarrassment, and loss of innocence.
Then..... A motion to acquit was made by Phil Worden. He said that the arrest of Nancy and Richard on March 20, 2003, in the lobby of the federal building in Bangor, Maine, was an illegal restriction and a decision that had been made arbitrarily. And he hoped that the judge would acquit, thereby, vindicating the First Amendment rights of Nancy and Richard. Greg Campbell, the young prosecutor who you met before, countered that there was "sufficient evidence to deny the motion" to acquit.
He referred to the State vs Armand?...I'll have to look that up...Evidently a case involving "interfering with the normal conduct of business." The judge denied the motion to acquit...Sooooooooooooooo. What would be an appropriate sentence? The prosecutor suggested that a substantial fine, but not jail time would satisfy the State. He complimented the many police officers and deputy sheriffs who he said handled the situation with such professionalism; there were so many cops involved that he was concerned that if there had been a major crime or crisis or some really horrible, terrible, Oh, my, gosh, just some really awful situation in Bangor....Yes, my friends, right here in River City... that there might have not been the human resources to deal with it.
I looked around at the friends of Nancy and Richard....and though I am not a mind-reader, they all seemed to be thinking....."Well, why were so many human resources (cops) sent to deal with this situation...nonviolent as it was....peaceful as it was...non-provocative as it was?" And the ADA was concerned that the defendants had not accepted responsibility for their crime...no gnashing of teeth, no pleading for forgiveness, no shame, and no acts of contrition. Well, duh, if I am not guilty of anything, I ain't a-goin' to fess up. No way, Jose. Phil Worden then talked about Title 1151; I'll have to look that up as well.
He then went on to review for the judge the kinds of sentences that other protestors in Portland and Belfast and Bangor had faced in recent months. The defendants' request to address the court was granted. Nancy said, in part, "I want you to know, Your Honor, that we never would have gone this far, chosen to go to trial, we never would have used the State's resources in this way, if we were not thoroughly convinced of our innocence. I hope you understand that if nothing else, we are people of personal integrity, and that integrity would not allow us to plead guilty when we felt strongly that we were within our First Amendment Rights......We are willing to accept (your sentencing)...To quote Leo Tolstoy, the author of the timeless novel, War and Peace, "Do what you must, come what may." We have done what we must, come what may."
Then Richard spoke, saying, in part, "When we were refused entry as a group to Senator Collins' office, I sat on the floor in the lobby and disobeyed an order by the police to leave. I did that knowingly and of my own volition and there is no power on eath that can snatch from my heart that I had a right and a duty to be there....What do we do when our protest is relegated to "free speech zones" away from the cameras, away from the public eye? What are we to do when our peaceful attempts to meet with our elected representatives are foiled by a bureaucrat in Virginia? I am fearful, Your Honor, what will happen when peaceful dissent is made to disappear. Will dissenters be disappeared, too?"
Then came the time for the sentencing....Dum De Dum Dum (the Dragnet theme). The judge in his infinite wisdom and intelligence and mercy and knowledge of American history rejected the State's desire for a "substantial fine". In his sentencing remarks he mentioned the Boston Tea Party, Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, the civil "civil disobedience" of Nancy and Richard, the idea that sometimes the "status quo" has to be shook up and challenged; and he said that this was not a "frivolous case"; that this was "an important case"'; and that, therefore,.......he sentenced Nancy and Richard to 20 hours of community service.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! The suggestion was sort of made that maybe Nancy and Richard could do their community service at the Peace and Justice Center.....Naaaaaaaaah.....Not a good idea thought the judge. So....20 hours of community service at the food-bank at the Union Street Brick Church.....So there you have it: justice in the State of Maine in the United States of America on Halloween 2003.
In the hall outside the court room, our hero and friend, Nancy, literally leapt into the air. (My heart leaps up when I behold, etc.) Richard, our inspiration, fairly glowed. Lots of hugs and smiles...did I detect a tear or two?. I'm not sure because it was difficult seeing through my own. Nancy suggested that we celebrate by having coffee at Momma B's Kitchen.....yup, right across the street. So a party of 9 or so put tables together, pulled up chairs, and shared feelings and smiles.
One suggestion made was that maybe Nancy and Richard could do their community service washing dishes at Momma B's.........Naaaaah. I guess not. I went back to the court-house and requested a copy of the judge's sentencing statement. And as soon as I receive that, I shall forward it to everyone. Back at Momma B's, Gerry Baldacci, our friend and neighbor, the chef and artist, picked up the check for the coffee and sodas. Hey, it's good being the Godfather.
* Much respect goes to those champions of freedom Phil Worden and Lynne Williams. G
**Gerry Baldacci is a brother of the Governor of the State of Maine John Baldacci.
Twas a lovely, mild, sunny, warm day in Bangor, Maine, on October 31, 2003. It was great just lifting my face to the sun and feeling the warmth. A light breeze helped those yellow and orange leaves that were ready to lift off to do their thing. It was the day of reckoning, sentencing, and justice for our friends Nancy Galland and Richard Stander. They had been arrested on March 20, 2003, for sitting on the floor in the lobby of the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building while they waited for a message from their US Senator.
It was a day of anticipation, concern, introspection, and inspiration; a day of smiles, laughter, peace, hope, joy and love. Actually it was an amazing day. And actually the breeze wasn't so light at times. One of the great scenes of the day took place outside the courthouse... Nancy, Richard, Phil, and I were having lunch at Momma B's Kitchen...Richard was eating this great looking Portobello Mushroom sandwich. I always sit with my back to the wall; I like to know who is behind me, and I like to see who's coming into the restaurant. Looking out the large plate glass windows toward the court, I could see a dozen or so young folks standing on the sidewalk smoking cigarettes just in front of the "No Smoking On County Property" sign. Behind them just up three steps was the Assistant District Attorney Greg Campbell holding a two foot high pile of manila folders chocker-block full of probably very important papers, e.g., indictments, legal arguments, and briefs of one sort or another.
All of a sudden...WHOOOOOOSH...a heavy breeze blew all of the folders out of the young prosecutor's hands, up into the air, up, down, and across Hammond Street. The young folks all did their civic duty and scrambled up, down, and across Hammond Street to save the day for the young prosecutor....Portend of things to come for him? Hmmmm. A deal sprang to my not legally trained mind; maybe Nancy and Richard wouldn't press charges against the ADA for littering (misdemeanor), if he would just forget their criminal trespass charge (misdemeanor). Seemed like a good idea to me at the time as I was finishing off some really excellent fish (haddock) and chips.
Sentencing was scheduled for 1PM, but Justice Allen Hunter from Aroostook County had a busier day than he had expected. Before Nancy's and Richard's face to face with him and justice of the State of Maine, the judge had to deal with a couple of very sad cases in which no one won and everyone lost ; cases involving tears, agony, embarrassment, and loss of innocence.
Then..... A motion to acquit was made by Phil Worden. He said that the arrest of Nancy and Richard on March 20, 2003, in the lobby of the federal building in Bangor, Maine, was an illegal restriction and a decision that had been made arbitrarily. And he hoped that the judge would acquit, thereby, vindicating the First Amendment rights of Nancy and Richard. Greg Campbell, the young prosecutor who you met before, countered that there was "sufficient evidence to deny the motion" to acquit.
He referred to the State vs Armand?...I'll have to look that up...Evidently a case involving "interfering with the normal conduct of business." The judge denied the motion to acquit...Sooooooooooooooo. What would be an appropriate sentence? The prosecutor suggested that a substantial fine, but not jail time would satisfy the State. He complimented the many police officers and deputy sheriffs who he said handled the situation with such professionalism; there were so many cops involved that he was concerned that if there had been a major crime or crisis or some really horrible, terrible, Oh, my, gosh, just some really awful situation in Bangor....Yes, my friends, right here in River City... that there might have not been the human resources to deal with it.
I looked around at the friends of Nancy and Richard....and though I am not a mind-reader, they all seemed to be thinking....."Well, why were so many human resources (cops) sent to deal with this situation...nonviolent as it was....peaceful as it was...non-provocative as it was?" And the ADA was concerned that the defendants had not accepted responsibility for their crime...no gnashing of teeth, no pleading for forgiveness, no shame, and no acts of contrition. Well, duh, if I am not guilty of anything, I ain't a-goin' to fess up. No way, Jose. Phil Worden then talked about Title 1151; I'll have to look that up as well.
He then went on to review for the judge the kinds of sentences that other protestors in Portland and Belfast and Bangor had faced in recent months. The defendants' request to address the court was granted. Nancy said, in part, "I want you to know, Your Honor, that we never would have gone this far, chosen to go to trial, we never would have used the State's resources in this way, if we were not thoroughly convinced of our innocence. I hope you understand that if nothing else, we are people of personal integrity, and that integrity would not allow us to plead guilty when we felt strongly that we were within our First Amendment Rights......We are willing to accept (your sentencing)...To quote Leo Tolstoy, the author of the timeless novel, War and Peace, "Do what you must, come what may." We have done what we must, come what may."
Then Richard spoke, saying, in part, "When we were refused entry as a group to Senator Collins' office, I sat on the floor in the lobby and disobeyed an order by the police to leave. I did that knowingly and of my own volition and there is no power on eath that can snatch from my heart that I had a right and a duty to be there....What do we do when our protest is relegated to "free speech zones" away from the cameras, away from the public eye? What are we to do when our peaceful attempts to meet with our elected representatives are foiled by a bureaucrat in Virginia? I am fearful, Your Honor, what will happen when peaceful dissent is made to disappear. Will dissenters be disappeared, too?"
Then came the time for the sentencing....Dum De Dum Dum (the Dragnet theme). The judge in his infinite wisdom and intelligence and mercy and knowledge of American history rejected the State's desire for a "substantial fine". In his sentencing remarks he mentioned the Boston Tea Party, Martin Luther King, Jr, Rosa Parks, the civil "civil disobedience" of Nancy and Richard, the idea that sometimes the "status quo" has to be shook up and challenged; and he said that this was not a "frivolous case"; that this was "an important case"'; and that, therefore,.......he sentenced Nancy and Richard to 20 hours of community service.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! The suggestion was sort of made that maybe Nancy and Richard could do their community service at the Peace and Justice Center.....Naaaaaaaaah.....Not a good idea thought the judge. So....20 hours of community service at the food-bank at the Union Street Brick Church.....So there you have it: justice in the State of Maine in the United States of America on Halloween 2003.
In the hall outside the court room, our hero and friend, Nancy, literally leapt into the air. (My heart leaps up when I behold, etc.) Richard, our inspiration, fairly glowed. Lots of hugs and smiles...did I detect a tear or two?. I'm not sure because it was difficult seeing through my own. Nancy suggested that we celebrate by having coffee at Momma B's Kitchen.....yup, right across the street. So a party of 9 or so put tables together, pulled up chairs, and shared feelings and smiles.
One suggestion made was that maybe Nancy and Richard could do their community service washing dishes at Momma B's.........Naaaaah. I guess not. I went back to the court-house and requested a copy of the judge's sentencing statement. And as soon as I receive that, I shall forward it to everyone. Back at Momma B's, Gerry Baldacci, our friend and neighbor, the chef and artist, picked up the check for the coffee and sodas. Hey, it's good being the Godfather.
* Much respect goes to those champions of freedom Phil Worden and Lynne Williams. G
**Gerry Baldacci is a brother of the Governor of the State of Maine John Baldacci.
posted by Rev. G. | 8:20 AM
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