David is the North American ALF Press Officer. He runs the Black Cat

Distro and is a commited animal/eco-warrior who has taken part in ALF

liberations. Recently his house was raided and things confiscated by

state forces. This has been a common recurrance since David has become

an outspoken supporter of underground direct action. This message is

an update on his situation with the legal proceedings. Send messages

of support and offers of help to: otter@tao.ca

>

> Hello friends,

>

> As most of you are aware there will be a hearing in BC Supreme Court

on

> Tuesday Sept. 24, 10 AM, to hear motions put forward by my lawyer in

> regard to the recent RCMP search and seizure of my property. Here is

an

> update of what may or may not happen on Tuesday.

>

> First, we will argue a motion to cross-examine the cop who swore out

the

> Information to Obtain the search warrant, Cpl. Derrick Ross of the

RCMPs

> INSET section, for the purpose of amplification of his information.

We

> have been informed that Ross will not be able to attend the hearing

on the

> 24th, so if our judge grants this application then everything will

be

> immediately put over to another date when Ross is available. If we

are

> denied the application then we might ask for an adjournment to

re-think

> our approach, or we might go ahead with arguments in any regard, (or

if

> our request for an adjournment is denied). My lawyer, Michael Klein,

will

> decide at the time of the hearing which approach to take.

>

> So, the hearing might end quickly (if the cross-examination

application

> and/or the adjournment request are successful), or it will continue

for

> probably not longer than a couple hours at most.

>

> It's possible that if it does continue on Tuesday and all arguments

are

> made, a decision could be made right away, or it could be reserved

for

> another time if the judge needs to think about it.

>

> Whatever happens, it won't be a long hearing, and I'm guessing it's

more

> probable it will not conclude on Tuesday. Once the search warrant

issue is

> dealt with, we move on to a motion to return the seized items, or we

go to

> the Appeals Court, depending on the outcome.

>

> For those of you in or around Vancouver, if you are interested or

would

> like to come out and show some support I'd greatly appreciate it,

though I

> don't think it's going to be too exciting. The exciting part, for

me,

> would be the day we get to cross-examine Ross, or the day we get the

> judgement.

>

> Heres the info:

>

> Tuesday Sept. 24

> BC Supreme Court

> 800 Hornby St., 10am

> Room - not sure at this point, check your email on Monday or the

board at

> the courthouse

>

> I will send out an update on Wed. or Thurs. so you'll know what

happenned.

>

> Thanks,

> David

Hello friends,

Yesterday's hearing in BC Supreme Court turned out to be our first

small

victory in this latest round of court proceedings and fighting back

against police harassment.

First off, I'd like to send my deepest gratitude and thanks to you

all for

your continued support, it really does mean a lot to me. Many of you

sent

prayers, thoughts, and good energy and white light to the hearing

and I

can tell you that I felt it all while sitting in the courtroom. And

I

believe that this energy does have a positive influence on whether

or not

justice and common sense will prevail, or whether the state gets to

tighten it's noose on political dissent and civil liberties. Thank

you!

And an additional "thank you" to those who showed up in court to

support

me; your presence in those oppressive rooms really helps me deal

with

this!

Our judge, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett, seems to be

very

intelligent, and, is apparently known somewhat for her principled

and

independent decisions on the Bench. One of my concerns was landing a

judge

who would be an "old codger" part of the "old boys club," but that

does

not seem to be the case with Bennett.

The first step in these hearings was seeking permission to

cross-examine

the RCMP officer who swore out the information to obtain the search

warrant. Of course the Crown challenged that, so we had a two-hour

hearing

on whether we could or couldn't cross-examine Cpl. Derrick Ross.

Justice

Bennett in the end granted our application.

The cross-examination hearing will not be extensive, but it may

illicet

some important information. It will take place sometime in October,

date

tba.

It just feels good to know that the RCMP, in this case, will be

subpoenaed

to testify and will be on the defensive, instead of the other way

around

as it usually is.

This entire process will unfold very linearly:

- cross-examination hearing

- main arguments on search warrant ("facial" hearing)

- sending application (this will be a hearing on the Crown motion to

send

my stuff to the US; apparently they will argue to send my stuff

south

*even if* the search warrant ultimately fails!)

- application to return seized property

- Appeals Court of BC (whoever loses is likely to take it to this

next

level, certainly we will!)

I don't expect a complete resolution of this case until the Summer

of next

year.

Media attendance was good, with representatives from all the major

dailies

there, as well as Charlie Smith from the Georgia Straight and Brian

Salmi

from Terminal City. Check out today's papers (Vancouver Sun article

reprinted below) and the alternative weeklies on Thursday. (BTW,

yesterday's National Post had an okay article, given that it was the

National Post; check it out if you have access to the paper.)

I'll let you all know the date of the cross-examination hearing when

I

find out.

Love and Resistance!

David

-----

Animal activist challenges search warrant on home

Neal Hall

Vancouver Sun

Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Animal rights activist David Barbarash was in court Tuesday,

challenging a

search warrant used this year to raid his Vancouver Island home.

Acting on a request from U.S. law enforcement officials, the RCMP

seized

computers, computer discs, videotapes, photos and files related to

animal

rights, environmental issues, and alternative media.

Barbarash's lawyer, Michael Klein, plans to argue police had

insufficient

grounds for the search warrant but first he asked the court to be

able to

cross-examine RCMP Corporal Derrick Ross, who swore the information

to

obtain the warrant.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Bennett granted the application

to

cross-examine the officer. No date was set for the

cross-examination.

Barbarash is seeking to prevent his property from being turned over

to

U.S. authorities.

He wants to the search warrant quashed and the seized items returned

to

him.

He is a representative of the Animal Liberation Front, a group that

has

claimed responsibility for attacks on such things as meat-packing

plants

and sporting clubs in Canada and the U.S.

Outside court on Tuesday, Barbarash said he was outraged by the July

30

raid on his home. He said it was carried out by Canada's newest

anti-terrorist unit, the Integrated National Security Enforcement

Team, a

post-Sept. 11 RCMP unit intended to "help ensure early detection and

prevention of any threats to national security."

"I think it was easy for them because I'm a known activist,"

Barbarash

said. "But I did not commit any crimes."

He said he has never been to the U.S. state of Maine, where police

requested Canada's help in investigating three break-ins at

rod-and-gun

clubs in 1999.

ALF took credit for carrying out the raids on the clubs, where walls

were

spray-painted with the initials ALF and the property damage total

was

,700.

In all three incidents, mounted animals were taken. Barbarash, 38,

announced the Maine activists told him they stole the stuffed

animals so

they could be "returned to their natural environment to rest in

peace."

Barbarash said he receives only anonymous e-mail communications from

ALF

activists after they have taken action.

He said he suspects police already monitor his phone calls and

e-mail