Gregory Koger will be sentenced on Wednesday, Sept. 8 for videotaping with his cell-phone at a controversial public meeting.   The hearing will be at the Cook County Courthouse in Skokie, IL at 9:30 A.M.

In a shockingly unprecedented move, the judge instantly revoked Mr. Koger’s bail bond after he was convicted of misdemeanor charges on August 26, and immediately sent him to jail.  Scott Frankel, Mr. Koger’s attorney, has appealed the bond’s revocation, saying “I was stunned by the court’s decision to revoke Gregory’s bond.”  A number of experienced criminal defense lawyers have commented that they have never heard of this happening before in a misdemeanor case.  Even with most felony convictions, judges normally would raise post-conviction bail, but would rarely deny it entirely.

Why should Mr. Koger face a long jail term for using an iPhone?  The use of such camera phones has become ubiquitous for bringing events of the day to TV, as well as to the internet.  Are the police now free to arrest, beat, and prosecute photographers who are documenting controversial public events?

Mr. Koger was convicted of trespassing, but actually he was videotaping before an event began that was publicized as open to the public.  There is no law against filming at a public event.  The prosecutor made it appear to the jury as if filming is the same as trespassing.  But the trespass law states that you must be ordered to leave, and then show that you intend to remain after you have been given notice to leave.  Despite the defense attorney’s objections, the judge did not correct this misimpression.  Testimony in court made it clear that Mr. Koger was told to quit filming, but he was not clearly or audibly ordered to leave until the police were dragging him out of the auditorium.

According to Attorney Frankel, the police then “threw him against a wall, pushed him to the floor, Maced him after he was handcuffed, and then charged him with resisting arrest.”  As a result Mr. Koger has a $1000 emergency room bill for his injuries.  [See article in the Chicago Reader at http:http://www.acslaw.org/node/16288) as “cover charges,” because they are used to cover up police misconduct.  Mr. Koger was convicted of those charges, but the court procedure and conflicting evidence were very questionable and offer excellent grounds for an appeal, which Mr. Frankel says will be filed.

Mr. Koger was arrested on November 1, 2009 at the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago (EHSC) as he videotaped a brief statement that Sunsara Taylor was making before the group’s Sunday program was scheduled to begin.  Ms. Taylor had been invited the previous July to speak that day, but EHSC cancelled their invitation two weeks before her scheduled talk.  In her very short statement, Ms. Taylor objected to the cancellation and invited attendees to hear her speak that morning at the home of an EHSC member.  As she announced that she was leaving, the police arrested Mr. Koger.

Mr. Koger is now in jail and could be facing a long sentence.  The reason the prosecutor gave for the unprecedented bail revocation was that Mr. Koger spent years in prison for crimes stemming from his youth, and the Judge added that she was revoking bail because the jury had just found him guilty of the misdemeanors!   Mr. Koger’s childhood was extremely difficult and included periods when his entire family was homeless.  While Mr. Koger was in prison for his youthful mistake, he underwent a major conversion and decided to devote his life to helping other people who had been born in the same kind of unfortunate circumstances that he had.  After his release, he became a social justice activist and a paralegal in a law firm where he helps indigent people.  (For Mr. Koger’s biography, see www.dropthecharges.net.)

“His work at my law offices has helped many people, including women who need child support and several people suing to defend their civil rights,” says Michael Radzilowsky, Attorney at Law, who will testify at Mr. Koger’s sentencing hearing.  “He works hard and efficiently.  He has turned his life around and devotes every waking hour to helping other people.”

Mr. Radzilowsky is just one of many people who will provide character references at Mr. Koger’s sentencing hearing.   Father Robert Bossie, SCJ, will testify about Mr. Koger’s ethical behavior and his dedication to social justice and peace. “I am astonished by the extreme measures taken against Gregory Koger, all for a misdemeanor charge.  This is not justice, especially for a person of his moral standing,” says the priest.

This is the same case where in April the prosecutor brought criminal contempt charges against Mr. Koger in an unsuccessful attempt to shut down his defense committee’s website.  Those charges raised serious First Amendment rights issues, as does Mr. Koger’s conviction for taking pictures.

The sentencing hearing will be held on Wednesday, September 8 at 9:30 A.M. at the Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W. Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL, in Courtroom 205.

For further information, call the Ad Hoc Committee for Reason at 312-593-4191, or see www.dropthecharges.net, or email adhoc4reason@gmail.com.

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1170/action/gregory-koger

And then share it with friends, on Facebook, lists, tweet, etc.

Chicago Tribune

http://triblocal.com/Skokie/detail/212594.html

National IndyMedia

http://indymedia.us/en/index.shtml

Chicago IndyMedia

http://chicago.indymedia.org/feature/index.php

Please send links of coverage we may have missed to adhoc4reason@gmail.com

INNOCENT MAN JAILED FOR VIDEO RECORDING WITH CELL PHONE

Video recording with a cell phone is apparently now a crime in Skokie, Illinois.  Gregory Koger was jailed Thursday for using a cell-phone camera at a controversial event. The judge in the case instantly revoked his bond and sent him to jail after he was convicted of criminal misdemeanor charges.

Mr. Koger’s attorney, Scott Frankel, says “I am unbelievably disappointed with the verdict, and I know we will appeal. Gregory is a fine man and does not deserve this.  I was stunned by the Court’s decision to revoke Gregory’s bond.”

Mr. Frankel is immediately appealing the bond’s revocation. He says there is also a strong basis for appealing the conviction.  During the trial, Mr. Frankel objected strenuously to a number of judicial decisions that strengthened the prosecution case.

Mr. Koger was arrested in November, 2009 when he was taking pictures of an event.  A local group had canceled a long-scheduled speech by a controversial speaker.  The canceled speaker came to their hall before the group’s Sunday program was scheduled to begin to make a short statement objecting to the cancellation and to invite attendees to hear her speak that morning at another location.  Mr. Koger accompanied her and began to videotape her statement.  When Mr. Koger was asked to stop videotaping, he put down his camera, and instead used his iPhone simply to document the canceled speaker’s very brief statement.

Mr. Koger was charged with trespass, but the trespass law states that you must be ordered to leave, and then show that you intend to remain after you have been given notice to leave. Testimony in court made it clear that when the head of the organization confronted Mr. Koger, he never ordered Mr. Koger to leave.  He told Mr. Koger to quit filming, but there is no law against filming. Throughout the trial, the State’s Attorney repeatedly equated filming with trespass, even though filming at a public event is not a crime.

Gregory Koger was finally ordered to leave by the police as they were already dragging him out of the auditorium. They did not give him a chance to leave on his own after they started to physically eject him. According to Attorney Frankel, the police then “threw him against a wall, pushed him to the floor, Maced him after he was handcuffed, and then charged him with resisting arrest.”  As a result he has a $1000 emergency room bill for his injuries.  [See article in the Chicago Reader at http:www.dropthecharges.net)  Those charges raised serious First Amendment rights issues, as does yesterday’s conviction.

Regarding the conviction, Attorney Scott Frankel says, “Mr. Koger did not commit a crime.”  Frankel objected to a number of the judge’s rulings that prevented the defense from presenting evidence to the jury that could have changed the outcome.

For example, the judge allowed the State’s Attorney to make significant changes to the charges on the first day of the trial, without giving Mr. Koger and his attorney any advance notice or any time to prepare accordingly.

The State’s Attorney also misstated the law when she repeatedly said that breaking property owners’ rules on their property is trespassing.  Her reasoning would mean that if there is a rule against drinking coffee in a theater, then you are trespassing if you drink coffee there.

The November 1, 2009 event took place at the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago after Sunsara Taylor’s long-standing invitation to speak was suddenly cancelled.

Sentencing for Mr. Koger will be on Wednesday, September 8.  He was convicted of criminal trespass, resisting arrest, and simple battery.  Gregory Koger could be facing extensive jail time for taking photos at a controversial event.  Besides the serious consequences for Mr. Koger, this trial also has deep implications for the media’s right to cover controversial events, as well as for the public’s right to know.

The trial was at the Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W. Old Orchard Road, Skokie, IL, in Courtroom 205.

For further information, contact the Ad Hoc Committee for Reason and Dropping the Charges at AdHoc4Reason@gmail.com.

Gregory Koger will be facing trial on three serious charges on August 24 at 9:30am at the Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W. Old Orchard Rd, Skokie, IL. Your attendance at the trial will be an important statement of support for Gregory, and opposition to this outrageous prosecution.

“Disinviting Sunsara was unethical enough, but attempting to silence criticism of her disinvitation by arresting and continuing to press charges against Gregory for documenting her statement is outrageous. We have to support people like Gregory, who is facing jail time for videotaping Sunsara’s statement. I’m able to fight against these illegal and immoral wars for empire because I have a support system. We should give him all the support we can too.” – Cindy Sheehan, July 15, 2010

Funds are urgently needed for Gregory’s defense and medical bills. Any amount you can contribute will be a real help. Please send contributions to:
Mr. Scott Frankel
Frankel & Cohen
77 W. Washington, Suite 1720
Chicago, IL 60602

Please contact us with any questions, ideas, and suggestions.

Thank you,
Ad Hoc Committee for Reason and Dropping the Charges

Great thanks to Cindy Sheehan, Bill Ayers, Sunsara Taylor and the hundred folks who came out in terrible weather to the Evanston Public Library Tuesday night to hear about and discuss the growing trend of suppression of radical and progressive voices in society and to support Gregory in his battle against the outrageous charges he faces for documenting Sunsara’s statement at the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago on November 1st. Video of the event will be available soon!

More Statements in Support of Gregory

To:      Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago
From:  Rose Daitsman

Members of my family were members of the Ethical Culture Society in New York for many years.  My husband attended the Ethical Culture School in New York in the 1930’s.  The Society played an important role in his upbringing and I have always had a great deal of respect for the principles espoused by the Society.   I have always thought of the society as fair and open-minded protecting freedom of speech and conscience.  Imagine my shock and chagrin to learn of the arrest of Mr. Koger and the subsequent charges brought against him for doing nothing more than practicing his craft as an independent film maker.

I believe this represents a degradation of the Society’s aims and reputation.

I urge you to drop the charges against Mr. Koger.

Sincerely,
Rose Daitsman

I first met Greg in 2005 and I soon sent him a package of books along with a copy of the Public i, a newspaper I help to publish. He sent me back a letter and we began a correspondence. Among the books I sent him were The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States, two books that were influential on me while I was growing up…

On two occasions, Greg has been a guest speaker in a freshman writing class I teach at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. One of the sections I teach in my class is on the Prison Industrial Complex, the unprecedented incarceration of 2.3 million people in the United States. Greg is not bitter or vengeful toward those who put him behind bars for much of his youth. He speaks analytically about the six years he was held in segregation, locked in a tiny cell for 23 hours a day, although he is still traumatized by the experience. Many of my students walked up to Greg after class to shake his hand and thank him. Some of them quoted him in their papers. Greg remains hopeful that another world is possible than the current system where economic inequalities reward some and punish others. His rhetoric is not unlike that of Martin Luther King, Jr., who once said that we need a “radical redistribution of economic power.”

Remarkably, the State’s Attorney has asked a judge to hold Greg in contempt of court for the support his defense committee has organized for him and against the pending charges. She cites the website of his defense committee, although it has not been Greg, but others who have written about the case. It is fitting that this fight for free speech takes place in Chicago, where a peaceable assembly in Haymarket Square over 100 years ago ignited the modern labor movement.

These charges stem from the suppression of free speech by individuals from an organization which calls itself “ethical” and “humanist” but is neither. We have become a society where we can send a person to prison for years, with no benefit to the individual or ourselves.

Brian Dolinar, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Photos from the Event

Cindy Sheehan - June 15, 2010. Photo courtesy of Paul Ozarowski.

Bill Ayers - June 15, 2010. Photo courtesy of Paul Ozarowski.

Sunsara Taylor via videoconference - June 15, 2010. Photo courtesy of Paul Ozarowski.

Cindy Sheehan, Jay Becker for the Ad Hoc Committee, Bill Ayers, Gregory Koger, with Sunsara Taylor via videoconference - June 15, 2010. Photo courtesy of Paul Ozarowski.

Gregory Koger - June 15, 2010. Photo courtesy of Paul Ozarowski.

Cindy Sheehan & Jay Becker - June 15, 2010. Photo courtesy of Paul Ozarowski.

An Evening with Cindy Sheehan & Bill Ayers

With Sunsara Taylor—Appearing Via Live Videoconference

6:30pm, Tuesday, June 15
Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Avenue

What does it say about a society when it is deemed “too dangerous” for people to hear, discuss and debate ideas such as moral commitment, ethical action, Morality without Gods, and stopping War Party Politics? Cindy Sheehan, Bill Ayers and Sunsara Taylor have recently faced cancelation of their talks on these topics. Yet, instead of silently acquiescing to the chilling ice sheet moving over this country, trying to freeze out radical and progressive voices and alternatives to the deadly status quo, they refused to accept cancelation. Bill and Cindy succeeded in reversing their ‘disinvitations.’ Sunsara was met by police when she objected. Come hear why they didn’t just shut up and go away, why it matters for all of us, and what people of conscience can do to stand up and oppose the suppression of discussing these ideas.

This is a free event with Q&A following the presentations.

This event is organized by the Committee for Reason, an ad hoc group formed to respond to the violent and unjustified arrest of Gregory Koger, a videographer who was filming Sunsara Taylor, a nationally known speaker, making an informal announcement at the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago just prior to a lecture event from which she had been suddenly disinvited. Gregory now faces trial on June 29. For more information on this case and what you can do to support him, please visit www.dropthecharges.net and write us at adhoc4reason@gmail.com.

Cosponsors include: Chicago Women’s Caucus for the Arts, Neighbors for Peace, Northshore Coalition for Peace and Justice, World Can’t Wait – Evanston and Chicago chapters, and Veterans for Peace.
(To add your name to this list, contact adhoc4reason@gmail.com or call 847-674-0321.)

Cindy will be coming to us from her trial in Washington, D.C. for her arrest on March 20th this year as she protested Obama’s expansion of Bush’s wars (which Gregory was there photographing – see some of the photos below.)

Check Out her Blog – Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox, Postcards from the Empire

Cindy Sheehan, Matthis Chiroux, and Elaine Brower being arrested in front of the White House - April 20, 2010. Photo courtesy of Gregory Koger.

Cindy Sheehan at Camp Out Now - April 20, 2010. Photo courtesy of Gregory Koger.

Cindy Sheehan places a tombstone for her son Casey in front of the Washington Monument on the morning of the 7th anniversary of the Iraq War. Photo courtesy of Gregory Koger.

April 28 Court Appearance – Gregory’s lawyer filed a thorough Response to the Petition for contempt and Gregory was found not to be in contempt.

Gregory and his attorney are planning a strong defense at his trial, which is now scheduled to begin on June 29. Please plan on attending, if at all possible.

Widespread support of Greg’s defense has been absolutely awesome and is greatly appreciated – it really has made a significant difference.

Stay tuned.

A prosecutor files a motion to hold a criminal defendant in contempt of court, and in response the judge threatens the defendant’s attorney that his license to practice law could be revoked. Where could this be happening? What transgression could be so serious as to draw such a sharp attack from a State’s Attorney and a judge? The defendant has an active defense committee that maintains a website, and his attorney’s name is mentioned on that website!

At a status hearing on April 14, 2010, the Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney filed a Petition for a Rule to Show Cause, asking the court to find Gregory Koger guilty of contempt of court. The sole evidence of the defendant’s alleged contempt are materials taken from the website of a defense committee, the Ad Hoc Committee for Reason and Dropping the Charges (AHCRD) (www.dropthecharges.net).

The prosecution contends that the defendant was ordered not to blog about his case. Actually, it was the defense that objected to misrepresentations about the defendant that were being made on the Internet by people identifying themselves with the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago immediately after his arrest in November 2009. Misrepresentations of his criminal record were posted on blogs along with purported quotes from the police report on the Nov. 1 incident, which is not supposed to be available to the public. When the defense objected to the judge that someone was apparently sharing confidential material with Society members, the prosecutor commented that “the defendant is blogging too.” The issue was leaking confidential material, not blogging per se, but the judge dismissed the whole argument and said, “Both sides, leave everybody alone.” There was no formal motion and no written order issued by the judge.

Mr. Koger had maintained a website for approximately two years prior to Nov. 1, 2009. Shortly after his arrest, he posted a notice on his website, “On my attorney’s advice, given the pending serious charges I face, I am not commenting on the specific details of my arrest and I’ve made parts of my website private until after the legal proceedings are resolved and I can speak freely.”

The AHCRD uses its website to urge the public to attend hearings in the case and to write the prosecutor’s office and the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago to urge them to drop the charges against the defendant. The AHCRD also publicizes events on its website, which AHCRD organizes to discuss issues of public concern. The AHCRD has put on two programs that focused on growing suppression of critical voices (firings, cancellation of lectures, censorship and self-censorship, etc.) and the critical need to speak out against injustice in today’s world.

At the April 14, 2010, hearing, the defense had not been provided with a copy of the motion and Scott Frankel, Mr. Koger’s attorney, said he could not comment until he had seen the motion and reviewed the website. Nevertheless, the judge threatened Attorney Frankel with loss of his license to practice when the prosecution stated that Attorney Frankel’s name was mentioned on the AHCRD website.

The prosecution is moving to bring the power of the state down on AHCRD efforts in support of Mr. Koger and to censor even a discussion of suppression and censorship. AHCRD believes the implications of this attempt are significant and AHCRD would appreciate comments on the following points:

• The courtroom is open to the public; however, the prosecutor appears to be arguing that online mobilization to attend court hearings and discuss the political and social implications of what takes place in court cannot be made public.
• A defense committee’s online efforts to mobilize public opinion in opposition to a criminal prosecution can be attributed to the defendant, deemed contempt of court and driven offline; thereby, leaving a defendant essentially helpless against the full force and power of the state.
• Mere mention of the defendant’s attorney by name on a website, over which the attorney has no control, provoked the judge to issue threats against his license to practice law.

A hearing on the motion to find Gregory Koger in contempt of court is scheduled for 9:30 am, April 28, 2010, at the Cook County Courthouse, 5600 W. Old Orchard Road, Skokie, Illinois. Stay tuned to our website for more information on how you can speak out against this motion and this prosecution, and join us in court next Wednesday.

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

April 7, 2010 at 7 pm

Technological Institute Room L361

2145 Sheridan Rd. • Northwestern University

Evanston, IL

With Filmmaker Emily Kunstler and Distinguished Panel:

• Scott Frankel, Criminal Defense Attorney
• Gregory Koger, Videographer
• Thomas Geoghegan, Author and Labor Lawyer
• Moderated by Bernardine Dohrn, Professor of Law

Who can forget William Kunstler?

As one of the most important civil rights lawyers of the 1960s and 70s, he was larger than life. He fought for civil rights with Martin Luther King Jr. and represented the famed “Chicago 8″ activists protesting the Vietnam War. When inmates took over Attica Prison, to resist the terrible conditions, and when the American Indian Movement stood up to the federal government at Wounded Knee, guess who they asked to represent them?

Filmmakers Emily and Sarah Kunstler bring their father forward in time so a new generation can know who he really was. Their incredibly powerful film not only recounts the historic causes that William fought for; it also reveals a man who even his own daughters did not always comprehend, a man who risked public outrage and the safety of his own family in the defense of justice. They tell it like it was and leave the viewer to decide.

Isn’t dissent vital to the kind of society we want to live in? Yet critical voices are increasingly shut down and marginalized. Speeches are canceled and protest is criminalized. It is more important than ever to disturb the universe – before it is too late. Did you know that lawyers representing the Guantanamo detainees are being threatened as terrorist sympathizers?

Following the film, there will be a moderated panel discussion with questions taken from the audience which promises to engage and energize you.

Map to the Technological Institute

Center Entry to 3rd Floor – Free parking in lot across the street or two blocks south

Sponsors: Ad Hoc Committee for Reason & Dropping the Charges, Neighbors for Peace, World Can’t Wait – Chicago and Evanston Chapters

Endorsers: North Side Green Party