Dear Friends –I am excited to share with you that my new book will be released on October 1, 2016 – American Justice on Trial, People v. Newton just in time for the 50th anniversary events commemorating the founding of the Black Panther Party. A portion of the royalties will help fund the documentary. In other great news, in early August, film interviewee Alameda County DA Nancy O’Malley, received an ABA 2016 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. Past recipients have included Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Congratulations, Nancy! Honorary Committee member Bryan Stevenson was also back in the news, featured in a New York Times magazine article on racially-biased death penalty prosecutions. (See NEWS). In our FEATURED MEMBERS section we highlight two veteran Bay Area civil rights champions, Jim Brosnahan and Bill Patterson.
I am pleased to report additional progress on our film thanks to the contribution of the Berkeley Film Foundation which paid for an independent critique of the trailer by a veteran film editor. Cinematographer Andy Abrahams Wilson is now set to go to work implementing the suggestions to strengthen our trailer for the next round of highly competitive grant applications.
Our filmed interviews are a great resource beyond their use in the documentary. I am grateful to the Board of Arc of Justice for licensing quotes from the interviews for inclusion in my new book American Justice on Trial: People v. Newton [www.regentpress.net] to be released October 1, which includes far more insights on the trial from interviewees than will ever fit in the film. The book format permits me to share a fuller picture of Newton trial participants’ observations and their views on its ramifications as well as to share more observations of the experts we interviewed. I am particularly thankful to Melvin Newton for providing his family’s perspective on his brother’s trial and to interviewee Lowell Jensen for his firsthand account of the Newton prosecution, helping me round out my research on what he has generously called “the definitive book on the Newton trial.”
[Photo right: cover of American Justice on Trial People v. Newton; Regent Press 2016]
Honorary Committee members James Brosnahan and Bill Patterson were also among those who gave unstintingly of their time for interviews. Jim remembers Charles Garry’s “jury selection dealing with race [as] one of the best pieces of trial work done by anyone.” Back in June, I shared Bill Patterson’s observation of the many parallels to the 1968 Oakland racial tinderbox in today’s America. I hope many of you will read the book and share it with friends to promote needed dialogue going forward.
Baltimore Ready to Move Forward After DOJ Report on PD Systemic Civil Rights Violations After Freddie Gray’s death last year, Baltimore's Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Baltimore PD. A scathing 163-page report came out in early August detailing systemic departmental racism, including orders by supervisors to "arrest 'all the black hoodies' in a neighborhood.'" Blacks were much more likely to be stopped and searched than whites, despite the higher prevalence of illegal guns and drugs among white arrestees. Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis commented: “We have begun this journey to reform long-standing issues in many real, tangible ways. DOJ’s findings will serve to solidify our road map.”
How Community Policing Can Work On an upbeat note, shortly after the federal report issued on racist policing practices in Baltimore, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck wrote a joint op-ed piece in the New York Times with civil rights lawyer Connie Rice to describe the results of a long-term collaboration begun in 2002 under federal court supervision to reform Los Angeles police practices. Those efforts resulted in an experimental Community Safety Partnership unit designed to transform policing in Watts and other hotbeds of community discontent. Chief Beck and Ms. Rice concluded “guardian policing is part of the solution to conflict between police and community. If it works for the housing projects of Los Angeles, it can work anywhere.”
James (Jim) Brosnahan, one of the most respected lawyers in his field and a strong advocate for civil rights has been recognized as a "lion of the trial bar" by the ABA Journal and listed among the top 30 trial lawyers in the country by Legal 500 US. Jim has been practicing trial law for over fifty years. Mr. Brosnahan's other prestigious honors include the Lewis F. Powell Award- which recognizes a "lifetime devoted to the highest standards of ethical practice, competence, and professionalism"- and a 2012 Lifetime Achiever by The American Lawyer which honors devotion to public service in addition to professional excellence. Besides his practice, Jim teaches a class on persuasion at UC Berkely Law. In the past, Mr. Brosnahan served as president of the Bar Association of San Francisco, and also authored the "Trial Handbook for California Lawyers."
William (Bill) Patterson current Vice President and former President of the Board of Directors of EBMUD (the East Bay municipal water utility responsible for providing clean drinking water to 1.4 million residents) has served continuously on the board of directors representing Ward 6 (East Oakland) since 1997. In addition, Bill has earned many awards for his 40+ year history of civic leadership. Prior to joining EBMUD, Bill served as the first black foreman of the Alameda County Grand Jury after serving as President of the Oakland NAACP and manager for the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department with protegees who became Hall of Famers like Bill Russell (NBA) and Joe Morgan (MLB). Bill was a key advisor to the late Mayor Lionel Wilson, Oakland's first African-American Mayor and served on the Public Ethics Commission (where I was honored to serve with him.). Bill remains very active to this day as a pillar of the Oakland community.
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Until next time—we appreciate your enthusiasm for our project. We could not have gotten this far without you.
