We were coming from the private chambers of William At any rate, Mr. Shapiro, a dapper though diminutive The protestors argued that the specially designated "Groups will not degrade themselves to this degree The City, represented by a trim businesslike woman The City also mentioned that they had removed the Finally, after an hour-long recess, the Judge came Further diminishing the chances for any real meaningful demonstrations, "There really isn’t any other place to go," he Well, build a Zoo and the animals will come. We All eyes were on Jonathan Shapiro, the dapper, white-haired lawyer representing the protesting Black Tea Society, as the Dowbrigade quietly slipped into the last row of the half-filled courtroom. This was yesterday afternoon, at the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/cagge.jpg\")
<\/em>All
\n eyes were on Jonathan Shapiro, the dapper, white-haired lawyer representing the
\n protesting
\n Black Tea Society, as the Dowbrigade quietly slipped into
\n the last row of the half-filled courtroom. This was yesterday afternoon,
\n at the Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, and Judge Woodlock was presiding
\n over a hearing concerning the request by Black Tea Society and other
\n groups protesting the Democratic National Convention) for an injunction
\n preventing the City of Boston from forcing them in a Steel Cage Death
\n Match in order to express their disagreements with the priorities and party
\n platform of the Democrats attending the Convention.<\/p>\n
\n G. Young, the Chief United States District Judge, who had been patiently
\n explaining the roles of the various players in the Federal District
\n Court to a group of 48 foreign lawyers undergoing an accelerated indoctrination
\n to the US Legal System as part of their LLM program. Although an incredibly
\n busy man, Judge Young takes his role as a teacher of the law to the
\n core of his judicial philosophy and seems to spend all his time teaching
\n it to juries, lawyers, court personnel and in an act of true generosity,
\n to all sorts of students, from grade school groups to young lawyers
\n like the Dowbrigade’s charges.<\/p>\n
\n presence in a superbly tailored blue suit, who managed to simultaneously
\n project an intense energy and a restrained decorum, kept using the
\n phrase "concentration
\n camp"
\n to
\n describe the penned-in area under a freeway overpass, behind the train
\n station, where the protesters were supposed to be contained. These
\n charged words, especially from a guy named Shapiro, were riveting.<\/p>\n
\n protest zone, which features double chain-link fences, razor wire on
\n top to make sure nobody can climb the fence or climb up on the train
\n tracks, anti-splatter shields to make sure protesters can’t squirt
\n any vile or toxic liquids on any delegates who dared to get near their
\n cage, and a tight nylon netting, fine enough to stop a hockey puck
\n (or a hand grenade), over the entire top of this cage to insure that
\n nothing can be thrown out of the cage, constitutes a virtual concentration
\n camp, and not only will discourage protesters from exercising their
\n right to protest, but represents a scandalous insult to the American
\n political system. Shapiro compared it to something you would expect
\n to find at Guantanamo Bay or in a Zoo.<\/p>\n
\n in order to express their legitimate points of view," he declared.
\n "Existence of that area ina nd of itself is a violation of the 1st
\n amendment."<\/p>\n
\n in a smart suit and a clipped tone, argued that due to the high level
\n of pre-convention rhetoric and the need for heightened security after
\n 9\/11, combined with a proven history of violent protest at Democratic
\n Party Conventions, including the last one in 2000, it is necessary
\n to put the protesters in a contained, secure zone.<\/p>\n
\n originally planed toilets from the site as a security precaution,
\n and that just eliminating the cage was not an option because there
\n were 30 to 40 separate groups scheduled to use the small stage and
\n sound system already installed.<\/p>\n
\n back with his decision. Although he deplored the look and feel
\n of the area (he used the phrase "internment camp" instead of the more
\n volatile "Concentration camp") he said that 9\/11 and the recent destructive
\n anti-G9 protests made precautions like this necessary.<\/p>\n
\n he lowered the number of protestors allowed into the cage at any one
\n time from 4,000 to 1,000. And, of course, there are no alternative locations
\n anywhere near the convention.<\/p>\n
\n said to Shapiro and the groups he represents. "You’re stuck under
\n the tracks."<\/p>\n
\n suspect the Dowbrigade will be spending some time down at the Zoo,
\n especially if the animals start acting up. The last time we had
\n any truly interesting (although tragic) action at a Democratic Convention
\n was
\n in Chicago, and we all know what went down there. Of course, chances
\n are if there are any real confrontations, they won’t take place
\n here. However, between the protests on in and about the stell cage, and the Boston Police union’s determination to picket all sorts of convention events, it is starting to look as though the most interesting stories will be developing outside of the Fleet Center, on the mean streets of Boston. <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"