The case of the protestors arrested in East Hampton on tax day in 2006
was postponed again on Tuesday.
The five people were arrested as they walked along East Hampton's
Main Street holding signs honoring US soldiers who died in Afghanistan
and Iraq. They were charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing
pedestrian traffic.
The defendants say their right to a speedy trial has been denied after
several postponements in the past 16 months. Justice Catherine Cahill
granted the latest postponement, till September 7 because the
prosecution said that one of the arresting officers was unavailable.
Joseph Gianinni one of the three attorneys for the defense blames the
prosecution for the delays.
Giannini said "The prosecution could have gone forward today.
They don't need one officer out of six officers to
make their case. Every arrest involved at least two
officers, sometimes three."
The prosecutor, assistant DA John Halverson had not returned our
request for comment by air time.
The protesters, included two who were
high school students at the time. Outside the court room
Ella Engel-Snow, spoke in English, while Paola Agudela, spoke
in Spanish:
We are your children - somos sus hijos.
This is our home - es nuestra communidad.
These are our streets - son nuestos calles
We are against this war - somos contra esta guerra
No seremos callados - we will not be silent.
The defendants are planning more protests to bring their anti-war message to
East Hampton Village. They have refused to end the case without a trial.
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From a report prepared for WPKN News heard Monday through Friday at 6:30pm
on WPKM 88.7 Montauk and WPKN 89.5 Bridgeport.
