February 6, 2009
Over 130 people have been arrested in connection with protests surrounding the murder of Oscar Grant III. This morning, the first arraignments were to be held for over 30 people charged with misdemeanors and felonies at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland. Charges for 28 individuals charged with misdemeanors were dropped delayed, while one person with a misdemeanor and two people with felonies are still facing their charges in court today. The next arraignments for those arrested in connection with the Oscar Grant Rebellion are February 9th, 13th, and 17th. The Oakland 100 Support Committee requests that supporters keep the pressure on until all charges are dropped.
CORRECTION
For clarification: The majority of cases have not been dismissed or “dropped”. What is happening is that the DA is choosing not to file complaints at this time. He has a year to do so. Some folks who had no complaints filed have received warrant letters, which means that the DA intends to file a complaint of some sort. There are two generally two types of warrant letters; one says you have to surrender yourself immediately and comes with a court date (and is likely a misdemeanor); The other states intent to press charges but does not specify a court date (and is likely a felony). We are advising people to immediately get in touch with the National Lawyers Guild either way, so they can pair them together with a lawyer. If they can’t hook up with NLG, they should find a Public Defender ASAP.
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