Greenpeace representatives said they will file a motion at a Miami courthouse today in an effort to have criminal charges brought by the Justice Department dropped. The environmental organization is charged with "sailor mongering," an obscure 1872 antipiracy law, after boarding a ship from Brazil laden with mahogany.
"We will ask for the case to be dropped on the grounds that it's too vague," said Greenpeace General Council Tom Wetterer.
If a judge does not drop the case, Greenpeace will ask for a trial by jury, Wetterer said. Greenpeace will also ask for additional discovery on the grounds of selective prosecution, questioning why it is the only organization charged under this law, he added.
The case stems from an incident in April 2002 in which two Greenpeace protestors illegally boarded the cargo ship APL Jade three miles off the coast of Miami, carrying signs saying, "President Bush, Stop Illegal Logging." They were arrested and detained for the weekend.
Fifteen months later, the Justice Department brought criminal charges against the Greenpeace organization using the sailor-mongering law, which was enacted to prevent brothels and taverns from boarding ships to entice sailors ashore. The law prohibits any unofficial boarding of a ship about to arrive at its destination but hasn't been used in over 100 years, according to Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University.
"If they are successful, then we could be classed as a criminal organization, lose our tax-exempt status and have to report our movements to the Justice Department," said John Passacantando, executive director of Greenpeace USA. "It's the first time in U.S. history that the Justice Department has brought charges against an organization for nonviolent direct action."
In the past the Justice Department has prosecuted individuals for civil disobedience, not organizations, Passacantando said. He said Greenpeace decided to request a jury trial after the Justice Department asked that the case be heard only by a judge, arguing that it was not important enough to warrant the expense of a jury.
Justice Department officials familiar with the case could not be reached for comment.
Critics of the Bush administration see the move as a blatant attempt to muzzle Greenpeace.
"They (Bush Administration officials) have even taken steps that seem to be clearly aimed at stifling dissent," said former Vice President Al Gore, commenting on the case in a speech to MoveOn.org members on Nov. 9 in Washington, D.C.
Other organizations, such as the ACLU, People for the American Way and the Natural Resources Defense Council, have filed court briefs in support of Greenpeace and called on Attorney General John Ashcroft to drop the case because it sets a dangerous precedent threatening Americans' First Amendment right to peaceful protest.
"It's yet another example of the need for adult supervision at the Justice Department," Turley said. "It's a chilling case because of the extraordinary effort to find a obscure law that could be used to pursue the organization, which suggests a campaign of selective prosecution."
If there were a clear crime here, then it could be argued that Greenpeace should not be exempt from the law, Turley said, but this is the only instance of the law being used in 125 years. He added that he could only find two examples of the statute being mentioned in official documents.
In the original discovery documents, the Justice Department said there was no mahogany, illegal or otherwise, on the ship. However, when Greenpeace produced evidence that the ship unloaded mahogany at its next port of call in Charleston, South Carolina, a new set of discovery documents was filed that had no reference to the wood, Greenpeace said.
"So (the authorities) didn't even do the job that they are paid to do," said Passacantando. He said Greenpeace teams in the United States and Brazil have been tracking the illegal logging of mahogany and its sale in the U.S. market.
It's no secret that Greenpeace is not well-liked by the Bush administration. It was the first organization to protest at the Bush ranch. In 2001 the organization hung a banner from a water tower in clear view of the ranch that read, "George Bush, the toxic Texan, don't tread on the planet."
