I’m not going to lie, I missed this yesterday. In fact, I wrote the date down wrong, but it’s big news, and so it’s time to play catch up. There was a hearing in federal court yesterday to decide whether to unseal certain documents in the Chasse case. The Oregonian and Willamette Week were both there, and I’m going to link you to James Pitkin’s coverage because it caught the most interesting angle in proceedings—that the judge not only ruled against releasing more documents, but also, said he’s considering trying the Chasse case outside Portland, because it’s impossible to find a juror in Multnomah County who hasn’t had their mind poisoned by all the media outrage surrounding the case.
As if to bear the judge’s opinion out, this video just surfaced online. Full disclosure, I’m working on a documentary about Chasse’s death, but it seems some people can’t wait for the damned thing to come out, and have begun trying to make documentaries of their own. This one, posted by Bob Seaver, features maudlin piano, and even poetry, to make its point. In particular, it focuses on statements being made recently by the Portland Police Association boss, Scott Westerman, in defense of the officers involved in the death:
Seaver recently discovered iMovie, it seems, having just posted another Youtube focusing on Mark Kruger, a cop with an interest in “military history.”
King has the curse of knowledge in his googling finger. He’s read a paranoid rant in some legal journal about impartiality in a post-Facebook world. The dominant conceit is that he himself, or any human, is capable of an impartial thought.
Very few people outside of those directly involved with what happened to Jim know or remember anything.
I’ve just taken a poll of the 14 people in this coffee shop: none of them recognize the name James Chasse (one thought he might play for the Phillies); only two have read the Oregonian in the past week.
The idea that judges are mostly idiots is accepted in my country. Yet here, it seems almost scandalous.
When I first came to the US I was constantly joking that things would be easier if only someone would assassinate Bush, and everyone was like, “shhh! you can’t say that! you’ll get arrested.” I was like, well of course, I’m joking.
But we treat our high-ups with such ridiculous levels of earnest reverence here. I guess that’s what comes from not having a monarchy for a few hundred years.
I like Bob Seaver.
Really? I feel like the wigs have something to do with it.
Honestly, this just strikes me as court politics. Changes of venue (or really, threats to change venue) are one of the larger carrot/stick items a judge has in their, um, item drawer. It’s completely arbitrary, but hey, so is the jury selection process. Maybe it all balances out, who can say.
if he could of translated the audio from the booking scene – A+ … otherwise a solid B.
uh-oh! this damned old judge is acting like he’s Robert King’s damned old daddy, what with his siding with the PoPo so early on into the court drama…maybe the King Family of copster’s got to him and told how he ought to act (to suit their damned asses, of course) and he’d best do the tap dance the call up or he’ll be “sorry”
hell, he might get caught walking down the sidewalk here in Portland and a PoPo will say “heck!, I thought he was pissing on the sidewalk…” and then they proceed to just stompt his ass into said sidewalk, and if he survives such, then he’ll see things their way from then on. Gotta love Portland, don’t you folks????
It’s time for a NEW JUDGE in this case…one that’s not biased so favorably to the PoPo and the City Treasury. Let’s run his ass off and get the kind of judge we want,
which is one who is capable of rendering JUSTICE! Not another damned KING–that thinks they’re the King of
the PoPo–as we’ve had enough of these jokers already fiddling with this case as it is.
Time for organized action. How about, everyone who has a crater in their heart over James Chasse show up to city council dressed entirely with white clothing dyed to simulate bloodstains?
Then go out under the portico by twos and do a mime simulation of stomping and being stomped to death .
Is there a website yet devoted to organizing people over this issue?
And have we heard even one fucking word from our “mayor” on this subject? Other than that he is waiting for another report to draw conclusions?