Boyle's Law: Turning up the Heat Against Militarism Through Civil Resistance

Snow covered statue in Princeton, NJ, February, 2006. Photo: Huxleyesque via Flickr

Boyle's book is powerful, noble and compelling, and he states its purpose up front: Today, a "monumental struggle [is being waged] for the heart and soul of [America] and the future of the world...." It matches peacemakers on one side, war makers on the other, and all humanity hang[s] in the balance. The book provides hope and ammunition. It's an urgent call to action and demonstrates that "civil resistance [is] solidly grounded in international law, human rights [efforts], and the US Constitution."

Boyle calls to strengthen "civil resistance, international law, human rights, and the US Constitution - four quintessential principles to counter.... militarism run amok." [ed. note: civil resistance is Boyle's preferred term for civil disobedience or nonviolent direct action.] Our choice is "stark and compelling." We must act in our own self-defense "immediately, before humankind exterminates itself in an act of nuclear omnicide." The threat today is dire and real, it demands action, and civil resistance is no longer an option. With survival at stake, it's an obligation.

Resistance: Lawful & Necessary

What can be done? Plenty, according to Boyle. "Concerned citizens" and people of conscience are obligated to use our available tools - domestic and international law and human rights as "checks and balances against" government abuses of power in the conduct of domestic and foreign policies. Otherwise, administrations can run amok and literally get away with murder and other war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace.

Boyle dedicates his book to hope through resistance. If arrested and charged, we can employ valuable tools: the Constitution; UN Charter; Nuremberg Charter, Judgment and Principles; Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Hague Regulations; Geneva Conventions; Supreme (and lower) Court decisions; US Army Field Manual 27-10; The Law of Land Warfare (1956); and our own profound commitment to resist and prevail whatever the odds and consequences.

History, moreover, shows that civil resistance tactics work when enough people commit to them. They ended the Vietnam war, and, in the 1980s, anti-nuclear and anti-war resisters forced the Reagan and GHW Bush administrations to conclude the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 1987 and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in 1991.

Boyle says civil resisters like the ones he testifies for represent hope. They're "the archetypical American heroes" whose names few people know: Richard Sauder, Jeff Paterson, David Mejia, Ehren Watada, Kathy Kelly, Daniel Berrigan, Daniel's late brother Philip and many other courageous, dedicated people for peace and equal justice. We have a constitutional right and personal duty to support them, join them, and resist our government's criminal acts.

Resisters have the same statutory and common-law defenses as other criminal defendants - defense of self, others, necessity, choice of evils, prevention of crime, execution of public duty, citizen's arrest, prevention of a public catastrophe, and other defenses.

Federal courts abdicated their power and defer to presidential lawlessness under doctrines of "political question, state secrets, standing, judicial restraint, (and) national security." Congress as well has power, but won't use it. If it did, imagine how constructively it could exercise its appropriation authority under Article 1, Section 9, Clause 7 of the Constitution saying: "No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of appropriations made by law...."

Congress alone is empowered to do it. It controls the federal budget that includes defense and supplementary military spending. US Foreign wars will end and new ones won't be started if Congress won't fund them. It's how Vietnam ended. Congress stopped funding it under the Church-Case June 1973 amendment that cut off appropriations after August 15. Legislative power is the same today, but after September 11, 2001, Congress abdicated its authority.

If the courts and Congress won't act, the public must. If prosecuted, we have the right to a trial by a jury of our peers under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments. Boyle explains that the "American criminal jury system [ultimately may be] the last bastion of democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the US Constitution" against a criminal administration, and whichever administration succeeds it.

From his experience, Boyle is hopeful because when juries understand government crimes, "they usually refuse to convict" civil resisters trying to stop them. Two precedent-setting 1985 cases stand out as examples: People v. Jarka and Chicago v. Streeter.

In both cases, defendants used a common-law defense called "necessity" and were acquitted. They were absolved of criminal liability because their actions caused less injury than the harm they hoped to prevent.

Achieving victories or hung juries is crucial to preserving our threatened constitutional system. A strong message will be sent that ordinary people can confront government crimes and prevail.

Defending Civil Resisters:
Philosophy, Strategy, and Tactics

In an age of lawless government, resisters represent hope. They're the "sheriffs," government officials the "outlaws," and it highlights the importance of seeking counsel and whom to choose. The person must believe in the accused and their cause and work cooperatively with an international law expert to introduce these principles into the proceedings as evidence.

Many times, international law is the only defense. There's plenty to draw on, and Boyle believes when a peace-loving, law-abiding jury hears compelling evidence citing it, "there is almost no way the government will be able to convict" resisters on trial. Juries will acquit, or be hung, or charges will be dismissed before or during trial.

Trident on Trial

Boyle reviews cases in which he testified pro bono for the defense. In each one, he explains the issue, and provides a summary of the crucial portions of his testimony. These provide templates for a proper and effective defense.

The Trident II strategic nuclear missile submarine is the first example and is described as follows: it's the "most hideous and nefarious weapon of mass destruction (WMD) ever devised" because of its unimaginable destructive power. The US Navy deploys 14 Tridents, the UK four others, and just one of them has enough nuclear kilotonnage to destroy much of planet earth and maybe all of it from nuclear fallout. At patrol depth, the extremely low frequency (ELF) system is the only way to communicate with these submarines. For that reason, Plowshares defendant George Ostensen (in 1987) engaged in civil resistance against the Ashland, Wisconsin ELF facility and was charged with two counts of "sabotage." He faced a possible 40 year prison sentence if found guilty as charged.

Boyle testified for him and used the transcript as a text for other Plowshares resisters to contest similar charges against them. It paid off with two outright acquittals in 1996 and another in a 1999 Scotland case because juries were convinced that ELF/Trident II was as dangerous as described above and thus criminal under well-established international and domestic law principles. These verdicts led to a "stunning" victory when the Navy announced it would shutter its Wisconsin and Michigan ELF systems in September 2004. "Civil resistance had triumphed over the Trident II," but these weapons are still deployed and threaten all humanity by their existence.

The War Against Iraq on Trial

US Army Reserve Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia was the first Iraq War veteran to refuse further involvement in the war as a matter of conscience after serving in it from April to October 2003. Following leave, he refused to rejoin his National Guard unit and filed for discharge as a conscientious objector on grounds that the invasion and occupation were illegal and immoral. The army, in turn, overcharged him with desertion to send a strong message to other military personnel that they, too, would be severely punished if they acted similarly.

Mejia's May 2004 court-martial was a kangaroo-court show trial to drive home the point. It was widely broadcast and reported to all military personnel worldwide on internal Pentagon television, radio and newspaper outlets. Acting improperly, the military judge disallowed prepared defense testimony under the army's Field Manual 27-10, the Constitution, and established international law.

Mejia was found guilty, a year in prison was imposed, and Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience, its highest honor. Only after the verdict was Boyle allowed to testify during the sentencing phase - but under strict limitations imposed by the judge. Again, Boyle cited relevant domestic, international, and military law, reviewed crimes of war and against humanity under them, and explained the culpability of commanders and government officials at the highest levels for abusing and torturing prisoners. Mejia's courage is an inspiration to other resisters, including military resisters.

Boyle explains the urgency of expanding civil resistance in his final paragraph: Civil resistance is our only hope "to prevent World War III and a nuclear holocaust. Toward that end this book has been written."