 February 2004
American Friends Service Committee Peacework Magazine Sara Burke, Managing Editor Sam Diener, Editor Pat Farren, Founding Editor 2161 Massachusetts Ave. Telephone number: Fax number:
pwork@igc.org Peacework has been published monthly since 1972, intended to serve as a source of dependable information to those who strive for peace and justice and are committed to furthering the nonviolent social change necessary to achieve them. Rooted in Quaker values and informed by AFSC experience and initiatives, Peacework offers a forum for organizers, fostering coalition-building and teaching the methods and strategies that work in the global and local community. Peacework seeks to serve as an incubator for social transformation, introducing a younger generation to a deeper analysis of problems and issues, reminding and re-inspiring long-term activists, encouraging the generations to listen to each other, and creating space for the voices of the disenfranchised. Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC. |
Maine Judge Praises Civil Disobedience
The defendants argued, with the assistance of defense attorney Phil Worden, that, "The issue in this trial is free speech and the responsibility of informed citizens to disobey orders which are perceived to be illegal." They were not acquitted, but Maine Superior Court Justice Allen Hunter refused the prosecutor's request to impose a substantial fine. In explanation, the judge said he was favorably impacted by the fact that the pair did not go limp when they were arrested, and that he understood they violated the law, "in pursuit of a principle." Judge Hunter explained, "I remember that in the 1960s there were actions of civil disobedience that, eventually, made our life better," he said. "We all have derived benefits from acts of civil disobedience like the Boston Tea Party. That act of civil disobedience has played an extremely important and vital political role in our history. From time to time in our history, we see events that involve civil disobedience that make us all uncomfortable," said Hunter. "I'm not sure that's a bad thing." Galland and Standler voiced appreciation for Judge Hunter's thoughtful sentencing decision. 
Previous Article Next Article
|
|
|