January 6, 2008 1400 hours
Barker Parents denounce Barrett!
Jena will become Ground Zero for HATE!!!1524 hours January 6 2008
Jan 5, 6:59 PM EST
Another telephone conference scheduled Monday
JENA, La. (AP) -- There is no settlement between Jena and a white separatist group that wants to march through town on Martin Luther King Day, but another conference is scheduled Monday, attorneys say.
Richard Barrett, an attorney for the Nationalist Movement, Walter E. Dorroh Jr., who represents the town, and U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell conferred by telephone on Friday.
"The settlement talks did not work out. And there is a settlement conference on Monday that covers several issues," Dorroh said Saturday evening.
He did not comment on Barrett's statement that town attorneys asked to have the case postponed from 1:30 p.m. Tuesday the following Tuesday - six days before the Monday holiday.
"We don't want a continuance, but as a courtesy when one side asks for a continuance, the judge will usually give it to them and the other side goes along with it," Barrett said Friday.
The Nationalists plan a "Jena Justice Day" rally in response to the thousands who rallied Sept. 20, supporting six black teens who have become known as the "Jena Six," who were initially charged with attempted murder of a white student who was attacked at Jena High. All charges have since been reduced to aggravated second-degree battery or second-degree battery.
The Nationalists want rulings that the town cannot impose a $10,000 bond, ask them not to bring firearms, change the parade route by one block, or require a "hold-harmless" clause exempting the town from liability.
The Nationalists say those rules governing public demonstrations are invalid and unconstitutionally over-broad.
© 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Jena event may occur as planned
Louisiana Gannett News
A favorable ruling by a federal judge could mean the Nationalist Movement can hold its "Jena Justice Day" rally and march without the town of Jena's proposed revisions, attorneys say.
The Nationalist Movement, a group that describes itself as "pro-majority" but is widely reported to be a white supremacy organization, will be in Alexandria's federal court on Tuesday along with representatives from the town of Jena for a hearing regarding a temporary restraining order.
The Nationalists allege the town's ordinance requiring a $10,000 bond along with the parade route change and ban on firearms are unconstitutional.
"I don't believe in having a price tag for constitutional rights," said Gregory Aymond, the local attorney for the group based out of Learned, Miss.
Aymond, who has admitted past membership in the Ku Klux Klan, said he doesn't share the Nationalists' racial views but does support their rights of freedom of assembly, speech and expression and their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms.
Richard Barrett, an attorney and member of the Nationalist Movement, said Aymond's past had nothing to do with his selection as the group's attorney. Barrett said he called more than a dozen attorneys seeking local counsel but that all were unwilling to "become involved in the controversy."
A few of the attorneys recommended Aymond, he said, saying he was an "eclectic" person.
The proposed rally
"Jena Justice Day" is planned for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 21, partly to protest celebration of the civil rights leader's birthday, Barrett said, and also in response to the thousands who rallied in Jena on Sept. 20 in support of the "Jena Six."
The town's ordinance requiring proof of a $10,000 bond for possible damage is the main problem for Aymond, said Barrett.
The two attorneys said they tried to get a bond from several bonding agents but were refused.
"Whether or not we agree with the Nationalist Movement's statements or not, we do agree with their right to express (those views) and say them publicly," Aymond said.
'Willful and reckless conduct'
"I'm surprised that the town and the mayor have not dropped their objections (to the event) because the law is so clear, and the expense for the town and the mayor are potentially considerable," Aymond said.
In the past, the group has sought only court costs and attorney's fees, but in this case the Nationalists may seek additional relief in the form of punitive damages, Barrett said.
"When you are dealing with settled law, law in effect for over 15 years, that could be considered willful and reckless conduct by the town and the mayor," Barrett said, speaking of the town sticking to its ordinance.
Barrett has been down this road before and won, he said. He fought similar cases against Morris County, N.J., and York, Pa., and York currently is paying the organization about $100,000, Barrett said.
If the judge rules in Barrett's favor, the event will go on as planned, he said.
And if the ruling goes another way or is delayed with an appeal, the rally at the courthouse will go on without question, as the only issues in question are the bond required for the parade, the parade route itself and banning firearms, Barrett said.
Walter Dorroh, attorney for Jena Mayor Murphy McMillin and the town, declined to say much about the case pending the hearing.
"We're going to comply with the law," he said.
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Jena will become Ground Zero for HATE!!!
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