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All Along the Watchtowers
I believe city planners call it “platting”—the original layout of a street grid that gives n’hoods and cities distinctive personalities. Biking around SJ this summer, I have come upon a surprise of our platting that I missed for the last 18 years I’ve lived here. It’s this: many of our streets give stunning view corridors of the surrounding Diablo and Santa Cruz Mountain ranges. It’s as if The Alameda, as it approaches the Caltrain underpass, whisks your eyes up to the white-bulbed top of Mt. Hamilton. And looking eastward from W. Taylor and Coleman, Mission Peak is framed by the derelict street trees in Guadalupe Gardens. And most remarkable, at least to me, is the way Race Street, from Park Avenue, glances up to the obelisk on the top of Mt. Umunuhm—debris from the now abandoned New Almaden early radar site at the top of the peak.
These cool view corridors do a great job of reminding you where you are, but even more interesting, offer up a sense that somebody, somewhere, somehow, may be looking down on us. Cue X-files music: There’s a sci-fi movie in here someplace.
The Coalition Of Concerned Citizens And Organizations (CCC&O) is an African American group in San Jose made up largely of deacons, pastors, ministers, church superintendents, and bishops. It also has a sociology team and a legal team drawn from a variety of demographics.
CCC&O’s efforts have been excluded by the San Jose Mercury News from coverage even though CCC&O is effective in dispute resolution and moving community relations forward. CCC&O is also involved in the new “Nifong” case in Lousiana. CCC&O published a news release on August 7, 2008, about this matter which has been ignored by the San Jose Mercury News. So, to make a record of CCC&O’s activities, here is that news release.
First Known Legal Complaints Detailed
and Submitted to Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency and State Supreme
Court Regarding Jena Six District Attorney
and Judicial Misconduct
San Jose, CA—A legal brief and complaint thought to be the first of its kind was filed with the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency on July 7, 2008, regarding severe violations in the prosecution of cases filed against the Jena Six teenage defendants.
Thirteen specific violations of federal law violations are alleged in the complaint including violations of due process (e.g., no police reports on file) and of the defendants’ Constitutional rights, failure to prosecute noose incidents, conflict of interest, and malicious and excessive criminal charges.
The complaint seeks relief by asking for removal from the case (and disbarment) of the prosecuting District Attorney, J. Reed Walters, and the presiding judge, J.P. Mauffray. Judge Mauffray was removed from the case just a few days ago. The complaint is “relying on the reasoning in the Nifong [Duke University] case” as a kind of precedent for its legal actions.
Excerpts from the documents filed with the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency include:
Violations of due process—According to forensic psychologist Dr. Edward Hyman in his “Affidavit of Scientific Analysis of the Implications and Impact of Serious Violations of Law Enforcement, Prosecutorial and Judicial Procedures in La Salle Parish” document, he has “never before been privy to a criminal matter in which there are no police reports. In the six cases of each of the Jena 6 defendants, there is not a single police report.”
Failure to prosecute noose incidents—An African American student at Jena High School felt he needed permission from the school to sit under a tree where only white students sat. The students were given permission to sit under the tree. When the students went to sit under the tree, they found nooses hanging from the tree. One African American student stated that he saw a black doll hanging in one of the nooses. The noose incident has been dismissed as a “prank and not a hate crime.” The students who hung the nooses were given a suspension from school, the suspension being an in-house suspension.
California State University East Bay Department of Sociology and Social Services chair Benjamin Bowser noted “that in racially charged and tense circumstances characterized by an environment of overt conflict among mainstream members of the racial majority and racial or ethnic minorities in America, racial segregation is damaging to those who practice it as well as to those who are its victims.”
Conflict of interest—District Attorney Walters is also the attorney for the Jena school where the incidents took place and where the first round of penalties were (or were not) handed out.
Malicious and excessive criminal charges—None of the white youths involved in the school fight were ever arrested or jailed, only the African American students have been jailed. Additionally, the bail set for the defendants and the defendant wards was excessive.
The CCC&O complaint is currently in the hands of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency and the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Louisiana authorities received the documents on July 7, 2008.
The complaint as filed includes a “Summary of the Complaint” and an “Affidavit of Scientific Analysis of the Implications and Impact of Serious Violations of Law Enforcement, Prosecutorial and Judicial Procedures in La Salle Parish.” The San Jose, California-based Coalition of Concerned Citizens and Organizations initiated the case study and the resulting documents.
I grew up in a neighborhood that offered a good view up to the nearby ridge that stands just in front of Mt. Umunhum. I think it’s called El Sombroso. As near as I can tell, that whole mountainside, stretching from Los Gatos to Almaden Valley still appears almost exactly as it did 30 years ago, mostly tree-covered from bottom to top with the bright green Bay trees complementing the deeper hue of the Coast Live Oak.
It seems unlikely that this pristine slope can remain unspoiled for much longer. Pink stucco mansions may inevitably appear. A massive fire might sweep through. In the meantime though, in an area that changes so often that it’s hard to remember what things were like last year, let alone half a lifetime ago, it’s nice to have this symbol of constancy and permanence.
Long may it last!
All Along the Watchtowers
I believe city planners call it “platting”—the original layout of a street grid that gives n’hoods and cities distinctive personalities. Biking around SJ this summer, I have come upon a surprise of our platting that I missed for the last 18 years I’ve lived here. It’s this: many of our streets give stunning view corridors of the surrounding Diablo and Santa Cruz Mountain ranges. It’s as if The Alameda, as it approaches the Caltrain underpass, whisks your eyes up to the white-bulbed top of Mt. Hamilton. And looking eastward from W. Taylor and Coleman, Mission Peak is framed by the derelict street trees in Guadalupe Gardens. And most remarkable, at least to me, is the way Race Street, from Park Avenue, glances up to the obelisk on the top of Mt. Umunuhm—debris from the now abandoned New Almaden early radar site at the top of the peak.
These cool view corridors do a great job of reminding you where you are, but even more interesting, offer up a sense that somebody, somewhere, somehow, may be looking down on us. Cue X-files music: There’s a sci-fi movie in here someplace.
The Coalition Of Concerned Citizens And Organizations (CCC&O) is an African American group in San Jose made up largely of deacons, pastors, ministers, church superintendents, and bishops. It also has a sociology team and a legal team drawn from a variety of demographics.
CCC&O’s efforts have been excluded by the San Jose Mercury News from coverage even though CCC&O is effective in dispute resolution and moving community relations forward. CCC&O is also involved in the new “Nifong” case in Lousiana. CCC&O published a news release on August 7, 2008, about this matter which has been ignored by the San Jose Mercury News. So, to make a record of CCC&O’s activities, here is that news release.
======================================
======================================
First Known Legal Complaints Detailed
and Submitted to Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency and State Supreme
Court Regarding Jena Six District Attorney
and Judicial Misconduct
San Jose, CA—A legal brief and complaint thought to be the first of its kind was filed with the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency on July 7, 2008, regarding severe violations in the prosecution of cases filed against the Jena Six teenage defendants.
Thirteen specific violations of federal law violations are alleged in the complaint including violations of due process (e.g., no police reports on file) and of the defendants’ Constitutional rights, failure to prosecute noose incidents, conflict of interest, and malicious and excessive criminal charges.
The complaint seeks relief by asking for removal from the case (and disbarment) of the prosecuting District Attorney, J. Reed Walters, and the presiding judge, J.P. Mauffray. Judge Mauffray was removed from the case just a few days ago. The complaint is “relying on the reasoning in the Nifong [Duke University] case” as a kind of precedent for its legal actions.
Excerpts from the documents filed with the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency include:
Violations of due process—According to forensic psychologist Dr. Edward Hyman in his “Affidavit of Scientific Analysis of the Implications and Impact of Serious Violations of Law Enforcement, Prosecutorial and Judicial Procedures in La Salle Parish” document, he has “never before been privy to a criminal matter in which there are no police reports. In the six cases of each of the Jena 6 defendants, there is not a single police report.”
Failure to prosecute noose incidents—An African American student at Jena High School felt he needed permission from the school to sit under a tree where only white students sat. The students were given permission to sit under the tree. When the students went to sit under the tree, they found nooses hanging from the tree. One African American student stated that he saw a black doll hanging in one of the nooses. The noose incident has been dismissed as a “prank and not a hate crime.” The students who hung the nooses were given a suspension from school, the suspension being an in-house suspension.
California State University East Bay Department of Sociology and Social Services chair Benjamin Bowser noted “that in racially charged and tense circumstances characterized by an environment of overt conflict among mainstream members of the racial majority and racial or ethnic minorities in America, racial segregation is damaging to those who practice it as well as to those who are its victims.”
Conflict of interest—District Attorney Walters is also the attorney for the Jena school where the incidents took place and where the first round of penalties were (or were not) handed out.
Malicious and excessive criminal charges—None of the white youths involved in the school fight were ever arrested or jailed, only the African American students have been jailed. Additionally, the bail set for the defendants and the defendant wards was excessive.
The CCC&O complaint is currently in the hands of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Agency and the Louisiana Supreme Court. The Louisiana authorities received the documents on July 7, 2008.
The complaint as filed includes a “Summary of the Complaint” and an “Affidavit of Scientific Analysis of the Implications and Impact of Serious Violations of Law Enforcement, Prosecutorial and Judicial Procedures in La Salle Parish.” The San Jose, California-based Coalition of Concerned Citizens and Organizations initiated the case study and the resulting documents.
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I agree, the view down Race of Umunhum is perfect. The streetscape greatly enhances the framing, too.
I grew up in a neighborhood that offered a good view up to the nearby ridge that stands just in front of Mt. Umunhum. I think it’s called El Sombroso. As near as I can tell, that whole mountainside, stretching from Los Gatos to Almaden Valley still appears almost exactly as it did 30 years ago, mostly tree-covered from bottom to top with the bright green Bay trees complementing the deeper hue of the Coast Live Oak.
It seems unlikely that this pristine slope can remain unspoiled for much longer. Pink stucco mansions may inevitably appear. A massive fire might sweep through. In the meantime though, in an area that changes so often that it’s hard to remember what things were like last year, let alone half a lifetime ago, it’s nice to have this symbol of constancy and permanence.
Long may it last!
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