Pass it on!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Last Friday, July 27, 2012, as all attention was focused on the Olympics, a Native American warrior, Emerson Joe, made history representing himself in a jury trial in an all white court in Newport, Oregon on the basis of information gleaned from the book titled Lust for Justice: The Radical Life and Law of J. Tony Serra by author/artistPaulette Frankl. Emerson Joe stood trial on charges ranging from felony (grand theft auto) to misdemeanor. The jury acquitted him of the most serious of four of the five charges, leaving one misdemeanor. His bail was reduced from $100,000 to $1,500 as a result of the verdict.
Emerson Joe, from the Pinon reservation in AZ near Gallup NM, had no background in the law. He fired his two court appointed lawyers whom he felt did not understand Native people. He studied Lust for Justice as though it were a text book and gleaned enough information to go it alone in court. He applied the information in court and prevailed in his case. In the "Closing Arguments" chapter, Serra states: "Pretend that you're on horseback -- that is, don't use too many words, but deliver your words like arrows or spears. Always speak like you're on the back of a horse." After the verdict, Emerson Joe said, "Tell Tony Serra I used my words like arrows in court and they hit the mark."
Lust for Justice is a biography of San Francisco-based counter-culture lawyer Tony Serra, acclaimed as one of the ten top criminal defense lawyers of the century. The biography, published in late November 2010 by Lightning Rod Publications, is a behind-the-scenes look at the law through the eyes of one of its greatest practitioners. Serra won acquittals in two Native American death-penalty cases for Patrick "Hooty" Croy and Bear Lincoln.
Emerson Joe, from the Navajo Nation, recently joined the Lakota Nation's sovereign independence from America. The stance of sovereign independence in the Lakota Nation, known for the Wounded Knee massacre, has been recognized by the United Nations. Emerson Joe adopted his childhood nickname of Nii' Nee' on his new Lakota ID records. It appears to be the first case involving a full-blooded Navajo who has changed over to the Lakota Nation to successfully represent himself in an all-white court of law.
Joe is being held at the Lincoln County Jail in Newport, Oregon, until his 11:30 AM, August 2 sentencing hearing on the misdemeanor charge at the Newport County Courthouse before Judge Sheryl Bachart, Room 300.
Contact:
Please direct queries to:
Paulette Frankl: 505-603 3260 or pauletteart@mindspring.com
Shawna Bleigh for Emerson Joe: 514-817 3659 or pacmandaisy@msn.com
Tony Serra: Erika Larson: erika@pier5law.com
Paulette Frankl
EMAIL: pauletteart@mindspring.com
WEB: lustforjustice.net
WEB: pauletteart.com
CELL: 505-603 3260
