Mumia

Von: < RobertRBryan@aol.com >

Betreff: Mumia Abu-Jamal -

Legal Update

re federal ruling [please circulate]

Datum: Mittwoch, 23. Juli 2008 03:24

 

Legal Update

 

Date: July 22, 2008

From: Robert R. Bryan, lead counsel

 

Subject: Federal ruling regarding Mumia Abu-Jamal, death row, Pennsylvania

[please circulate]

 

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Philadelphia Today our

Petition for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc, submitted on behalf of my client,

Mumia Abu-Jamal, was denied by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

Simply put, we did not receive the needed majority vote from the nine sitting

judges; at least five votes for a rehearing were necessary. However,

Justice Thomas L. Ambro continues to urge the granting of relief on the issue of

racism in jury selection. That position, as detailed in his brilliant

dissenting opinion of March 27, 2008, will continue to serve as a beacon of hope as

we press on for a new trial and Mumia’s freedom. Judge Ambro said that the "

core guarantee of equal protection, ensuring citizens that their State will

not discriminate on account of race, would be meaningless were we to approve

the exclusion of jurors on the basis of . . . race. . . . I respectfully

dissent." A copy of today’s decision is attached.

 

Reaction Mumia and I had a legal conference this afternoon. He, as I, was

stunned by the federal court’s refusal to grant relief since it flies in the

face of established legal precedent in both the U.S. Court of Appeals and the

U.S. Supreme Court. I am furious because racism continues to raise its

ugly head in this country, and should have no place in our legal system. The

indisputable facts are that the prosecutor engaged in racism in selecting the

jury in this case, and that bigotry lingers today in Philadelphia. It would

be naive not to realize that this case continues to reek of politics and

injustice.

 

U.S. Supreme Court We will be seeking relief in the Supreme Court. The

Petition for Writ of Certiorari will be filed by October 20, 2008, unless

there is an extension. The racism issue will be presented, along with the fact

that the prosecutor made misrepresentations to the jury in order to obtain a

murder conviction against Mumia.

 

Conclusion My goal remains a complete reversal of the conviction, even

though the federal court has already granted a new jury trial on the question of

the death penalty. We will not rest until Mumia is free.

 

Yours very truly,

Robert R. Bryan

Law Offices of Robert R. Bryan

2088 Union Street, Suite 4

San Francisco, California 94123-4117

Lead counsel for Mumia Abu-Jamal

[_RobertRBryan@aol.com_

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