Court Case to Determine Whether City Park Ordinances Trump the 1st Amendment

Dick Kaiser

Judge David Dingledine

In the wake of the 2011 uprising in Tunisia, the Arab Spring, and the ongoing world-wide Occupation Movement, the American court system has begun to consider the thousands of criminal citations dealing with violations of local ordinances that challenge the right of persons to peacefully assemble in public spaces for the purpose of exercising their right to petition their government.

As has been reported widely, the Occupation Movement has been protesting the corrosive effect that concentrated wealth, termed the 1%, has on society, particularly on the political system. Using the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution, which affords citizens the inalienable right to assemble and protest government policies, occupations throughout the country have permanently occupied public parks and plazas to convey their demand that the democratic process be reformed to benefit the common good, the 99%.

Over 700 citations have been issued by the Tucson (AZ) police to overnight occupiers in two local parks since October 2011. The municipal court is currently considering the merits of these citations.

On Friday, February 17th, Judge David Dingledine heard the motion to dismiss the citations against Occupier Mary Decamp. The following 35 minute video documents this proceeding which features well know defense attorney Bill Risner and assistant city Allen Merritt presenting their arguments.

The judge's ruling is expected soon.

5.6 Million Americans Have Switched Their Banks In The Last 90 Days

Think Progress
Pat Garafalo

Back in November, the Occupy Wall Street movement inspired “Bank Transfer Day,” a day for Americans fed up with the actions of the nation’s biggest banks to move their money to a different institution. Initial estimates of the impact of Bank Transfer Day placed the number of accounts moved at around 600,000, but later estimates revised that downward to around 200,000

However, new estimates from Javelin Strategy and Research, a research and consulting firm, show that the original numbers were closer to the truth. Javelin found that 5.6 million people have moved their bank accounts in the last 90 days, with 610,000 citing Bank Transfer Day as their reason:

Bank Transfer Day and the Occupy Movement have received tremendous attention, and for the first time we have market research data to measure the impact on the financial services industry. Javelin’s research estimates that 5.6 million U.S. adults with a banking relationship changed providers in the past 90 days. Of those switchers, 610,000 US adults (or 11% of the 5.6 million) cited Bank Transfer Day as their reason and actually moved their accounts from a large to a small institution.

Javelin noted that this pace of account closing is three times the normal rate. While 11 percent of people moving their accounts cited Bank Transfer Day, one quarter said they moved their money because their old institution charged too many fees. Account closures at Bank of America, the nation’s second largest bank, actually jumped 20 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, potentially driven by the bank’s ill-fated decision to implement a $5 monthly fee for its debt cards.
According to the consulting firm cg42, the nation’s 10 biggest banks could lose as much as $185 billion in deposits this year due to customer defections. Of those banks, “Bank of America is the most vulnerable and could lose up to 10% of its customers and $42 billion in consumer deposits.” (HT: Business Insider)

RAW VIDEO: Chopper footage of 100,000+ Occupy Oakland Takes back Highway

Absolutely enormous crowd hit the street in Oakland in support of Oakland. They took over a highway; there's got to be a good 100,000 people there.