MISTRIAL  FOR THE D-5 NINE 
On February 25, 1999, jury selection in the trial of Brian Watson of Bremerton, Bernie Meyer, of Olympia, Mary Gleysteen of Kingston, George Rodkey of Tacoma, Mack Johnson of Silverdale, Rev. Anne Hall, Marie Bernard and Glen Milner, all of Seattle, also known as the D-5 Nine, had not even taken place when  Judge James Riehl declared a mistrial. 

In a multi-level action to protest the proposed  Trident weapons systems upgrade, the eight resisters had been arrested, along with Joe Gump of Bloomingdale, MI, on August 9, 1998  (see Fall 1998  issue of Ground Zero Newsletter for more details), as they blocked the county road at the entrance to the Main gate at Sub Base Bangor in Kitsap County, WA. They were then charged with 
disorderly conduct and a hearing date was set.
 
 
 
 
 

Rev. Anne Hall, being informed that she is about to be arrested on August 9, 1998

Seven defendants are   represented by attorney Ken Kagan of Seattle while Bernie Meyer represents himself.
 

In previous Court proceedings, a Hearing on Motions was held on December 17, 1998, the defendants let it be known that they wished to use international law, necessity , expert witnesses and jury nullification as part of their defense. The Judge took written and oral testimony regarding these 

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What is… 
             by Sue Ablao
The necessity defense, the use of International law and jury nullification are all issues that have been raised by this trial. Beginning in this newsletter, we will examine those issues as they pertain to this particular trial.
Necessity defense - There are  six conditions  that must be present in this defense: 
  • A threat that is serious. Mass indiscriminate destruction will occur with the use of these weapons. 
  • The threat must also be imminent. The nature of nuclear warfare requires that they be ready to use at all times. By their nature, their use, 
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EXPERT TESTIMONY THE COURT  DOESN'T WANT YOU TO HEAR
                         by  Sue Ablao
The following are excerpts from written testimony submitted to Judge James Riehl on the issues of necessity defense and international law.

From Robert Aldridge, author of the Trident Resister's Handbook and former design engineer with Lockheed-Martin for the Polaris, Poseidon and Trident missile systems:

  • Trident is the centerpiece of America's nuclear arsenal and a first strike weapon; 
the first strike capability of  Tri- dent creates international instability;
 
  • recent years have seen several accidental "close calls" that brought us within minutes of a nuclear attack;
  • in tactical nuclear war, the use of nuclear weaponry to achieve a political/military goal of the US, is a clear and ever-growing danger, and Trident is  essential to this tactic. 
From David Hall M.D., 1997 president of US Chapter of Physicians For Social Responsibility:
  • there is imminent danger of accidental use of nuclear weapons;
  • the instability of the Russian economy, the number of other nations actively pursing nuclear capability and the US inaction in preventing this cancerous 
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