[Ppnews] Grand Jury Resister Jordan Halliday loses appeal

[Political Prisoner News]

From: Support Jordan <supportjordan at live.com>

Dear friends,

We sincerely regret to inform that Jordan Halliday lost his appeal 
this morning. We have attached the 10th circuits ruling below.

It is crucial that we show solidarity and support for Jordan in 
everyway we can. We are calling for solidarity actions from January 
21st - 28th, 2012 to show support for Jordan Halliday and grand jury 
resistance.

During the summer of 2008, the FBI approached Jordan at his place of 
employment; he refused to answer their questions and told them to 
leave. They warned him that they would return with a subpoena to 
testify before a grand jury and six months later they followed 
through with their threats. They subpoenaed both Jordan, and another 
'activist' Nikki Viehl who chose to testify. Jordan, however, chose 
to resist the grand jury in protest due to its abusive and archaic nature.

In March 2009, Jordan appeared before federal grand jury 
investigating a series of underground animal liberation activities in 
Utah. He asserted his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. 
The court jailed Jordan for nearly 4 months under civil contempt of 
court in an effort to compel him to testify. The day after Jordan 
refused to testify, the grand jury indicted Alex Hall and William 
'BJ' Viehl under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.

The week following his first grand jury appearance Jordan (still in 
jail) received a second subpoena, which he again refused. While in 
jail, Jordan also received letters of support from all over the 
world, made friends, and confidently reflected on his decision not to snitch.

Upon release the court charged Jordan with federal criminal contempt 
of court, to which he pleaded guilty in August 2010.

There are no sentencing guidelines for criminal contempt. However, 
the government decided to follow the guidelines of "obstruction of 
justice", which has a 10-16 month sentence range. Fortunately, the 
court only sentenced Jordan to the low end of 10 months. However, 
Jordan and his attorney believed this was far too much, and appealed 
for a guideline range that more closely relates to his charge. They 
appealed to the 10th circuit court of appeals asking that the 
sentence be reevaluated under the guidelines for "failure to appear", 
which has a 0-6 month sentence range.

In November 2011, Jordan's attorney argued his case orally before the 
10th circuit court of appeals in Denver, Colorado. The feeling of 
hostility and bias could be felt from the beginning and in an 
unusually fast ruling (it usually takes 3-6 months to rule), the 10th 
circuit denied Jordan's appeal exactly a month and a day after his 
oral argument in Denver.

It is ironic to note, that also today, baseball legend Barry Bonds 
received a 30-day house arrest sentence which will likely be reduced 
for perjury, while lying to a grand jury regarding steroid use in 
December 3, 2003. It's unfortunate that Jordan, who didn't lie, 
rather just simply refused to testify, isn't a celebrity.

United States history to be charged with criminal contempt of court 
after already serving time for civil contempt, for the same act of 
recalcitrance.

Over the past 20 years many animal rights, environmentalists, 
anarchists and otherwise radical activists and communities have 
suffered subpoenas and coercive incarceration, but rarely for more 
than a few weeks. But at present we are experiencing an increase of 
pressure. Shortly after Jordan's incarceration an Iowa grand jury 
subpoenaed Carrie Feldman and Scott Demuth, and held them in civil 
contempt for four months. Fortunately, neither Carrie nor Scott has 
been charged with criminal contempt.

Jordan's case sets a crucial new precedence in terms of grand jury 
resistance. While friends and family converge to show support and 
solidarity for Jordan in this time of great sadness, we are calling 
out for an eruption of many more moments, for acts of recalcitrance 
anywhere and everywhere, for actions that show solidarity with Jordan 
Halliday and grand jury resistance. We are asking that support and 
solidarity begin immediately. But we will also be focusing on and 
asking for massive global solidarity actions from January 21st-28th, 2012.

We are expecting Jordan to begin serving

For More information Visit:
http://www.supportjordan.com

*be advised, we have been suffering server-side issues with the 
support site and are working to address them. If the website fails to 
load, please keep trying back.

You can also visit his support page via tumblr: http://supportjordan.tumblr.com

Donations can be sent to:
Jordan Halliday
West Jordan, Utah 84081

or via paypal: http://t.co/KgyaXV4G

-Support Jordan Committee

Copy of 10th Circuit Decision: http://www.scribd.com/doc/75893505/10thDenial





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