After two and a half years, the trial begins today with jury selection. This is a portion of trial that is often overlooked, but important. The Four Necessity Valve Turners took action believing it was justified by the necessity defense.
That legal principle states that it is reasonable and justified to take typically illegal action in order to prevent greater harm. One of the most commonly cited examples is breaking a car window to rescue a child from an overheating car. It's not ok to break car windows, but in this case, if all the doors are locked, you're not breaking and entering, you're rescuing a child using the only means available.
Because this is a jury trial, a panel of 6 local citizens will hear the arguments and determine whether they believe the charges are appropriate or not. Both sides, the defense and prosecutor, have the opportunity to question and disqualify potential jurors. It is anticipated that this may take the entire day.
Once the jury is selected, what we think of as the trial will begin in earnest.
We are tweeting somewhat more frequently than writing this blog -- you can find us on twitter @4necessity but you can expect daily updates from us in this space.
As a sidebar, we are grateful for all your support, but you may have noticed that we've removed the donate buttons from the site. This is because we have adequate funds for our legal expenses. At this point, we'd encourage you to direct your support to ongoing actions. We recommend Honor the Earth and other #StopLine3 organizations and initiatives.
Thank you so much for your ongoing support!