Edited on Thursday June 29th to add that this trial was continued until July 27th.
I sat in on most of today’s proceedings in the SLAPP suit PL brought against Kimberly Starr. Some of the biggest guns have been brought to bear on the diminutive Ms. Starr for whom my admiration has grown exponentially. This suit, which seeks a permanent injunction against Ms. Starr, featured the famous political firebrand Quentin Kopp the presiding judge and, of course, corporate giant Pacific Lumber Co., well connected by notorious Jack Abramof and represented by local attorneys Mitchell, Brisso, Delaney and Vreize who are the main attorneys representing Humboldt County in civil matters such as the well known pepper spray case which cost the county over three quarters of a million dollars. I was compelled to leave prior to the conclusion of today’s litigation and Judge Kopp had stated emphatically that there “would be no tomorrow” in regards to the length of time taken to dispose of this matter. I will try and relate as accurate a picture of the proceedings as possible though with shortcomings due to my lack of knowledge and experience in legal matters and the inherent bias I share with all finite living entities.
The plaintiffs, with Mr Gans appearing from Mitchell, Brisso, Delaney and Vreize, produced photographs and one video into evidence along with the testimony of three witnesses from PL. Their stories did not match, the photographs were proven to be from different dates when presented as being from one occasion and other inconsistencies were apparent. One location which was alleged by PL to be on land owned by PL was alleged by Ms. Starr to have been proven otherwise in other proceedings though no evidence was produced today. The fact that at least one protest was against PL’s cutting a stand in violation of a stay against logging it issued by Judge Golden was not substantiated to Judge Kopp’s satisfaction during the time I was present. Pacific Lumber’s weak claim that Ms. Starr poses a threat of violence seemed laughable and I think these lumber industry people showed a flush of pink in their faces when they made these bizarre claims. “Lumber jack” is statistically the most dangerous job in America in terms of chance of fatality. In order to obtain a permanent injunction they are seeking to portray Ms. Starr, a demonstratively strict pacifist, as posing a threat of violence.
Tracy Herrin, a brilliant and motivated local family law attorney, associated herself with Ms. Starr, who has otherwise been largely left to fend for herself against staggering odds, and did most of the talking on Ms. Starr’s behalf. This is probably a good thing as Judge Kopp showed obvious impatience with Ms. Starr who, though a very articulate and intelligent person, is not an attorney. Mr. Kopp is known, in particular, for his emphasis on articulation and attention to detail. If you follow the search link on him above more than one page will return articles with this quote; “The North Beach Library has a sentimental place in my heart because my daughters were lucky enough to spend so much time there, and I believe that my political opponents should spend even more time there, because they lack the aspiration for lucid expression. The consistency of their linguistic banality forever emblematizes the deficiencies of their vocabulary, and it has always been one of my foremost motivations to encourage an improvement in the quality of their elucidation, with the hope that it will improve the quality of their political discourse.” While I agree with Judge Kopp in this respect, he is not someone I would want to be judged by in a politically motivated trial with limited representation especially with his clear agenda of getting to a rapid conclusion. I will stop short of saying he looks like a Dr. Seuss kangaroo which is more apparent in his profile than in the above photo…