Hello, Sailor: Judge Tosses Prosecution of Greenpeace for Speech

A US district judge in Florida threw out a US Justice Dept. prosecution of Greenpeace protesters for political speech under an antique maritime law May 19, 2004. It was a personal defeat to Attorney General John Ashcroft, and an embarrassing failure for his department's policy of aggressive attacks on First Amendment rights in the name of "security."

Miami District Judge Adalberto Jordan did not make the ruling on grounds related to protection of free speech under the first amendment. He directed an acquital on technical and evidentiary grounds in the second day of the trial, after the prosecutors had presented their case and Greenpeace lawyer Jane Moscowitz had moved for a dismissal.

Greenpeace activists had in 2002 boarded a ship six miles off Miami's shore to protest a shipment of Amazon mahogany, and draping a banner from the ship's side that read "President Bush Stop Illegal Logging." The activists had already pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor and been sentenced to time served and $500 fines, when the Justice Department mounted a criminal prosecution against them under a dusty 1872 "sailor-mongering" law meant to prevent pitchmen from brothels from boarding ships to lure sailors to shore.

The case was also unusual among protest-speech cases in that the Justice Dept. also filed charges against Greenpeace as an organization, and not just individual protesters.

Greenpeace and groups like the American Civil Liberties Union hailed the decision as a victory for free speech. Justice Dept. spokeman Carlos Castillo said "the U.S. attorney's office remains undeterred in prosecuting those persons who illegally attempt to board ships at the Port of Miami or otherwise threaten port security.''

-- "Greenpeace Wins U.S. Case," Miami Herald, May 20, 2004, by Jay Weaver

-- "Judge Dismisses Greenpeace Charges," Washington Post, May 20, 2004, by Manuel Roig-Franzia

-- "Silencing Greenpeace: Justice Dept. Loses Round of Intimidation" (editorial), Daytona Beach News-Journal, May 19, 2004

-- "Charges Dismissed in Ship Boarding by Greenpeace," Associated Press via Boston Globe, May 20, 2004