United States vs. Greenpeace

(Miami, Florida) As discussed in a post last October, the United States Justice Department obtained a grand jury indictment against Greenpeace on a charge of violating an 1872 law that forbids the unauthorized boarding of "any vessel about to arrive at the place of her destination." The case is due to start Monday and should turn into an entertaining contest. The reason is that:

The last court decision concerning the law, from 1890, said it was meant to prevent "sailor-mongers" from luring crews to boarding houses "by the help of intoxicants and the use of other means, often savoring of violence."

This 1890 interpretation of the law doesn't seem to apply to the circumstances of the current case in which Greenpeace boarded a vessel to protest what they thought was a load of illegally obtained mahogany from Brazil. Greenpeace is expected to vigorously try to paint the case as malicious prosecution by the Ashcroft Justice Department while emphasizing the mahogany issue.

My take is that any organization that encourages its members to break the law should be held accountable. We'll just have to wait and see if the jury agrees with me. Jury selection begins Monday in the U.S. District Court in Miami before Judge Adalberto Jordan.