Action Alert: Object to arrest and prosecution of Jordan Kushner

Jordan S. Kushner is one of the most distinguished lawyers in Minnesota.  An online search makes immediately clear that he has a long history of standing up for democracy and freedom of speech.

Kushner was arrested by University of Minnesota police at the U of M School of Law on  the afternoon of November 3, 2015.   The arrests were apparently in retaliation for Kushner’s taking video of officers ejecting protesters from a meeting.  Filming cops is legal but often resented.  I haven’t seen them yet, but reportedly there are subsequent and false police reports claiming that Kushner was yelling and screaming in the meeting.  These claims are refuted by witnesses and video.  Reportedly, the arresting officers, lead by University of Minnesota Police Lieutenant Troy Butha, were somewhat violent.  While Kushner says he suffered no permanent injuries, he easily could have.

A story on this was posted on CityPages on January 20, 2016: “Jordan Kushner, crusading civil rights lawyer, on trial for filming police.”

Kushner is facing misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, trespass, and obstruction of legal process (resisting arrest).  His next court date is a hearing on pretrial motions, January 22, 2016 at 1:30 pm, Hennepin County Government Center, courtroom 755.  The case number is 27-CR-15-31387, the judge assigned: Marta M. Chou.  The prosecution is by the City of Minneapolis, which has prosecutorial jurisdiction over misdemeanors.  The prosecutor is listed as Matt Wilcox, (612) 673.2005.  The Minneapolis City Attorney is Susan Segal.  When Mayor Betsy Hodges retained Segal, there were many objections from people citing Segal’s poor record on civil liberties.

ACTION:

Contact Eric W. Kaler, President of the University of Minnesota, asking that the prosecution of Jordan Kushner be stopped with apologies to Mr. Kushner. (612) 626-1616, upres@umn.edu

Contact the Mayor of Minneapolis, Betsy Hodges, asking the same:  (612) 673-2100, http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/contact/index.htm (contact form), Betsy.Hodges@ci.minneapolis.mn.us

Below are the notes I sent:

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Eric W. Kaler, President, University of Minnesota

Dear Mr. Kaler:

Regarding: Arrest of Jordan Kushner by University of Minnesota Police

I object to the Nov 3, 2015 arrest of Jordan Kushner at the U of M Law School.  The irony of arresting a prominent civil liberties lawyer at the Law School should not escape you.  In addition, there are credible allegations that the University of Minnesota police officers behaved violently, and subsequently placed false information in reports.  This situation seems to bring additional disgrace and dishonor on the University of Minnesota, which already has enough of both.  It appears to me that the charges against Mr. Kushner should be dropped immediately, with apologies, and Mr. Kushner should be compensated for any expenses, injuries, and loss of income that he may have incurred as a result of this event.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours very truly,

Alan Muller
1110 West Avenue
Red Wing, MN, 55066
302.299.6783

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Betsy Hodges, Mayor of Minneapolis

Dear Mayor Hodges:

Regarding:  Shameful prosecution of Jordan Kushner by Minneapolis City Attorney

I urge you to halt the prosecution of Jordan Kushner.  Mr. Kushner is charged with several misdemeanors he apparently did not commit, and is being prosecuted by the City Attorney.  The irony of the arrest of a prominent civil liberties lawyer at the University of Minnesota Law School should be apparent even to the University of Minnesota and the Minneapolis City Attorney.  It seems worth recalling that when you announced your decision to retain Ms. Segal as City Attorney, various people objected, citing what they considered to be her poor record on civil liberties.  I hope you will act promptly on this matter.

Yours very truly,

Alan Muller
Red Wing, MN
Port Penn, DE
302.299.6783
alan@greendel.org

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