Monday, September 25, 2006

Great speech

When this weblog was first created a year and a half ago,
I remember telling the webmasters that this might not be a good
idea. The police and lawyers would probably end up
taking over the blog and others may get drowned out.
They said so what? They said most people would get what's
going on and it would just be more proof of the brutal
domination by the court and cops in Berrien County.

Need I say more?

On another note, there was a fundraiser for me on Sunday -
here is the speech given by one of the attorneys who spoke:


On March 29, 2006, two days before Atty. Cherry announced that he would be retrying Rev. Pinkney on three felony counts of improper possession of absentee ballots, one felony count of influencing voters while they were voting, and one misdemeanor count of influencing voters with money, I wrote his office requesting that the case not be retried:

Dear Attorney Cherry:
I have been following the trial of Rev. Edward Pinkney(sp), and write to request that your office not proceed with retrial.

As a former trial attorney, I am familiar with the process that just completed regarding Rev. Pinkney(sp). I also understand that, without reviewing the trial transcript, I have a limited view of what took place during the proceedings. However, the jury's reported inability to make a determination beyond a reasonable doubt on each of the five counts speaks volumes.

The City of Benton Harbor has some of the most dismal economic, employment and crime statistics in the nation. The uprising during summer 2003--just months after I moved to Michigan--remains fresh in my mind. After that nightmare, the good people of Benton Harbor deserve an opportunity to heal and to raise their political voices about concerns with elected officials. I urge your office not to rub salt in these wounds with a retrial.

Thank you for your time.

Kelly A. Flint, Esq.


I find the retrial of Rev. Pinkney a truly unfortunate use of taxpayer funds, and hope that the people of Berrien County respond appropriately when the Office of Prosecuting Attorney is up for election in 2008. The Prosecuting Attorney is an elected official with a four-year term of office, as provided by the Michigan Constitution. Elections occur at the time of the Presidential election, on the partisan ballot.

Instead of focusing efforts on an election fraud matter that has already been assessed by a jury, the Berrien County prosecutor’s office could attend to the matters of representation of the County in juvenile delinquency and parental neglect cases, and advising the Department of Human Services on child abuse and neglect petitions, which strike me as much more compelling than alleged absentee ballot mishandling in a recall election.

This is further discouraging when one considers that even the worst offense Reverend Pinkney is alleged to have committed does not measure up even slightly to the very least of the alleged nationwide voter fraud in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

I again urge the Berrien County prosecutor’s office to withdraw its request for retrial of Reverend Pinkney and use the resources of the office to focus its legal pursuits on matters that ensure the protection of Benton Harbor citizens, and the children of Benton Harbor in particular.

Kelly A. Flint, Esq.


--Rev. Edward Pinkney

Friday, September 15, 2006

Tim Wise in Grand Rapids, October 11

This increasingly well-known and sought after anti-racism speaker and writer will be giving a talk in Grand Rapids on October 11. If you go to his website, www.TimWise.org, you can get the details. He has spoken in 48 states and on over 400 college campuses. He has trained teachers as well as corporate, government, media, and law enforcement officials on methods for dismantling institutionalized racism and has served as a consultant for plaintiff's attorneys in federal discrimination cases in NY and Washington state. One of his books is "White Like Me."
See more about Mr. Wise at www.TimWise.org.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Words Can Hardly Describe this Level of Injustice

**spread this far and wide

(how much longer will Michigan allow this in Berrien County?)


Shannon David McKinney was found guilty today by a Berrien County jury. The charge was possession of marijuana. There were .00004 grams of marijuana planted by officer Collins and officer Bernard Hall. Both claim it was in McKinney's pocket. Mr. McKinney does not smoke or sell marijuana.

Court-appointed attorney Berger from Berger & Laforge law firm refused to subpoena witnesses for the defendant to prove that officer Collins and Hall planted the marijuana or to find that there was no marijuana at all.

McKinney had several witnesses who would testify that he had no marijuana in his possession. He told the judge that court-appointed attorney Berger refused to subpoena his witnesses. McKinney recorded the phone conversation without attorney Berger's knowledge. During the conversation Berger made several statements in reference to witnesses and told McKinney he refused to subpeona witnesses and that McKinney could do nothing about it. McKinney played the tape for me.

Before the trial started and before she heard any evidence, Judge Angela Pasula told the defendant, "You are going to trial and then to jail." Judge Angela Pasula, the prosecutor, and court-appointed attorney Berger were a team against Mr. McKinney.

Legal malpractice has been defined in Michigan by a series of cases beginning with Babbit v Bumpus. The Michigan Supreme court defined legal malpractice in Michigan as any professional misconduct - acts by your attorney that cause you to suffer a damage.

Since I have been a court observer in Berrien County, I have seen thousands of people just like Mr. Shannon McKinney. Who will be next? When are the good people of this county, this state, this country going to stand up and say enough is enough. There will be a war soon and Berrien County courthouse and law enforcement will not win.

Rev. Edward Pinkney

Friday, September 01, 2006

Berrien County: Atty - "Your mother said you should plead guilty"

**please forward

As I spend each day as a court observer in the Berrien County Courthouse of Horrors, certain patterns have become obvious. One that is most common is the use of the word "mother."

A typical example was yesterday when court appointed attorney Scott Sanford told a 15 year old boy that his mother said he should plead guilty. That boy had the courage to tell the judge his mother said no such thing. (His mother was present in the courtroom.) However, since the guilty plea was already in, the judge would not take it away.

This boy received 23 years in prison for allegedly attacking a guard in the Juvenile Center. All because the court appointed attorney told a lie.

Amercan prisons are full of wrongfully convicted persons. Many were coerced into admitting to crimes they did not committed by court appointed attorney`s threats that the prosecutor will pile on more charges. We must examine the moral, judcial, and constitutional implications of the push to resolve cases by pressuring defendants into plea agreements, guilty or not.

Rev. Edward Pinkney
269-925-0001 anytime
banco.blogspot.com
1940 Union St., Benton Harbor, 49022
(much needed legal fees being accepted for my Sept. 19 frame-up trial)