Activists To Protest Before Pretrial Before New Judge Where Black Woman Is Charged With Assaulting Police Accused Of Calling Her Nigger
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Administrative and Presiding Judge Nancy Fuerst
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Sutula
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Stuart Friedman
From the Metro Desk of the DeterminerWeekly.Com and the
Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
Cleveland area grassroots organizations, including the Oppressed People's Nation, the Lucasvile Uprising Freedom Network, Black on Black Crime and the Carl Stokes Brigade, will protest on Thursday, June 17 at 8 am in front of the Justice Center in support of a young Black woman charged with assaulting two White male Cleveland Fifth District police officers. The case has generated unusual local attention because the girl is said to have been unnecessarily beaten and called a "nigger" by police in question prior to the filing by prosecutors of the assault charge, and other charges, all called bogus by the woman's attorney and a group of community activists.
The pretrial in the case of 24 -year -old Black Cuyahoga Community College student Rebecca Whitby is scheduled for Thursday at 9 am before Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul, who was hand picked last week by Cuyahoga Administrative and Presiding Judge Nancy Fuerst to hear the racially volatile case in place of Cuyahoga Judge Kathleen Sutula, the second Cuyahoga judge to preside in the matter. Only three of the judges in the general division of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas are Black.
In justifying her withdrawal from the controversial case, Sutula said that Fuerst's activity of personally picking judges rather than utilizing the computer generated random draw process is unfair.
Sutula had been chosen by Fuerst to replace Cuyahoga Judge Stuart Friedman who had been selected via random draw at the onset of the case. Friedman stepped down from the case last month in the middle of jury selection after vowing that he is not a racist and in response to criticism from members of local activists organizations that he was allegedly harassing them and permitting prosecutors in the case to telephone witnesses for the defense without permission from defense counsel in alleged violation of discovery rules. And Sutula, who met criticism as a "hanging judge" selected in an alleged attempt to force Whitby into a compromising and intimidating plea agreement, apologized to Whitby and her mother before recusing herself from the case two weeks ago.
While Sutula is a staunch Republican, Fuerst, Friedman and Gaul are all Democrats in a county where voters are overwhelmingly Democratic, and at a time when targeted elected officials are subjects of an unprecedented FBI probe that has put the integrity of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party under scrutiny.
The third judge on the case, Gaul is said to have been personally chosen by Fuerst because he has the potential to be least affected by any negative outcome from it, if the Ohio Supreme Court accepts a recommendation from its Office of Disciplinary Counsel to suspend him for a year with a stay pending retirement for alleged impropriety as to his alleged harassment of a Black male criminal defendant in an unrelated case previously before him. This, critics say, is because Gaul's potential retirement would probably end his judicial career, eliminating the propsect of any subsequent outcry around the Whitby case at the ballot box by voters of Cuyahoga County, which is roughly 29 percent Black. Gaul, however, does have supporters such as Black Plain Dealer Columnist Philip Morris who, while supporting White judges like Gaul, has criticised without question Black female judges such as Cuyahoga Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold and Cuyahoga Juvenile Court Judge Alison Nelson Floyd.
Whitby's mother, also named Rebecca Whitby, is also accused of assaulting the police officers, though the younger Whitby is facing additional charges including single handedly robbing the policemen of their guns in a female "Jesse James" type showdown. Both women have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Whitby case arose when the younger Whitby's father, Timothy Walker, allegedly summoned police to the home to mediate his request that his daughter not drive her car while allegedly slightly inebriated. When police found things allegedly okay they allegedly took the position that somebody had to be arrested just because they were called, ultimately arresting the younger Whitby, who was allegedly jailed and released without charges after an alleged police beating.
After the Whitby's filed internal charges against police the charges were brought against the younger Whitby and her mother, 47, was subsequently charged. Grassroots activists say she merely put her body over her daughter's to minimize the alleged beating. An elderly White neighbor who says she witnessed the police in question beat the younger Whitby and call her a "nigger" the night in question, is scheduled to testify in the celebrated case.
Several protests sponsored by Black on Black Crime, the Imperial Women, Bailout the People Movement, the Carl Stokes Brigade, the People's Forum, the Oppressed People's Nation and others have been held in support of the Black women.
For additional information on Thursday's protest contact Community Activist Don Bryant at 440-623-0492.
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Administrative and Presiding Judge Nancy Fuerst
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Sutula
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Stuart Friedman
From the Metro Desk of the DeterminerWeekly.Com and the
Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
Cleveland area grassroots organizations, including the Oppressed People's Nation, the Lucasvile Uprising Freedom Network, Black on Black Crime and the Carl Stokes Brigade, will protest on Thursday, June 17 at 8 am in front of the Justice Center in support of a young Black woman charged with assaulting two White male Cleveland Fifth District police officers. The case has generated unusual local attention because the girl is said to have been unnecessarily beaten and called a "nigger" by police in question prior to the filing by prosecutors of the assault charge, and other charges, all called bogus by the woman's attorney and a group of community activists.
The pretrial in the case of 24 -year -old Black Cuyahoga Community College student Rebecca Whitby is scheduled for Thursday at 9 am before Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul, who was hand picked last week by Cuyahoga Administrative and Presiding Judge Nancy Fuerst to hear the racially volatile case in place of Cuyahoga Judge Kathleen Sutula, the second Cuyahoga judge to preside in the matter. Only three of the judges in the general division of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas are Black.
In justifying her withdrawal from the controversial case, Sutula said that Fuerst's activity of personally picking judges rather than utilizing the computer generated random draw process is unfair.
Sutula had been chosen by Fuerst to replace Cuyahoga Judge Stuart Friedman who had been selected via random draw at the onset of the case. Friedman stepped down from the case last month in the middle of jury selection after vowing that he is not a racist and in response to criticism from members of local activists organizations that he was allegedly harassing them and permitting prosecutors in the case to telephone witnesses for the defense without permission from defense counsel in alleged violation of discovery rules. And Sutula, who met criticism as a "hanging judge" selected in an alleged attempt to force Whitby into a compromising and intimidating plea agreement, apologized to Whitby and her mother before recusing herself from the case two weeks ago.
While Sutula is a staunch Republican, Fuerst, Friedman and Gaul are all Democrats in a county where voters are overwhelmingly Democratic, and at a time when targeted elected officials are subjects of an unprecedented FBI probe that has put the integrity of the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party under scrutiny.
The third judge on the case, Gaul is said to have been personally chosen by Fuerst because he has the potential to be least affected by any negative outcome from it, if the Ohio Supreme Court accepts a recommendation from its Office of Disciplinary Counsel to suspend him for a year with a stay pending retirement for alleged impropriety as to his alleged harassment of a Black male criminal defendant in an unrelated case previously before him. This, critics say, is because Gaul's potential retirement would probably end his judicial career, eliminating the propsect of any subsequent outcry around the Whitby case at the ballot box by voters of Cuyahoga County, which is roughly 29 percent Black. Gaul, however, does have supporters such as Black Plain Dealer Columnist Philip Morris who, while supporting White judges like Gaul, has criticised without question Black female judges such as Cuyahoga Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold and Cuyahoga Juvenile Court Judge Alison Nelson Floyd.
Whitby's mother, also named Rebecca Whitby, is also accused of assaulting the police officers, though the younger Whitby is facing additional charges including single handedly robbing the policemen of their guns in a female "Jesse James" type showdown. Both women have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Whitby case arose when the younger Whitby's father, Timothy Walker, allegedly summoned police to the home to mediate his request that his daughter not drive her car while allegedly slightly inebriated. When police found things allegedly okay they allegedly took the position that somebody had to be arrested just because they were called, ultimately arresting the younger Whitby, who was allegedly jailed and released without charges after an alleged police beating.
After the Whitby's filed internal charges against police the charges were brought against the younger Whitby and her mother, 47, was subsequently charged. Grassroots activists say she merely put her body over her daughter's to minimize the alleged beating. An elderly White neighbor who says she witnessed the police in question beat the younger Whitby and call her a "nigger" the night in question, is scheduled to testify in the celebrated case.
Several protests sponsored by Black on Black Crime, the Imperial Women, Bailout the People Movement, the Carl Stokes Brigade, the People's Forum, the Oppressed People's Nation and others have been held in support of the Black women.
For additional information on Thursday's protest contact Community Activist Don Bryant at 440-623-0492.
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