Ambulance Chasing yougofree.com style

Absolutely HILARIOUS! Kevin's Humboldt Review recently featured former Humboldt County prosecutor Jeff Schwartz, who discussed his new "Humboldt Center for Constitutional Rights."

His "Mission Statement" is Too often, people and organizations in Humboldt County have their basic state and federal constitutional rights violated. The Humboldt Center for Constitutional Rights was established to provide those people and organizations who have suffered constitutional violations such as assaults on the right to assemble and petition the government, race discrimination and police abuse, pro bono legal representation and support necessary to right the constitutional wrong.

Think about his dismal record in the DA's Office, his handling of the Whitethorn rapists case, wonder how she'd feel about this.
  
He says The Center is a grass roots organization funded by individuals and organizations that care about human rights.

Here's where he explains the modern day AMBULANCE CHASING" He calls it an EVENT MONITORING PROGRAM... Part of any 21st Century civil rights organization must be the use of 21st Century technology. We intend to monitor events in and around Humboldt County when we anticipate constitutional violations. We need volunteers who can assist us in setting up appropriate monitoring devices at hot spot events. We feel strongly that the monitoring of a public event with audio and visual recording devices will in and of itself prevent the abuse of constitutional rights by law enforcement, or at least cause hesitation and circumspection before law enforcement acts. Companies that insure law enforcement offers are known to visually record most planned events. But seldom, if ever, do those videos become available to the wronged person. We need our own.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is open for business. The inspiration behind the Center started when our Director, Arcata Attorney Jeffrey Schwartz, who was new to Humboldt County at the time, saw firsthand at the Humboldt County Courthouse the dismal lack of organization and legal representation of anti-war protesters and immigration reform protesters arrested by local law enforcement agencies. These protesters, exercising their rights to assemble and voice their opinions about the Iraq War and Immigration Reform, were arrested and charged with crimes commonly associated with protesting -- resisting arrest, battery on a police officer and other lesser offenses and infractions. The arrests and prosecutions of these protesters cause a chilling affect on others who would even think of protesting in the future.

What was most troubling to Jeff was the lack of legal support and pro bono representation by local lawyers who believe in the same cause as the arrested protesters but did not get involved. In larger communities in California and around the country lawyers and support personnel are matched to the protester before and throughout all legal proceedings. 

The lack of organization in Humboldt County, not the lack of care and concern of many lawyers in the community, was the reason some devoted local lawyers did not get involved, which Jeff found deeply disappointing.

The Center therefore will organize, encourage, prod and beg the good legal community to be there for all of us who simply exercise our constitutional rights or live our lives under the protection of the Constitutions of California and the United States.

The Center expects to be the focal point, the clearinghouse, the lightning rod or whatever it takes to make sure those whose rights are violated have a voice to speak for them and with them in order to right the wrong.

Remember - this is the man who was assigned to head up the Child Abuse Services Team (CAST) - who never filed a single case.

Funny. I didn't see him at the TPZ rally today at the Courthouse. I guess they're not the kind of people whose rights he cares about. Maybe he was in disguise.