ACLU prohibited from joining gang rap case [View all]

[marym625]

Rap artist, Tiny Doo already spent 8 months in prison for a crime he had zero to do with. But that isn't stopping San Diego prosecutors from trying to put him and some others away for life.

The prosecution is using a conspiracy law, that is yet untested, to put Brandon Duncan, aka Tiny Doo, in prison for a crime he didn't commit, had no prior knowledge, has no ties to and didn't even write about in his music. The song they are using, to show he is part of a "conspiracy" in a 2013 gang related shooting, and his "benefiting from the crime" is from his album "No Safety." The album was released years prior to the shooting.

Tiny Doo has never been in a gang. He has never been convicted of a crime and he doesn't rap about going out and shooting this guy or that guy.

Because this is very much a First Amendment case, the San Diego branch of the ACLU filed an amicus brief. Unbelievably, they were blocked. Or maybe believably.

A judge on Tuesday denied an attempt by the American Civil Liberties Union to intervene in the controversial gang conspiracy prosecution of rapper Brandon “Tiny Doo” Duncan.

ACLU San Diego’s legal director, David Loy, had argued in what’s called an “amicus” brief that the District Attorney’s Office’s prosecution violates Duncan’s First Amendment right to free speech. Amicus briefs are filed by non-parties in a case and typically support one side or another. They are often filed during the appellate stage but have at times been granted before trial.

http://m.utsandiego.com/news/2015/feb/10/aclu-prohibited-gang-rap-duncan-amicus/

The wave of unfair prosecutions, illegal arrests and outright murders by law enforcement in this country is very telling in where we are headed. The SCOTUS has already done away with Affirmative Action, Voter Rights and separation of church and state. The jailing of journalists and whistle blowers is becoming more and more prevalent. Our Fourth Amendment rights are close to gone. How far behind is the complete dismantling of the First Amendment?

It is usually during the appellate stage that amicus briefs are filed and people and entities, like the ACLU, are allowed to be part of the process. But the fact that Mr. Duncan has been charged and already spent 8 months in prison, for a crime he didn't commit, is just another step in taking our rights away. Certainly Mr. Duncan’s rights.

This is a very important case. If the prosecution is able to charge someone, someone this far removed from the crime they're supposedly part of, we're in trouble.

More at links

The law:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=pen&group=00001-01000&file=182-185

ACLU San Diego blog (prior to decision)
https://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-racial-justice/man-faces-life-prison-forrapping

The Guardian article (great information)
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/03/tiny-doo-rapper-facing-life-for-making-album

Interview with Tiny Doo
http://m.noisey.vice.com/blog/tiny-doo-interview-jail-no-safety-faces-life-in-prison-for-recording-album