I Don't Speak German: 96: Catching Up With Cantwell (and The Failures of the Prison Industrial Complex)

96: Catching Up With Cantwell (and The Failures of the Prison Industrial Complex)

Oct 31, 2021

Sines v. Kessler is finally underway, and Christopher Cantwell is representing himself. Need we say more? Actually, yes. And hence, this episode.

Content warnings.

Podcast Notes:

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Show Notes:

Vice News, Charlottesville Race and Terror (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIrcB1sAN8I)

Christopher Cantwell transferred to Communication Management Unit in Marion, IL. (https://twitter.com/socialistdogmom/status/1402292133483196422?s=20)

Pro Se Letter regarding change of address by Christopher Cantwell.(https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.968.0_1.pdf)

Hilary Sargent coverage of the Cantwell criminal trial at The Informant. (https://www.informant.news/people/1157338-hilary-sargent)

Cantwell Criminal Trial Testimony Day 3 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nhd.53269/gov.uscourts.nhd.53269.118.0.pdf)

Cantwell Criminal Trial Testimony Day 4 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nhd.53269/gov.uscourts.nhd.53269.119.0.pdf)

Jordan Green at Raw Story: ‘Crying Nazi’ Christoper Cantwell is getting legal assist from a white supremacist as he prepares for Charlottesville trial (https://www.rawstory.com/crying-nazi-trial/)

While serving his sentence, Cantwell met Hale along with another man named William A. White, who has played an even more significant role in helping him prepare for his upcoming trial in Charlottesville. White, in turn, is in prison for soliciting violence against the foreman of the federal jury that convicted Hale. According to the US Justice Department, White created the now defunct Overthrow.com website in the late 2000s as a platform for the American National Socialist Workers Party. He used the website to post derogatory comments and personal information about the jury foreman, including their home address and phone numbers.
"Anyway, so I run into these guys," Cantwell told a white supremacist podcaster during an interview last week from an Oklahoma prison where he is awaiting transfer to Charlottesville to stand trial. "And allegations against them notwithstanding, they're good to me."

Sines v. Kessler at Courtlistener (https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/6168921/sines-v-kessler/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc)

Document 1108 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1108.0.pdf)

In addition, it has now become apparent that Cantwell, who has been proceeding pro se and has been afforded its corresponding protections and leniency, may be using another inmate, William A. White, to participate in this litigation and “ghost-write” his recent filings. See ECF 1063 at 1 (“Christopher Cantwell ... Moves this Court ... To Provide Cantwell and his Lay Counsel, William A White, Adequate Access to The Electronic Materials...”); ECF 1063-2; compare ECF 1055 (handwritten filing written largely in first person) with ECF 1063 (typewritten filing written in third person). That provides yet another basis to deny these motions. Ghost writing plainly violates legal rules and only reinforces the inappropriate and harassing nature of Cantwell’s numerous recent filings, including ECF 1062, 1063, 1064, 1065, 1066, 1077, 1078, 1084, 1085, 1086, 1087, 1088, 1089, 1090, 1096, 1097, 1098, 1099, 1102, 1103. See Wojcicki v. SCANA/SCE&G, 947 F.3d 240, 244 (4th Cir. 2020) (“Allowing individuals to represent themselves pro se reflects a respect for the choice of an individual citizen to plead his or her own cause, but so does the bar preventing individuals without legal expertise from representing others.” (quotation omitted)); Greene v. United States Dep’t of Educ., No. 4:13cv79, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143678, at 26-27 (E.D. Va. Oct. 1, 2013) (“During the course of this appeal it came to the Court’s attention that Greene, although proceeding pro se and receiving the forbearance afforded such status, was utilizing the services of a ghost writer for many of her filings. The Court emphasizes that the practice of ghost-writing is in no way permissible in the Eastern District of Virginia, or any federal court for that matter. Even if the ghost writer is not an attorney, such practice is still considered the unauthorized practice of law. Those who proceed pro se are afforded certain amounts of leniency that are not afforded represented parties. Ghost writing inexcusably abuses this leniency.").

Document 1134 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1134.0_1.pdf)

Document 1185 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1185.0.pdf)

Document 1306 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1306.0_1.pdf)

While Plaintiffs remain adamant that any further delay would be extremely prejudicial given the fact that this case was filed four years ago, jury questionnaires have already been sent out, and many parties, counsel, and witnesses are already in or on their way to Charlottesville, see, e.g., ECF Nos. 1108, 1113, 1196, Plaintiffs are also aware that Mr. Cantwell likely will continue to assert these arguments, which could complicate the issues on appeal.
As a result, Plaintiffs have concluded that the best way to resolve the tension between the need to proceed to trial and Mr. Cantwell’s due-process arguments would be for the Court to sever Plaintiffs’ claims against Mr. Cantwell from their claims against the other Defendants in this case for a separate trial pursuant to Rule 42 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

Document 1307 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1307.0.pdf) (Kolenich on behalf of Kessler, Damigo, and Identity Evropa)

The Court has been aware of Mr. Cantwell’s objections since at least April 2021. The plaintiffs have been opposing Cantwell and not caring about his allegations of procedural or substative rights for at least that long. See ECF 945 filed April 26, 2021. Defendants object to the Court flip flopping on its Cantwell rulings, at the mere letter based request of the plaintiffs, less than 48 hours before trial. The defendants have invested considerable time and expense into preparing a defense strategy that assumes the presence of Mr. Cantwell as a party defendant at trial.

Document 1309 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1309.0.pdf) (Smith on behalf of Parrot, Heimbach, and TWP)

Plantiff's counsel want to take a “mulligan” here because, prior to Friday’s final pretrial conference, they had their army of jury consultants analyze the jury questionnaires, and concluded (rightly) that they have very little chance of winning their case in front of the eventual jury (even with adverse inferences). In order to manufacture a basis for their mulligan, they’ve been intentionally not caring about Mr. Cantwell’s situation, which they’ve known about for many months now; that way, if they drew an unfavorable jury pool, they could fake a sudden onset of empathy and concern for Mr. Cantwell’s predicament, and bait the Court into postponing the trial with their ridiculous “two Charlottesville trials” (i.e., the regular one, and then some kind of Cantwell-only “mini-trial” a couple years from now) proposal.

Document 1314 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1314.0.pdf) (Bloch reads the amended letter.)

Document 1328 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1328.0.pdf) Cantwell pro se defendant woes

Document 1329 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1329.0.pdf) More Cantwell pro se defendant woes

Document 1330 (https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120/gov.uscourts.vawd.109120.1330.0.pdf) THIS IS NOT FAIR document