Judge reflects on Wounded Knee (37 years latter)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/article/20120116/NEWS97/701169915#judge-reflects-on-wounded-knee

Published Monday January 16, 2012

LINCOLN (AP) — It's been more than 37 years since the federal trials of protesters who took over the Wounded Knee massacre site in South Dakota, and the Nebraska-based federal judge who presided over them remembers his efforts to respect the Native Americans and their traditions.

FULL story at link. I kept it short here because of this new claim: Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

OS

[niyad]

1. k and r--I wish that very brief article had gone into more detail.

the AP claim is new? wonder what is behind it

[dflprincess]

2. One of the longest Wounded Knee trials took place in Minneapolis

This was the Russell Means & Dennis Banks trial and I believe it went on for 8 months.

The judge, Fred Nichol, became so disgusted with the actions of the Federal Government that he threw all the charges out because of government misconduct.

A few years after this I took a course taught by one one the lawyers who had worked with William Kuntsler on the case and learned two things: 1) Judge Nichol had not been assigned any high profile federal cases after that and 2) the government did its best to keep any more AIM trials out of Minneapolis because they thought the population was "too liberal" and they would not be able to get a favorable jury.