Judicial Abuse: Rell deposed in suit against Hartford police

Connecticut
[Source of re-posted piece below, Stamford Advocate]

Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer

Published 10:10 p.m., Thursday, April 7, 2011

Just-retired Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell may soon make a court appearance in Bridgeport -- sort of.

In what observers call a rarity in Connecticut politics, attorneys representing activist and journalist Ken Krayeske, arrested at the ex-governor's 2007 inaugural parade, deposed Rell in March as part of his civil rights lawsuit against the arresting Hartford officer.

They plan to present the videotaped footage of her answering questions about what she witnessed as evidence during the trial, scheduled to begin in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport Wednesday.

"It is generally rare and the law is designed to keep it rare," said Perry Zinn-Rowthorn, the associate attorney general assigned to represent Rell at the time of the deposition.

Krayeske said he was working as a freelance journalist, trying to take photos of Rell in January 2007 when a police officer assigned to the governor's security detail recognized him from a list of potential threats. The detective saw Krayeske -- who was carrying camera equipment at the time -- bike up to the parade route, dismount and run in front of the governor. He was charged with breach of peace and interfering with a police and held on a $75,000 bond until after that evening's inaugural ball.

His arrest set off a firestorm, with critics concerned about the existence of a political watch list and others arguing the police simply did their job protecting a public official from a perceived threat.

A Hartford Superior Court judge dismissed the charges that March. Krayeske subsequently filed his lawsuit for false arrest, unreasonable bond and denial of his rights to freedom of expression, freedom of the press and due process.

Last fall Krayeske's attorneys -- Brown & Welsh P.C., where Krayeske practices commercial law -- made a motion to depose Rell to learn what she observed during the parade and whether she felt threatened.

"We filed in opposition on the governor's behalf ... to prevent her being exposed unnecessarily to inconvenience or distraction," Zinn-Rowthorn said. "The law generally provides governors and other high executive government officials should not be subjected to unnecessary discovery and really only deposed where their testimony is critical to a case."

The court allowed the Krayeske team to submit a limited number of questions about what Rell saw along the parade route for a videotaped deposition of the governor in March, about two months after she left office.

"She sat in a court reporter's office in Florida and read the questions and provided her answers," Zinn-Rowthorn said, adding: "At this point we have no role (in the trial). It's up to the parties who remain to argue whether this testimony is admissible."

Houston Putnam Lowry, one of Krayeske's lawyers, believes Rell's testimony will help his client.

"The police have claimed that Ken Krayeske charged the governor," Putnam Lowry said. "Her testimony is, 'I didn't see much and certainly wasn't concerned about my safety.' "

Attorneys representing the Hartford office and city did not return calls seeking comment.

A handful of lawyers, political staffers and educators contacted by Hearst Connecticut Newspapers could only anecdotally recall two other court appearances by governors over the past 30 years -- Republican John Rowland for a matter related to a nursing home strike and Democrat Ella Grasso for an election dispute.

Rell could not be reached for comment.

Staff Writer Brian Lockhart can be reached at brian.lockhart@scni.com.

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This blogger's email": stevengerickson AT Yahoo Dot Com

I believe Krayeske was put on the Connecticut State Police Homeland Security Fusion Center "Arrest on Sight" List. Chris Kennedy and Steven G. Erickson are alleged to also have been on that list.

[click here] for post and video to go along with:

Target on Enemies List

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Target on Enemies List

Text with video:

Uploaded by SvenVonErick on Jan 11, 2010

Secret Police memos obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, scroll as a pdf in video. Police aren't interested in members of the KKK, skinheads, hate groups, actual criminals, and others. They're after journalists and bloggers critical of government. The police are actively out to false arrest anyone on the list. With false arrests sometimes comes prison. So political prisoners are being held in the US. There is no mention of terrorists, mainly Steven G. Erickson, Ken Krayeske, Chris Kennedy, and those who are journalists, bloggers, or who just wrote letters critical of public corruption and police misconduct and brutality in the State of Connecticut.

US President Richard M. Nixon had an enemies list for dealing with political rivals and those with "Big Mouths". Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell seems to think the same way. Target citizens for political reasons and see to it that they are ruined, arrested, and left penniless facing prison. More information:
http://starkravingviking.blogspot.com/2010/01/target-on-enemies-list.html