Protestors Decry ‘No Justice in Cortlandt’ after Guilty Judge Ruling
Cortlandt Town Justice Daniel McCarthy issued a ruling Friday finding the so-called “Montrose 9” protestors who were arrested last November for blocking access to Spectra Energy’s construction yard on Route 9A guilty of disorderly conduct.
Following the brief announcement of McCarthy’s decision, which was delivered in writing, defiant protestors and their supporters chanted “Shame on You” and “No Justice in Cortlandt” as they paraded through the halls of Cortlandt Town Court and outside into the courtyard, where they continued to rail against the outcome and vowed to keep fighting against the controversial natural gas pipeline project.
“It is absolutely staggering. This decision is disrespectful,” remarked Susan Rutman, one of the nine protestors who could face 15 days in jail and/or a $500 fine when they are scheduled to be sentenced on January 6.
“But we will persevere. We cannot be thwarted by the limited scope of the legal system,” Rutman added. “He (McCarthy) wouldn’t even make a declaratory statement.”
“This furthers my belief that we are run by a Corp-ocracy,” said Andrew Ryan, another member of the “Montrose 9.” “They are people who care only about profits. They create and they interpret the law.”
Rutman, Ryan, Linda Snider, Michael Bucci, Kim Fraczek, Melissa Freedman, Monica Hunken, George Packard, and Kathleen Thomas all had pled not guilty to the charges as their attorney, Martin Stolar, contended their actions were justified since they were trying to stop a greater harm in the expansion of the natural gas pipeline on November 9 at 6:30 a.m. and were left with no other recourse after all legal and regulatory options had been exhausted.
Stolar said he was “very disappointed” with McCarthy’s 13-page ruling and his dismissal of the defendants’ necessity defense.
“We will take it up on appeal,” said Stolar, who requested McCarthy postpone the sentencing until January. “They are heroes, not criminals.”
It took McCarthy four months to issue his decision following the conclusion of a trial which Stolar and the “Montrose 9” were hopeful would become a landmark case using their defense in environmental litigation.
“The judge rejects the justification as being speculative and the harm is not imminent or about to occur,” Stolar said. “The justification defense which he rejects, we all know and you all know, the actions were justified, the harm is imminent, and the pipeline is extraordinarily dangerous, and constitutes a present harm and a present threat to every resident in this town, in this county and of the areas surrounding Indian Point.”
Meanwhile, at the same time protestors were being informed of the ruling in Cortlandt, members of several community activist groups were in Washington D.C. testifying at a People’s Hearing regarding the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) alleged unfriendly history against the environment.
Representing the Hudson Valley in regards to FERC’s approval of Spectra’s Algonquin Incremental Market (AIM) expansion project were Courtney Williams, Paul Blanch and Nancy Vann of Safe Energy Rights Group (SEnRG) and Suzannah Glidden, Amy Rosmarin and Susan Van Dolsen of Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion (SAPE).
“I hope that this will bring these issues the national attention they deserve,” Vann said. “The AIM project, for one, could have catastrophic national impacts.”
“FERC’s conflict of interest policies are vague and contradictory and the Commission has demonstrated an egregious lack of transparency regarding the contractors hired to conduct the assessments on which the projects’ approvals depend,” Van Dolsen said. “The Commission has not complied with its legal obligations under NEPA to conduct an independent environmental review, yet Spectra continues to move ahead with projects that put millions of people at grave risk.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/