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| PLO lawyer in US: Suicide bombers acted for own ‘crazy reasons’ |
| 2015-01-14 |
| [IsraelTimes]. Trial kicks off in New York over $1 billion terrorism lawsuit against Paleostinian organizations Paleostine Liberation Organization and the Paleostinian Authority told a jury at the start of a civil trial Tuesday that the groups are not to blame for terror attacks in Israel. Attorney Mark Rochon said in his opening statement that seven attacks from 2001 to 2004 were carried out by jacket wallahs and gunnies “acting on their own angry, crazy reasons.” He said the organizations are victims of guilt by association with snuffies who are not defendants in a lawsuit brought on behalf of victims. The $1 billion lawsuit was filed in 2004 to hold the organizations responsible for seven shooting and bombings in or near Jerusalem that killed 33 people and maimed hundreds more, including scores of US citizens. Rochon spoke after attorney Kent Yalowitz urged jurors in a packed courtroom to hold the Paleostinian organizations liable for the killings. He brought an 11-year-old lawsuit to life with victims of the terror attacks looking on, introducing some of them to jurors and saying they were they were victimized by suicide kabooms sanctioned by the PLO. “The evidence will show that killing civilians was standard operating procedure for the Paleostine Liberation Organization and the Paleostinian Authority,” he said. Payroll records show that the Paleostinian Authority “embraced these crimes” by continuing to pay security officials who organized the attacks, even after they were convicted of murder, he said. The two groups have argued that the case does not belong in U.S. courts. US District Judge George B. Daniels told prospective jurors to put aside politics and emotions and to decide the case objectively. The trial, expected to last up to three months, is occurring despite an unsuccessful last-ditch attempt by the PLO and PA to convince appeals judges that a Manhattan court does not have jurisdiction. The effort was rejected by the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit brought under the Antiterrorism Act of 1991 is being heard by an anonymous jury. “The injuries remain very fresh for most of these people,” plaintiffs’ attorney Phil Horton said in an interview. Horton said some victims are seeking a sense of closure and many were interested in accountability. Numerous victims were scheduled to testify. Any damages awarded would be automatically tripled because the claims involved acts of terrorism, he said. If successful, the plaintiffs expect to recover a substantial amount of any award, he said. In court papers, lawyers for the PA and PLO say a US court should not have jurisdiction over the case just because the PLO maintains a 12-person office in the United States. They say the PA and PLO’s home is in the West Bank and that US activities are a tiny portion of their worldwide activities. “Given the high stakes, extraordinary burden, and substantial foreign policy consequences associated with bringing a foreign government to trial for supporting terrorism, the trial … should not go forward in the absence of general personal jurisdiction over them,” the lawyers wrote in court papers. They also said the publicity of the trial, “some of it inevitable, some of it sought by plaintiffs, will undermine the confidence in the PA’s ability to govern and contribute to a worsening of tensions in the region at a delicate moment.” |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #3 BIO on Mark Rochon of law firm Miller Chevalier of Washington, DC. These guys, I imagine, do not come cheap. Mark Rochon, Chair of the Litigation Department and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee, practices in the area of white collar defense in criminal and civil matters. He has conducted extensive internal investigations on behalf of multinational corporations and has represented them in significant matters under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). In addition, Mr. Rochon has represented individuals in connection with government contracting fraud investigations, export controls investigations, insider trading investigations, shareholder suits, accounting and bank fraud cases, and other fraud related allegations. Mr. Rochon’s practice frequently involves advising clients about the pitfalls inherent in parallel governmental inquiries and private litigation. He has represented several multinational companies in connection with potential or ongoing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and/or Department of Justice (DOJ) investigations, and served as lead counsel to a former outside Director of Enron in connection with the coordinated shareholder actions related to Enron’s bankruptcy. His internal investigations work has included matters arising across the world, including one coordinated inquiry into more than a hundred issues arising in a client’s overseas operations in multiple countries. He has also coordinated worldwide FCPA due diligence inquiries in connection with client acquisitions. Mr. Rochon has been lead counsel in more than 160 jury trials and has argued before appellate courts across the country. He frequently lectures on trial practice and internal investigations both to students and to practitioners. Mr. Rochon served on a nuclear submarine in the U.S. Navy from 1975 to 1977. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2015-01-14 21:30 |
| #2 Guilty as charged! |
| Posted by: Raj 2015-01-14 00:28 |
| #1 Well Islam is a mental illness... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2015-01-14 00:14 |