Quan's Top Legal Advisor Resigns Over Occupy Oakland Police Raid

[Hissyspit]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Quan's top legal adviser resigns over raid

Matthai Kuruvila, Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle November 14, 2011 08:51 AM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This

(11-14) 08:51 PST OAKLAND -- Mayor Jean Quan's chief legal adviser resigned early this morning after what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp.

Dan Siegel, a civil rights attorney and one of Oakland's most active and vocal police critics, said the city should have done more to work with campers before sending in police.

"The city sent police to evict this camp, arrest people and potentially hurt them," Siegel said. "Obviously, we're not on the same page. It's an amazing show of force to move tents from a public place."

Siegel strongly and vocally opposed any plan by the city to take down the month-old camp in the days leading up the police raid.



Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/14/BAGA1LURQ7.DTL&tsp=1

---

https://twitter.com/#!/DanMSiegel/status/136100377203453952

@DanMSiegel
Dan Siegel
No longer Mayor Quan's legal advisor. Resigned at 2 am. Support Occupy Oakland, not the 1% and its government facilitators.

1 hour ago via Twitter for iPad Favorite Retweet Reply

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[Hissyspit]

45. VIDEO Interview Here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x634849

[musiclawyer]

2. This is just strange The article is even worse

Technically Quan's top legal advisor is the city attorney

What the hell is an outside attorney doing in city hall anyway?
And where is the city attorney in this? He is the one who's head should roll.

[EFerrari]

7. It's a rare appearance by the shadow government and shows

how the real power structure is not in institutions as it should be but in private hands, whether it's in the private advisors of politicians or at the Chamber of Commerce.

[24601]

25. The article explained why Siegel was there. But given that the City

Attorney is Barbara Parker and you said, "He is the one who's head should roll." I'll go out on a limb and infer that reading & research ain't your strength.

[w4rma]

3. The wrong person resigned. (nt)

[progressoid]

32. As is often the case

sadly.

[Zorra]

4. BRAVO!

:applause:
We need everyone of good consciences to stand up and display the courage of their convictions by speaking and acting out truth to power.

Dan Siegel,

:yourock:

[formercia]

5. So, the city of Oakland spent almost a Million today

to evict peaceful protesters. That's not a very good business model, since they are going to have to do this again in a few days.

[Left Coast2020]

6. I predict this mayor will be unemployed soon.

She is following the Chinese tradition of squashing dissent wherever it occurs. If she could put people in hiding after their arrest, she would probably do that too.

:argh:

[Crowman1979]

9. Hosni Mubarek is Mayor Quan's hero.

[EFerrari]

15. At the rate City Hall is going through its budget, a lot of cops

will be unemployed, too.

[lbrtbell]

43. GOOD!

People with attitudes like this don't deserve to be cops. They endanger the citizens.

[EFerrari]

8. It's part of Quan's WarOnTents.

There were hundreds of cops there from at least 12 venues.

[formercia]

12. They spent about a hundred times what the tents were worth.

For that kind of money, the city could have done a lot of good.

She's just been buffaloed by a few rich assholes.

[truedelphi]

22. Indeed she has. n/t

[Magoo48]

13. Love it....

War on drugs..

War on terror...

Finally, one they can handle.....

The War on Tents...

Nope.....this one probably won't go their way either...

[KansDem]

23. Hey, I think you've hit on a new term!

"War on Tentists" ("Tenterists?")

[annabanana]

44. Tentistas? . . . . . .You Anti-Tentists!

[civilisation]

16. Hear, hear!

[DeSwiss]

10. K&R n/t

[democrank]

11. K & R in solidarity

[watajob]

14. God Bless him!

A truly principled and courageous man. Willing to walk the talk. K & R

[Defectata]

17. more will follow

[TacticalPeek]

18. Bravo, Dan Siegel.

Dan Siegel, is a civil-rights attorney at the Oakland-based law firm, Siegel & Yee.

Siegel was a student activist at in the 1960s and 1970s while he attended University of California, Berkeley, School of Law. He was also a leader in the local Students for a Democratic Society. As UC Berkeley Student President in 1969, Siegel is known for his role in the student rebellion on "Bloody Thursday," when thousands of students clashed with hundreds of California Highway Patrol officers and Alameda County sheriff's deputies sent by the office of then-California governor Ronald Reagan to assert control over a piece of property known as "People's Park." During a rally at Sproul Hall on that day, May 15, 1969, Siegel received the microphone as the crowd of 3,000 agitated to reclaim their community space, and when he yelled "Take the park!" a riot ensued that ended with authorities firing at demonstrators, killing one.<1>

Siegel was denied a license to practice law by a subcommittee of the State Bar of California. Siegel took his appeal to the California Supreme Court, which overruled the State Bar and found that Siegel possessed the requisite "moral character" to practice law.<2>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Mark_Siegel


Oorah.

[24601]

39. Although thinking that a lawyer has to be of good moral character

is always good for a chuckle or two. Why should Seigel have been the exception?

[INdemo]

19. It is looking very obvious that Wall St money is behind the

Occupy evictions..It is happening all at once and in all cities..Time will tell the truth.

[truedelphi]

29. I do hope that time will tell the truth.

Meanwhile, at least judging by ads running over the weekend, the local Fox network in the SF Bay area is planning on a series about how awful it is that police "stepping up to the plate" results in tax payer payouts to the people roughed up by the police. (The discussion and footage will be inside the nightly news.)

The first show in the series is tonight - I am imagining that it won't be so much about how police should not be brutal, but that the law should be changed to allow them to do whatever is necessary.

[midnight]

37. Yes it sure does.....

[INdemo]

40. The Tea baggers got praise from the media and it got idiots

elected to Congress..And now the corporate media cant wait to broadcast this BS about the protest disbanding..
Yes .Wall St will get their way again by filling the pockets of police chiefs and Mayors to stop Democracy and free speech in action and it is shameful..
So it just looks like this may be the beginning of the end for the Occupy movement..And I sure hope that I am wrong.

[lovuian]

20. it was police Brutality at its worst

Everybody knows it

[tavalon]

21. Quan's political future is dim, indeed.

[barbtries]

24. a man of conviction

i'm tearing up over this. this movement is STRONG.
what wonderful news, i hope thousands more follow all across the country.

[Courtesy Flush]

26. The people who SHOULD be in gov't are leaving. nt

[Marnie]

27. Seigel is a Civil Rights attorney.

Kind a says volumes don't it?

Hey mayor, Hey pigs he's just given you a big legal hint.

[dotymed]

28. I'd love to see some other conscientious objectors.

Policeman/women, government officials even military. That would really boost our cause and give us more protection.

[madrchsod]

30. when the legal adviser resigns....

the ship is sinking.

[red dog 1]

31. Oakland's Previous Mayors, Ron Dellums & Jerry Brown, Wouldn't Have Done What Quan Did!

[Scuba]

33. "campers"?

[nineteen50]

34. The

guy has a conscience and ethics, both things corporations and
their purchased Pollys don’t have,

[Fire Walk With Me]

35. "what he called a "tragically unnecessary" police raid of the Occupy Oakland camp"

Oh yeah? To which one of the FOUR is he referring?

[tcaudilllg]

36. Odds of Impeachment?

?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

38. Oh my God, this is wonderful! We need to write this man and let him know he rocks

As that Dylan song said, 'the times they are a'changing.'

[UnrepentantLiberal]

41. "Obviously her inauguration was a tremendously optimistic day for so many people."

Who does that remind me of?

[lonestarnot]

42. Some 99% good news!

:patriot:

[certainot]

46. he made an important comment on rachel maddow

On Rachel Maddow’s show tonight Siegal said the mayor was not able to stand up to the conservatives around her.

Those conservatives draw much of their strength from the fact that the local right wing talk radio talkers are on their side.

They’re under pressure from thousands of Limbaugh loving idiots and teabaggers to crack down on the “urine soaked hippies” threatening capitalism. They blanket their states with coordinated attacks on OWS.

They reach tens of thousands in every community on radio stations that are licensed to operate in the public interest but, for instance, are dedicated to global warming denial. The bigger stations gain community credibility and ad money for their lies and swiftboating by broadcasting university and professional sports. Those stations and their local talkers, who piggyback on the national talkers like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, apply huge pressure on politicians and elected officials, as well as police.

And the only reason they are successful year after year is because the left gives those stations and the liars they broadcast all day, a free speech free ride.

[No Joe]

47. 146

+kick!

[sarchasm]

48. K&R !!!

[TBF]

49. I'll bet ... who wants to try to defend that. nt

[Mosaic]

50. He is a strong supporter

Who really understands. He was on Olbermann and Maddow last night. Very articulate.