Greetings, Gentle Reader:

It is not possible for me to report the details of the Diana Luppi case; it would be the equivalent of a coach telegraphing his game plan to the opposing team’s coach just before the Super Bowl. There are several critical issues being addressed by Miss Luppi’s attorney, and they must remain confidential.

Unfortunately, her probation revocation hearing was scheduled so that Miss Luppi and her attorney were forced to drive to Denver when the roads were extremely dangerous. They headed for Denver by way of Grand Junction, since Wolf Creek Pass was very bad.

Just this side of Dove Creek, they hit an icy spot and had an accident in which Luppi’s attorney was injured. They returned to town and contacted the judge, advising her they had been involved in an accident and the attorney was in need of medical attention. The attorney requested the hearing be delayed. The judge refused, stating that the attorney’s presence was not needed, but that Luppi had better be at the courthouse at 2 p.m. the following day.

The roads were treacherous, and since they didn’t know how long it would take them to get to Denver, they jumped into another car, this time with a professional driver. There was no time for a trip to the doctor, so the attorney took a pain pill and off they went.

At the hearing, the judge refused to permit Luppi to have her own attorney. She said she would not permit the public defender to be substituted out until Luppi signed the special-use authorization. The judge could not do that legally. She had signed a court order acknowledging that Luppi could sign the document "under protest, coerced by threat of sanction, and without her voluntary consent."

Luppi signed the document, writing in the above disclaimer. At first, the judge refused to accept the signature with the handwritten disclaimer. Finally, she relented, but said she would not release the public defender after all, refusing to permit the defendant her choice of counsel. That too, was illegal. The public defender then protested to the judge that she was violating Luppi’s 6th Amendment rights, after which the judge relented.

Several peculiar things happened at this hearing, in addition to the illegalities. A U.S. Marshall locked the courtroom door, so no one could leave or enter. I am informed that this both violates public safety laws and denies the public access to what, by law, should be an open hearing.

Mike Ochoa, a U.S. Probation supervisor, asked the prosecuting attorney, Linda McMahan, within earshot of a witnesses, "Are we going to imprison her?" McMahan responded, but her words were too quiet to be heard. Sharon Blake, Luppi’s probation officers, then said, "We want to revoke her probation." Seeing that the conversation was not only being overheard, but written down, Ochoa promptly changed the conversation to a discussion of the weather.

Several readers have called and asked what they could do to become involved in this case. I have told them they must call their Congressional representatives and senators and protest both the Forest Service and the judge’s behavior.

It is also imperative that our citizens get out of their easy chairs and vote for candidates who are willing to defend them against these outrages. We have a Constitution that is capable of defending us against tyranny, if we elect representatives who are willing to fight for us. Unfortunately, too many of our people don’t even bother to vote in elections.

We must begin to vote for people who will defend us, rather than those who promise to give us the most goodies from the public treasury. Citizenship in this country does not give us the key to the candy case; it only gives us the right and the power to preserve our liberty.

In addition, I want to tell all of you that this is going to be an expensive case. There are several legal maneuvers in progress, all of them costing money. Miss Luppi cannot afford to carry this case against the Forest Service and a tyrannical judge alone; she needs help. For those who want to help, a fund called the Four Corners Land Defense Fund has been set up at Community Bank (previously known as Basin Industrial Bank), which has branches in Cortez and Dove Creek. If many people make small donations, this battle can be fought successfully.

Remember, it is extremely easy for the Forest Service and one judge to pick off a single landowner; it will be harder for them to violate the rights of a large number of citizens, who are determined to stick together. This is not the time to sit back and let someone else carry the ball; it wouldn’t work in the Super Bowl, and it won’t work in real life. The only way we can be assured that we will retain our freedom is to get into the fight, personally.

As most of you remember, I always call an election year the "silly season." It is invariably just that, but it doesn’t have to be. We are in charge of deciding the future of our country and our society. If we don’t like watching our culture self-destruct, as it is presently doing, we are in charge of making the changes that will save it. We don’t have to vote for con men, but we often do, because only a con man will tell us all the pretty lies we want to hear.

An honest man will tell us the truth, even if we don’t like it. Only a con man will promise us the moon, then give us a judge who will violate our rights. An honest man will tell us that we have to stand up and help carry the load. Only a con man will promise us the key to the candy store, then give us judges who will jail us unless we sign away our own rights.