April 14th marks the second anniversary of the shootings in Round Valley that left three men dead and two incarcerated. Arylis Peters is serving a twenty-five years to life sentence for the murder of Eugene Britton, a resident of Round Valley, who was shot early in the evening of the 14th. Mendocino County Deputy Sheriffs were dispatched to the Valley to apprehend Peters, but instead they shot and killed his brother, Leonard "Acorn" Peters, who was unarmed and walking with his life-long friend, Eugene "Bear" Lincoln, near the Lincoln family home. Also killed in the gunfire was Deputy Robert Davis. After four months in hiding, Lincoln turned himself in to stand trial for the death of Davis. On April 15th, two years and a day after those tragic deaths, the jury selection in Bear Lincoln's trial began.
Retired Lake County Judge John J. Golden, who has been appointed to preside over the trial, has been hearing pre-trial motions since February. These motions establish the general ground rules for the trial, what evidence is relevant and permissible for presentation to the jury, and the method of jury selection. Numerous motions have been submitted by both Deputy District Attorney Aaron Williams, and defense attorney Phil deJong, one of Lincoln's defense team which includes J. Tony Serra, renowned Bay Area defense attorney, and Diana Samuelson, also with Serra's law firm.
In 1990, Serra was successful in winning an appeal for Patrick "Hooty" Croy, a Native American man who spent eleven years on death row for the murder of a police officer. In his retrial, it was found Croy acted in self-defense. He was acquitted of all charges and released. His sister, Norma Jean Croy, was sentenced to life in prison as an accomplice, and spent an additional seven years in prison after her brother's release because the parole board would not consider the evidence used in her brother's acquittal. Norma Jean was released last month, thanks to the tireless efforts of Diana Samuelson.
Pre-trial motions in Lincoln's case included an unsuccessful effort by the defense to bring the jury pool representation of Native Americans up to the level of their representation in the general population. Judge Golden ruled against inclusion of names from tribal rolls in the jury pool for this case. Ruling in favor of the defense on another motion, Golden will not admit into evidence audio tapes due to insufficient technology and unreliable methods of correctly identifying sounds on the tape.
DA Aaron Williams called several men, who are now or were previously in law enforcement, to testify about Lincoln's past incidents, or aggravating circumstances. But Williams' attempt to portray Lincoln as a violent man was not supported by the testimony. Most incidents cited happened in the 1970's, and involved minor offenses. Lincoln was cooperative when arrested. When guns were drawn and fired, it was by the police, never Lincoln. These witnesses confirmed for this writer that the act of first degree murder is completely out of Bear Lincoln's character.
During the jury composition motion hearing, Williams charged racial politics, and subsequently entered a motion to prohibit mention of race during the trial. DeJong countered that race was central to certain aspects of the case, and Judge Golden agreed, ruling against the prosecutor's motion. Still under discussion is admission of photos and the type of physical restraints, if any, to be worn by Lincoln in the courthouse. Law prohibits physical restraints during a jury trial unless good cause is shown in an evidentiary hearing that the defendant is an escape risk. A motion for such a hearing has not been filed by the DA's office.
Jury selection began April 15th, and will continue Monday through Thursday for two or more months. The 480 potential jurors receiving a summons will respond to a questionnaire, and will be interviewed individually. After a jury is selected, the trial could continue another six months. This is an enormous commitment for the twelve men and women and the alternates, who must attend all proceedings, as well. The wheels of justice grind slowly, and sometimes seem arbitrary or belabored. But the jury is the last bastion of justice in today's justice system. In an arena full of technicalities and conflicting stories, each juror must draw on his or her own judgement, intuition, and life experience. The degree to which the people of the jury seek what is both true and fair is a measure of the substance of our society.
All court proceedings are open to the public. Attendance is being coordinated from the MEC. When the trial starts there will be gatherings in front of the courthouse Monday through Thursday during the lunch break. Anyone interested in offering further support should contact the MEC.
Copyright Mendocino Environmental Center 1997
Permission granted to excerpt or use this article if source is cited