Did Vernon Hershberger dodge a bullet, or did the two prosecutors from the Wisconsin Attorney General’s office shoot themselves in the foot on Friday, when a judge refused to act on a state request that Hershberger be penalized for allegedly violating the terms of his bail agreement?
It’s hard to know because, while Judge Guy Reynolds admonished the two prosecutors for failing to follow proper protocol in seeking sanctions against raw dairy farmer Hershberger, the judge left open the possibility that Hershberger could be subject to severe penalties if he is eventually judged to have violated the bail terms.
The prosecutors during the previous week had dashed off a letter to the judge, complaining that Hershberger was violating the bail terms by making raw milk and other farm products available to his food club members, alleging he was running a retail store.
Eric Defort, one of the assistant Attorney General prosecutors (with Phillip Ferris), accused Hershberger of “willful violation of the pretrial release conditions.” Judge Reynolds acknowledged he had received a letter from the Attorney General’s office about Hershberger. Unfortunately for the prosecutors, he noted tersely, “This court will not respond to letters. This court responds to motions.”
The judge did, however, warn Hershberger that he could be in trouble with the court if the
Attorney General’s office files a motion and the judge agrees with it. Violating bond conditions “could be a separate crime subject to separate punishment. I admonish you that you are to follow my bond conditions.”
Hershberger, sitting alone at the defendant’s table, reminded the judge that he had previously disavowed the agreement he signed in early January as a condition of being released pending trial for four misdemeanors related to making raw milk available to his nearly 200 herd club members. Many of them were among the 70 people who packed the main courtroom, and were also among another 100 or so crowded into a basement room where the proceedings could be viewed on a television monitor. “I do not have jurisdiction over that food,” Hershberger told the judge. “It belongs to the members.”
The judge didn’t respond to Hershberger’s reminder, just as he hadn’t responded when Hershberger read his widely disseminated statement that he “would rather go to jail, or even die” than withhold food from his food club members, as required by the bail agreement.
Ferris, the assistant AG, declined after the hearing to say whether he had plans to file a motion on the bail matter. “It’s not that I won’t talk with you, I wouldn’t tell any member of the media my plans,” he said.
Before the bail agreement issue came up, the judge set a date for the previously postponed pretrial hearing of Sept. 14. Then he set a tentative date for Hershberger’s trial of Sept. 25, and said he anticipated it would run three or four days.
The judge repeatedly advised Hershberger to reconsider his strategy up till now of representing himself in court. “If you cannot afford (a lawyer), one will be appointed” from the public defender’s office, the judge told Hershberger. “I urge you to get an attorney.” Hershberger told the judge he was uncertain whether he would engage a lawyer.
The judge also promised to review three motions Hershberger has filed challenging the court’s jurisdiction in the case, which argue that because the food club is privately organized, it is outside the regulatory reach of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Judge Reynolds gave the state 21 days to respond to Hershberger’s motions, and said Hershberger would then have 10 days to respond to the state’s response.
Prior to the half-hour hearing, about 300 Hershberger supporters gathered in the snowy cold outside the courthouse for a one-hour demonstration that included brief remarks by Hershberger, Canadian food rights leader Michael Schmidt, Liz Reitzig of the Raw Milk Freedom Riders, and Aajonus Vonderplanitz of Right to Choose Healthy Food, which leases the cows on behalf of the Hershberger food club.
Schmidt asked the crowd: “Who is willing to go to jail in defense of their food rights?” About two-thirds of those rallying raised their hands and cheered.
Two members of Hershberger’s food club also spoke. One of them, Jenny, pointed out, “I am not engaging in commerce. I am the owner of the animals.” Eating the food from her animals is “our fundamental right.”
The rally’s highlight was the unveiling of a huge “Declaration of Food Independence”, which committed its signers to engaging in civil disobedience to confirm the right of individuals to enter into private agreements for food.
***
At nearly the same time as the Vernon Hershberger hearing was taking place, a separate courtroom drama was playing out in a Los Angeles County courthouse . There, a seemingly routine hearing for the Rawesome Three—James Stewart, Sharon Palmer, and Victoria Bloch—was just ending.
Before the defendants could turn to leave the courtroom, three L.A. County Sheriff’s deputies standing a few feet away ordered Stewart and Palmer to place their hands behind their backs so they could be handcuffed, and they were then whisked out of the courthouse. They were arrested under a warrant issued by neighboring Ventura County, which is where Palmer’s Healthy Family Farms is located. Left alone in the L.A. courtroom was Bloch, who told me that not only was she in shock, but that the L.A. Country District Attorney’s representative appeared just as surprised.
Rumors have been floating around all week that additional charges were pending against one or more of the Rawesome Three. I spoke with an official in the L.A. County District Attorney’s office who, while he wouldn’t comment specifically, suggested his office didn’t have new charges pending for the Friday hearing.
According to an article in a Ventura County publication, Palmer is being charged with 38 felony counts and Stewart with 37 felony counts. The felonies, alleged to have taken place between Feb. 1, 2008, and April 1, 2009, include grand theft, money laundering, and the illegal offering of securities, along with two counts of elder theft.
Also charged was Larry Otting, a long-time Rawesome member, with 14 felony counts.
Because Otting was involved in helping Palmer obtain financing for Healthy Family Farms, it seems as if the new charges revolve around the financing that took place during 2008. Palmer is understood to have taken short-term loans from several Rawesome members and other individuals to complete the purchase of Healthy Family Farms in late 2008. She then encountered difficulties re-paying the money when she was hit, beginning in late 2008, with charges by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, together with Ventura County, that she was selling goats milk cheese without proper licensing. Palmer has argued that she had paid CDFA for renewal of licenses, and that CDFA had cashed her checks, but failed to issue her the licenses. The situation was complicated by the fact that Palmer had moved from a previous Ventura County farm, where the licenses were originally issued, to Healthy Family Farms during 2008.
Stewart, through Rawesome, had helped Palmer make connections with Rawesome members to borrow funds for the farm.
So now Palmer is being held pending $2 million bail, and Stewart on $1 million bail. Otting’s bail situation isn’t known at this time.
Palmer’s higher bail likely reflects the fact that in 2001, she pleaded guilty to defrauding an elderly woman in a mortgage scheme run by her husband at the time, and was released based on having served nine months when she couldn’t post bail and her husband at the time was on the run. She has claimed that he was the driving force in the operation, and that she served mostly as an administrative aide.
Friends of Stewart say they appealed to the Red Cross Friday for assistance, claiming he is being held as “a political prisoner.” They say he won’t accept any supplies or eat any of the food in jail, based on his need for a special diet relying heavily on raw dairy and meat.
In addition, they are asking Stewart supporters to petition the L.A. police and sheriff’s department with notarized letters they have drafted. These also claim he is a political prisoner.
Before Stewart and Palmer were hauled out of the L.A. courtroom in handcuffs, the judge in the original case filed last August, in which they were charged with selling raw milk without a license, had set May 2 for a pretrial hearing.
As for Palmer. she has a history of fraud. Being an accomplice in a crime make you a criminal. I wonder if those people who were scammed got their money back? Bringing people across an international boarder in a car trunk is illegal.
http://articles.latimes.com/2000/jul/19/business/fi-55157
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/02/business/fi-5902
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/home-base-mortgage-brokers-accused-of-scamming-widow
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/VALLEY+FRAUD+SUSPECT+ELUSIVE%3B+JUDGMENTS+AGAINST+HIM+TOTAL+IN+MILLIONS.-a083620932
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/jul/26/business/fi-7281
On Vernon, I am so pleased I can't even begin to express my happiness that he didn't go to jail. This gives us more time to bring his situation into the public eye and to open the eyes of many who simply don't know that it is virtually illegal to eat food of your own choice.
I desperately wanted to go and join with everyone in Baraboo standing against the tyrants there, but funding would not allow it. Thanks to all who went and for all the effort expended in getting the event together! Thank you, and blessings on you!
Just as an aside, I find it a little amusing that Baraboo is the home of the Ringling and Barnum and Bailey Circus…..tickles my funny bone!
To support raw milk farmers is one thing. To sympathize and excuse away the behavior of a known con artist is SHAMEFUL.
From my estimation, Rawesome members aren't the only ones who may have been conned. It looks like Rabobank may have been conned out of 1.1 million. Also, what about the numerous reports and accusations locally that she ran up debt all over town with feed stores and meat and egg purveyors alike? And why would she run up debt with meat and egg vendors? Perhaps the pasture raised meat and eggs she sold weren't entirely hers. It's one thing to outright fraud your customers by selling product that is completely not yours. It's harder to catch someone who supplements a little of someone elses with a little of their own.
As for the courtroom drama, well, it's interesting. But to scream moan that the bail is set to high is ridiculous. She is a known flight risk. She was able to get $2million for her farm, so why is her bail seen as outrageous? Stewart was bailed out at $30,000 last time by one of his Rawesome friends. I hate to state the obvious, but these are monied and misguided supporters.
Do I wish wall street fraudulent financiers and murderers were treated so strongly? Yes, I do. But when a few people are using the good will of many people who care about good food for their own financial gain, then the strong and swift justice is necessary for the public good.
See your point. Not sure we should even bother with a trial for Sharon Palmer and James Stewart. Lock 'em up and throw away the key. I mean, it's so obvious they are guilty, why waste taxpayer money? (Save that for all the investigations into how Rawesome providing people with dangerous food.) Seriously, didn't think I was trying to exonerate them as much as provide a context for the charges, and some sense of their side of the story.
David
While I appreciate that you tell their side of the story, and that they are innocent until proven guilty, I do not appreciate how the real food community has defended and supported these characters.
This alleged fraudulent activity is way worse than even I imagined. In investigating whether the animal products she sold at farmers markets were from the animals she raised on her farm, it became clear that there was a pattern of deceit. Several egg venders and several meat venders admitted she was their customer buying thousands of dollars of product for her "employees" and "charity". One witness to her operation confirmed that she went on these runs for chicken and eggs and even goats milk!
What about the thousands of farmers market customers who may have been defrauded? Do you not care about them?
Kristen
California, Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and now Wisconsin. This "Right to Choose Healthy Food" buyers club seems to have a knack for getting farmers into trouble, while their members"Ride Free".
Wisdom, understanding, and sound judgment are required. The old saying if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? means the action of today whether to build soundly or to corrupt (or to acquiesce to existing corruption) will importantly affect ourselves, our neighbors as time unrolls. Of course ordinary communications and travel as they are mean actions can have a world-wide effect (isnt that an astounding consequence?).
Mr. J. Ingvar Odegaard
I suppose one could define a group of people or crowd gathered together as a mob. I wouldnt however describe those who participated at the rally in that light. A mob and likewise mob rule in my mind is a group of individuals or a government who use intimidation tactics such as bullying, threats and aggression in order to get their way?
Ken
As I hear people and see people picking up stones and throwing them on the souls of Lucky and James….I remember well the beginning days of OPDC when the bank would not loan us a dime because we were producing raw milk. Alta Dena had just closed it's doors after years of raw milk torment. James has a great heart. He is a rebel and pioneer yes….but in his heart he is no criminal. I have nothing to say about Sharon. She has some serious issues with a history and I can not defend her at all.
James and Lucky deserve credit for raw milk being available in CA. It was their assistance that made it possible.
Just because 37 felonies have been threatened….does not mean one will stick. Do not judge to quickly….
We are so thankful that Vernon is with his family today. Attending the rally with my boys was very inspirational and the boys learned a wonderful lesson about standing up for your fundamental freedoms. It was absolutely worth the trip out from California, the many stops I had to take on the way to the courthouse for a very car sick boy, and getting stuck overnight in Baraboo due to the snow! I think my non raw milk drinking friends listened more to our explanation of why this was important to everyone as they e-mailed for an update on Vernon today. They were all praying for him too. I think that's when you'll see this movement turn, when people who really wouldn't care to consume raw dairy products or produce their own food are mobilized to fight for food freedom.
Next fall, my dream is to come back to a Wisconsin that honors my freedom to produce my own food! In the meantime, our family will be doing all we personally can to support the courageous caretakers of our cows who stand up for us. Simply put, we need to be able to produce raw dairy for our family no matter where we live, and we will never stop doing so.
This isn't going away DATCP and FDA! We will stand for the right to privately produce OUR OWN FOOD!
Mark, thanks for that bit of history. Helps further to humanize the situation.
David
I heard Liz Reitzig on the Alex Jones show the other day explaining Vernon's situation, which I think is kind of strange since a few folks on this blog consider him to be a tin foil hat wearing nut job conspiracy theorist.
I have spoken to other farmers and former farmers about drinking raw milk. Most are ok with it and a few are buying cows again to be able to drink raw milk.
I do not know everyone's financial situation or their living arrangements but instead of supporting these organizations financially (RTCHF/FTCLDF), find a way to own your own dairy animals any way you can – what better way to keep the raw milk movement alive and well.
I am currently in Little Rock, I find the food situation difficult. The grocery stores offer mainly SAD phoods. There is a small Whole foods and a Fresh Market which is also small. These two have a very limited supply of uncontaminated foods….. Also the costs of foods appear higher here than in Sacramento. Food is taxed here. In all the stores I've been in, I've not seen where healthy foods are promoted,, only processed crap. I can see why there is a major health and weight problem in this country. Raw cow milk is illegal here. The farmers market opens in a April, I think.
Raw milk sales from the farm are perfectly legal in PA, although crossing state lines to sell it is not. There are small dairies doing business perfectly legally in several states where raw milk is legal, and the FDA has stated that they do not intend to charge consumers with a crime should they elect to purchase raw milk and transport it across state lines for their own use. Therefore, there isn't any real threat to one's liberty in participating in these "Freedom Ride" protests. The risk is borne exclusively by the farmer.
Mr. Hershberger may "live to fight another day", but he is hardly out of the woods. The judge has told him flat out to get an attorney and comply fully with the terms of his release. His members should convince him to do so in his and his family's best interest.
I suppose under your definition, the American Revolutionaries would have been practicing "mob rule" when they destroyed the private property of the East India Tea company during the Boston Tea Party, or when they tarred and feathered local Tories for lending material support to the British troops.
In truth, the ones who use intimidation tactics are the ruling class. They only call it class warfare when we fight back.
For example, when Wisconsin governor Scott Walker threatened to call out the national guard to evict the occuption of the state capital building here in Madison, one year ago, or when various local police departments have been sent in to evict "occupy" protesters (most notably in New York City and Oakland, but also in many other cities).
As I said… the problem is not "mob rule." The problem is the rule of the few over the many.
For another great example of "mob rule" see the Wisconsin milk Strike of 1933:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933_Wisconsin_milk_strike
Then….Vernon takes a vacation from farming for six months. He does not own the farm and is doing nothing wrong….nothing at all. Let the next round of charges fall on the next stand in replacement farmer….and the next and the next. It would be 100% legal, infinitely exhausting for the authorities and could go on and on. There would be no end in sight. Keep on selling the farm to the next in line farmer. The media must be brought in as a friend!!! The story must be told!! Forget being compliant or passive. Become pre-emptive and strategically brilliant.
At the same time there must be a parallel effort to change the law in Wisconsin…..this is insane. This is all about Land-o-lakes and DATCP. This is all about corporate cronyism at it's very worst. In CA, there is civil responsible dialogue between hundreds of " Cow Shares" and their representatives and the regulators and big Ag reps. Progress is being made….regs will change, exemptions will be implemented, food safety guidelines will be published, self certification of safety practices with out state inspection or registration will happen.
Wisconsin must be seized by it's people. Protest, continued raw milk production through strategic grass roots efforts and legislative efforts happening in parallel.
It breaks my heart to see Wisconsin acting as it is…..it is like CA is not in the same America that Wisconsin seems to think it owns. Take heart….never ever fail to remember that this is war….think French resistance WW2. Innovation, strategy, perseverance…our children will pay the price of our loss.
I found the food rights workshop at Vernons farm to be relevant, educational and empowering. Those who attended were given practical, useable tools to deal with not only fear, but raids, cease and desist orders, court appearances and the media. John Moody did an amazing job of detailing the steps farmers need to take now: HAVE A PLAN, educate your member/owners that they are activists and that they have a responsibility to take action when the time comes. David, sharing your experience in the media was very helpful, especially when you touched on one very big problem; farmers are not, nor do most want to be, involved in public/media relations while the opposition has marketing firms to do their PR work. You also pointed out that today we have a lot of media options available to us as individuals, and we need to learn how to make the best use of them. Michael Schmidt expressed the passion he shares with many farmers for the sounds and the smell of his barn, and his cows, and the earth under his feet. His conviction that farmers are now freedom fighters was powerful and infectious, as was his message that those they feed must stand next to the farmer on the front lines.
To illustrate how lessons from the workshop can be effective: the Wisconsin Raw Milk Association invited GCNlive.com talk radio host Josh Tolley to the rally for Vernon on Friday, he broadcasted his show live from the rally. I spent the first hour of the show as his guest; my involvement was spontaneous and the conversation was completely unscripted. The words of one of the workshop organizers, Liz Reitzig, of peaceful non-compliance were fresh in my mind and helped me frame my thoughts as I spoke. And when Josh asked me if I am afraid of what could happen to me for speaking out Max Kanes journey with fear came to my mind, I spun around to see my daughters looking back at me, and I could honestly say no, Im not because more people every day are joining this fight. And in truth, Im much more afraid of what will happen if I, if we, dont speak out.
If those who have the resources would sponsor more workshops like this one both farmers and consumers could be exponentially more powerful and effective. Imagine communities alongside their farmers ready and waiting with an action plan for peaceful non-compliance when the self-proclaimed authorities show up. The court of public opinion will share the voice of reason.
I found the food rights workshop at Vernons farm to be relevant, educational and empowering. Those who attended were given practical, useable tools to deal with not only fear, but raids, cease and desist orders, court appearances and the media. John Moody did an amazing job of detailing the steps farmers need to take now: HAVE A PLAN, educate your member/owners that they are activists and that they have a responsibility to take action when the time comes. David, sharing your experience in the media was very helpful, especially when you touched on one very big problem; farmers are not, nor do most want to be, involved in public/media relations while the opposition has marketing firms to do their PR work. You also pointed out that today we have a lot of media options available to us as individuals, and we need to learn how to make the best use of them. Michael Schmidt expressed the passion he shares with many farmers for the sounds and the smell of his barn, and his cows, and the earth under his feet. His conviction that farmers are now freedom fighters was powerful and infectious, as was his message that those they feed must stand next to the farmer on the front lines.
To illustrate how lessons from the workshop can be effective: the Wisconsin Raw Milk Association invited GCNlive.com talk radio host Josh Tolley to the rally for Vernon on Friday, he broadcasted his show live from the rally. I spent the first hour of the show as his guest; my involvement was spontaneous and the conversation was completely unscripted. The words of one of the workshop organizers, Liz Reitzig, of peaceful non-compliance were fresh in my mind and helped me frame my thoughts as I spoke. And when Josh asked me if I am afraid of what could happen to me for speaking out Max Kanes journey with fear came to my mind, I spun around to see my daughters looking back at me, and I could honestly say no, Im not because more people every day are joining this fight. And in truth, Im much more afraid of what will happen if I, if we, dont speak out.
If those who have the resources would sponsor more workshops like this one both farmers and consumers could be exponentially more powerful and effective. Imagine communities alongside their farmers ready and waiting with an action plan for peaceful non-compliance when the self-proclaimed authorities show up. The court of public opinion will share the voice of reason.
That sigh for Vernon inspired a vivid flashback to when I last sat in the 1794 Town Meeting House of Sedgwick Maine.
It was just one year ago today that this coastal village unanimously passed, with over 120 hands held high, the first Local Food and Community Self-Governance Ordinance in the US a declaration of local food – local rules. Period.
Three days later, 8th March 2011, an abutting town, Penobscot, passed the very same ordinance, unanimously, at it's annual town meeting. Three more towns, Blue Hill, Trenton and Hope continued the trend and subsequently passed the same ordinance during 2011.
In spite of so-called expert opinions to the otherwise, these ordinances continue to stand unchallenged in a court of competent jurisdiction, in all five towns. Several more towns in Maine are considering presenting it to their citizens during 2012.
Amazingly, not one person has complained of death or even so much as a tummy ache due to a complete vacuum of government permission or supervision over our local food supply. Quite to the contrary, wee entrepreneurial farms, gardens and kitchens are sprouting all over the place!
Blessings on the Hershbergers and Happy Anniversary Sedgwick and Penobscot Maine!
http://www.thecompletepatient.com/journal/2011/3/7/heres-a-way-to-eliminate-the-regulators-and-lawyers-and-buil.html