On the fifth day of deliberations in the so-called 'Queen's Park Riot' jury trial of John Clarke, Gaetan Heroux, and Stefan Pilipa, Superior Court of Ontario Judge Lee Ferrier has declared a mistrial.

On the fifth day of deliberations in the so-called 'Queen's Park Riot'
jury trial of John Clarke, Gaetan Heroux, and Stefan Pilipa, Superior
Court of Ontario Judge Lee Ferrier has declared a mistrial.

At 9:50 this morning,for the second time since deliberations began, a
juror was taken to hospital for stress-related reasons, and the judge
reconvened court in order to announce his decision to dismiss the juror.
While it is possible to drop up to 2 jurors, even during deliberations,
the circumstances of the previous days in this particular trial - the jury
sending a note to the trial judge describing their extreme exhaustion,
frustration, and division, including emotional outbursts and, most
importantly, a 9-3 split on whether or not the events on June 15th, 2000
at Queen's Park could even in fact be considered a 'riot' - led the judge
to pose questions to the jury this morning, as to whether or not they
could continue in their decision-making in a just and fair manner, in
accordance with the oaths they had sworn.

The jury responded to the questions with the following answer - 8 jurors
felt they could continue, 3 felt they could not. Upon confirming this
response with the jury, the judge declared that the trial could not
continue, and that he found it to be a mistrial.

While it is true that the defendants are theoretically still on trial,
until a decision with regard to re-trial is reached, and while this
decision will not be formally announced until June 18th in Superior Court,
the serious difficulty the jury had in breaking their obvious deadlock,
and their apparent inability to agree upon whether or not the events of
the day constituted a riot - the most fundamental premise of the charges
laid - is extremely significant. That the Tory government and the Toronto
Police were politically motivated in laying antiquated and serious charges
against three long-standing and deeply respected members of OCAP has
always been apparent - unless a government that shortchanges the people of
Ontario every single day is willing to put out even more than the
reprehensible amount of money it has already spent and to launch another
trial - this is a huge battle won.

Three years of stringent bail conditions, months in court, and years in
jail looming over their heads, the defendants and the organization as a
whole have refused to back down. Clearly, people living in Ontario have
been affected by the policies and realities of the Eves-Harris reign, far
beyond what is conveyed by polls and press. The rage which brought people
to the steps of Queen's Park on that day in June runs deep. The events
today should be seen as a vindication.

OCAP would like to thank counsel for the defendants - Peter Rosenthal, Bob
Kellerman, and Jeffrey House - for their diligence, commitment, untiring
effort and belief in the actions and principles of the men on trial. As
well, a heartfelt thanks to all those who attended the proceedings and
stood vigil during the past days, weeks, and months, and also to those who
sent messages and donations in solidarity and support. And finally, to
all those June 15th defendants who did time, endured house arrest, were
found guilty, lived through stringent bail and probation conditions, and
continue to do so - to all those who stood up on that day and fought back.

As an organization that has had millions of state dollars thrown at it in
an attempt to shut it down, we wish to close this chapter with resilience,
in the wake of the failure of the state to neutralize forces of
opposition. It is with this resilience that we send out the following
call, for another step forward in the fight in which the June 15th 'riot'
played such an important role. As we move forward, we do so in the spirit
of those who have lost battles with judges and juries, and died at the
hands of politicians and police.