BY SYLVIE CHARBIN
TORONTO - A collective sigh of relief, applause and raised fists went up from some two dozen supporters present in the courtroom June 1, as the jury pronounced a verdict of "not guilty" on all three charges of sexual assault laid in February 1995 against Dudley Laws. The verdict came after 10 hours of deliberation.

Laws is a leading antiracist fighter here and founder of the Black Action Defense Committee (BADC). For more than a decade, BADC has waged a campaign against the killing of Blacks and other working people by the Toronto cops. This frame-up trial followed a series of legal charges against Laws because of his outspoken views about police racism and brutality in Toronto.

Outside the courthouse following the verdict, Laws said that he was pleased with the outcome of the two-week trial.

The woman who laid the charges, who is Black, testified that Laws raped her as often as three times a week from the time she was seven years old until she was 14, between 1968 and 1976.

Under questioning by the defense, the woman stated that she opposed Laws's political views, which she said promoted hatred towards whites. The woman, who is now in her 30s, lives in Thailand teaching English. At the time of the alleged assaults, Dudley Laws was working as a welder for a construction company, drove a cab and was an active member of the Universal African Improvement Association.

In lengthy testimonies describing their family life, both the woman's mother and brother vehemently denied that there was any sign that she was abused. Among those called to testify by the prosecution was a clinical psychologist who stated that the accuser showed symptoms similar to a sexual abuse victim. But under cross-examination he acknowledged he had never actually spoken with the woman.

The prosecution based its case on recent changes in Canadian law, which state that in cases of childhood sexual abuse, no physical or corroborative evidence - that is witnesses - are required to get a conviction. The presiding judge at the trial, Justice Victor Paisley, instructed the jury to carefully examine the credibility of both the accused and the accuser in rendering their verdict.

The mostly working-class jury was made up of six men and six women and included only three members of "visible minorities," none of whom were Black. Out of a pool of 140 potential jurors, there were only three Blacks. Outside the courthouse following the verdict, Charles Roach, one of Laws' lawyers, stated that if there had been Blacks on the jury, they would not have taken so long to arrive at a verdict. "Although the police can find large numbers of (Black) people to charge as defendants" he said, "they can find very few to bring here as jurors."

In another reaction to the not-guilty verdict rendered by this jury, one Laws supporter exclaimed, "The message here is that there's hope for humanity."

Laws told the Militant, "When the charges were first laid, I thought this had to have been orchestrated by the police. I still feel that there was underlying police interference in the case."

Laws was sued in 1991 by the Metropolitan Toronto Police Association for libel, when after a series of racist police shootings, Laws accused the Toronto police of being "the most murderous in North America." That suit was later dropped.

In February 1994, Laws was convicted on three counts of conspiracy to "smuggle aliens." Laws worked as an immigration consultant at the time. The trial revealed that Laws was the target a massive entrapment operation organized jointly by the Metro Toronto Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, in collaboration with U.S. immigration cops and courts. A motion to stay the guilty verdicts against Laws on the grounds of police entrapment was dismissed by the presiding judge. He was handed a nine-month sentence in that case, which is still under appeal.

A 1989 secret police report revealed during the entrapment hearing documented police surveillance of 13 groups and 18 individuals - including Laws - who were active in the fight against cop brutality, racism, and apartheid in South Africa.

"It's not often in the day-to-day struggle that ordinary working class people win a victory" said BADC activist Lennox Farrell, at a victory celebration held at his home the day after the verdict was pronounced.

Laws thanked his numerous supporters and said that the verdict had given him "the freedom to continue my work" and that "the allegations will not impair my continued defense of the Black community."

Sylvie Charbin is a member of International Association of Machinists Lodge 2113 at Ford Electronics. Gary Kettner contributed to this article.  
 
 
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