2015 Fundraising Campaign Kicks Off: Leaving It to Lawyers Is Not Enough!

Photo / August 7, 2015
Press conference on the victory of teacher Lin Ming-hui, a victim injured during the March 24 Executive Yuan eviction incident, in suing the state for state violence (from left to right: volunteer lawyer Liu Chi-wei, plaintiff Lin Ming-hui, and volunteer lawyer Ku Li-hsiung)

"Your Honor, please let me finish!" Attorney Yu said sternly.
"A group of people were unarmed, and their heads were beaten bloody by the police. Yet the court refuses even to accept the case. Is this truly reasonable!?" Attorney Yu added.

This was a scene on October 1, 2015, during the hearing of the March 24 Executive Yuan case, where Attorney Yu Po-hsiang presented his legal arguments forcefully to the judge in the courtroom.

Citizens who were beaten and injured went to court to file private prosecutions seeking justice. For over a year, the courts have repeatedly used procedural maneuvers to turn these cases away. Refusing to give up, the lawyers decided to take the rejected cases and try once more, demanding that the judges hear the cases jointly. Similar scenes continue to play out in courtrooms across every private prosecution case.

More than a year has passed since the surging 318 Movement, and people are gradually returning to their everyday lives. However, the volunteer lawyers of the JRF Volunteer Lawyer Platform remain steadfastly committed to their ideals inside the courtroom, fighting tirelessly to realize genuine freedom of speech and hold state violence accountable.

Throughout the year, much of what the judiciary has given back to us has been disheartening and disappointing setbacks. Fortunately, in the state compensation case filed by plaintiff teacher Lin Ming-hui against state violence, the Administrative Litigation Division of the Taipei District Court ruled that the police had used excessive force during law enforcement and that the state must pay compensation. This is the only news that is somewhat heartening.

As for the rest, we still have not given up. Even when facing the frustration of the courts repeatedly dismissing and refusing to accept cases, experiencing the anger of the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicting 132 people abusively, feeling the depression of submitting a petition for constitutional interpretation without receiving any response, and enduring the delays as numerous cases continue to drift and dangle in the courtroom, we will still fight to the very end!

Most gratifyingly, there are currently 200 lawyers within the platform handling 269 cases, along with a total of 35 volunteer assistants and interns. We have held hundreds of legal team meetings, hundreds of assistant team meetings, and participated in hundreds of courtroom observation sessions. Everyone continues to press on in this grueling battle.

The Volunteer Lawyer Platform Is...

• A Manifestation of Human Rights, Justice, and the Rule of Law

  The attorney oath dictates a mission "to safeguard human rights, realize social justice, and promote democratic rule of law." When the state unlawfully harms democratic constitutional order, and citizens bravely step forward to defend democracy, lawyers ought to stand up to protect them and assist them in fighting back. Participating in the volunteer legal team is the finest realization of the spirit of the attorney oath.

• A Guiding Light for Plaintiffs

  Litigation is long and agonizing, even when eventual justice is attained. A plaintiff once made this analogy: "Volunteer lawyers are like a flickering indicator light in a long tunnel. The relationship between lawyers and plaintiffs is not one of constant, inseparable presence, but rather one that flickers from time to time. As we are about to enter the darkness, you let us know that you are always here, allowing us to keep moving forward in life and accompanying us toward the faint light visible in the distance."

• The Engine Driving the Cases

  Aside from the dedication of lawyers and plaintiffs, massive class action lawsuits require an organization to sustain the entire administrative machinery of the litigation. Volunteer assistants, interns, and the JRF itself play the administrative and logistical role behind the litigation. From contacting lawyers, organizing plaintiffs, handling litigation administration, to even gathering case materials, we rely heavily on the assistance of volunteers. The platform is the logistical engine of the litigation cases, fueled by the passion and perseverance of this group, keeping the engine running nonstop.

Regarding the Future, We Plan To...

• Promote Institutional Reform

  The reason the pursuit of state violence accountability has been so arduous is largely because police officers lack identification markings while on duty, making it impossible to identify the assaulting officers to hold them accountable. Therefore, we will promote the implementation of an identification system for on-duty police officers so that violent police officers have nowhere to hide, and to ensure that officers strictly adhere to the principle of proportionality when enforcing law during related protests in the future.

• Hold an Annual Forum

  We will compile all the issues that occurred at protest sites from last March to the present, as well as the legal battles involved in subsequent litigation, to hold a comprehensive annual forum to evaluate legal disputes and carve out new paths for litigation.

• Expand Volunteer Participation

  We will also continue to organize plaintiffs and cooperate with legal service internship programs at various universities to allow more people to participate in the volunteer lawyer team platform. This will make the operations of the volunteer lawyer platform more dynamic and inject more vitality into future legal public interest practices.

• Sustain the Operations of the Volunteer Lawyer Team Platform

  The volunteer lawyer platform continues to assist hundreds of lawyers and plaintiffs with the administrative matters of litigation cases, including organizing legal team meetings, photocopying case files, tracking case progress, collecting legal data, screening video materials, and conducting courtroom observations. We hope to maintain the ongoing operation of the volunteer lawyer platform.

We Need Your Continued Donations and Support!

During the 318 Movement, volunteer lawyers stated, "Leave the rest to the lawyers." We promised back then that we would stand side by side with everyone in the courtroom, ensuring no one would be left alone or isolated. For over a year, we have continuously fulfilled this promise. Lawyers have assisted pro bono in all cases, while we continue to invest resources to maintain the operation of the platform.

Beyond thanking the lawyers for their unreserved, selfless assistance with individual cases, we are also deeply moved by the plaintiffs who have stood alongside us through this arduous struggle all this time. What we want to say is that, in fact, "Leaving it to lawyers is not enough"; we also need your support, and we need the strength of everyone!

If the judiciary is a high wall in the pursuit of state violence accountability, you and I are the gentle breeze blowing toward that high wall together, the fine rain falling upon every brick. Even though our strength is meager, we believe that one day, the high wall will weather away due to our minute yet ceaseless blowing, shattering into sand.

Allowing the high wall to crumble and shatter requires your support and assistance. Please support the JRF Volunteer Lawyer Platform!