Justice For Stanley Cohen

About the Case

Stanley L. Cohen is long-time social justice attorney and activist. For ten years he has been subjected to aggressive investigation and harassment by various agencies of the United States federal government, ultimately leading to criminal indictments being filed against him in two jurisdictions, relating to income tax matters.

On April 14, 2014 following years of litigation, enormous expense and tremendous stress to his family and his practice, he accepted a deal that includes pleading guilty to impeding the IRS tax code. He will be sentenced in October or shortly thereafter. He is now facing 18 months in prison.

The political nature of this prosecution is evident from the severity of the charges leveled against Cohen for underlying acts many of which are not even alleged to be illegal in and of themselves (for example accepting cash payments from clients, or keeping cash in an office safe), or are as benign and common as allowing clients to barter labor for legal services.

It is apparent that the motivation driving these charges is not taxes, but is in fact retaliation for Mr. Cohen’s years of standing up to governments on behalf of people and peoples’ movements. These charges are clearly intended to silence and shut down his consistent efforts to assist the politically unpopular and socially marginalized.

To help out, please do one of the following:

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Write a letter to Judge Mordue

Stanley Cohen’s court date is October 21, 2014 at the Federal District Court for the Northern District of New York. We are collecting letters of support on his behalf. Please submit your letter by October 19, 2014 so that it can be included in the submission to the Court.

Please do not send your letter directly to the Court — it will not be read. An attorney assisting in the case will compile your letters and submit them to the court.

To submit a letter, you may either:

1. E-mail a copy to jay@criminal-lawyer.me
2. Mail a copy to:
   Law Offices of Jay Leiderman
   5740 Ralston Street, Suite #300
   Ventura, California 93003

Please address your letters to:

Honorable Norman A. Mordue
Senior Judge
Northern District of New York

Your letter should have the following elements:

1. Greeting – Address your letter “Dear Judge Mordue.”
2. Who you are – Briefly discuss yourself — who you are, your position in work or your role in the community.
3. Your relationship to Stanley – If you are not personally acquainted with Stanley, tell the Judge why you are interested in his case.
4. Why Stanley deserves leniency – State that you are aware that Stanley has pled guilty to impeding the IRS. Tell the Judge why you believe he should be treated with compassion.
5. If possible, include concrete examples of things that he has done for you or others. You can talk about his tireless work for human rights in Palestine, or his advocacy on behalf of the Paypal14. If you need more examples of Stanley and his work, you can visit his website: http://istanleycohen.org
6. Your signature – Sign the letter and include your return address.

Remember, do not try to argue that Stanley is not guilty or was unfairly targeted. You are asking the Judge for leniency.

If you have any questions, please email Grace at freestanleycohen@xs2.net.

Thank you all for signing the petition, for writing letters, and for all the love and support you’ve expressed for Stanley.