Trial Preface

Col Carranza Trial preface
Sunday Oct. 30. the night before the Carranza trial starts. Let me tell you a little bit about the case.
Eight Salvadoran plaintiffs are in federal court participating in a lawsuit against a former military leader in El Salvador. The leader's name is Colonel Nicholas Carranza. The plaintiffs either were tortured or suffered the death of their parents at the hands of the Salvadoran military during the early 1980s. The lawsuit alleges that the defendant, who currently resides in Memphis, Tennessee, is responsible for the plaintiff's torture or the murder of their parents.
The judge in this jury trial is the honorable Jon Phipps McCalla presiding over the case in the Western District of Tennessee. Judge McCalla previously denied our request to shoot (film) the proceedings for our documentary film about this rather unusual event.
There are a number of issues that will be debated in this trial. The first of which is the notion of Universal Jurisdiction. (please remember I am not a lawyer) Universal Jurisdiction is the idea that the United States has some jurisdiction (or the ability to exercise authority over people and events in a territory) in the world we live in.
Additionally the trial will look at Command Responsibility. Or put another way in times of war how much are the leaders to blame for their own actions and the actions of their soldiers.
The Torture Victim Protection Act is an act that allows victims of torture (anywhere in the world) to make a claim ($) against those who brought harm against them IF they are residing in the country OR to my knowledge reside in a place that is within the long arm of U.S. law (that would be about anywhere).
Finally, the Alien Tort Claims Act helped U.S. ships of a hundred years ago take legal action against pirates from foreign countries who committed acts of aggression against them off the shores of our country. Not exactly within the United States proper and occasionally to my knowledge not exactly on our waters BUT on the high seas nevertheless.
Judge McCalla denied our request to "film" the trial in the Pre-trial hearing about 2 weeks ago. This was not a surprise as cameras are not a part of the process in the federal courts of our land. McCalla addressed us at the Pre-trial hearing where lawyers from both sides met to discuss the upcoming case. McCalla was quick to point out that "we" (the filmmakers) were welcome in "his" courtroom and that his decision had nothing to do with the wishes of either the plaintiff's attorneys or the defendant's attorneys.