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Attorney Pamela Y. Price
founded Price And Associates in June 1991 with a vision to establish a minority-and woman-owned litigation Firm in Oakland, California. In the 22 years since its inception, the Firm has
evolved into a premier civil rights practice with a wealth of experience
in federal court litigation.
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www.pypesq.com
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"It was the best of times,
it was the worst of times."
-Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Welcome
In the midst of our celebration of President Obama's historic second term, amid the promise of a new year, there is sadness.
The murder of Ken Harbin, Jr. on January 11, 2013, hit close to home.
Every grandmother and mother's nightmare, the loss of a beloved child. A dream struck down and unfulfilled by a senseless act of violence.
This month's issue of our newsletter focuses on gun violence in America--and was the hardest issue to write and produce. Gun violence in Oakland has been a personal concern for me since the late 1990s. I joined Pastor Bob Jackson and Acts Full Gospel Church of God in Christ's crusade to stop the violence in Oakland circa 1998-1999. In 1999, I took my two grandsons to the weekly rallies at Oakland City Hall to protest the lack of city action against homicides in Oakland. In 2002, I sued the City and the Oakland Police Department for the police failure to protect 21-year-old Chance Grundy, who witnessed a murder and was killed for cooperating with the police. I've attended funerals for people I did not even know, that were killed by guns. To me, gun violence is an outrageous affront to community. The senseless murder of children in the streets is an unbelievably painful reality of our current American experience. It can and must be changed. We need to remember and remind our children that "to be young, gifted and Black is where it's at."
Best wishes,
Pamela
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Violence in Our Community
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Yes, they do Mr. President. Whether they are the teenagers terrorized daily on the streets of our cities or
the parents of babies murdered in a kindergarten class,
they deserve a vote.
Some consider President Obama's plea for gun control as the emotional highlight of his State of the Union speech. How can one not become emotional when considering the young lives snuffed out by the reckless use of a gun?
The pictures of the kindergarten children killed in Connecticut are heartbreaking. The pictures of homicide victims in Oakland since 2006 are startling. Whether you live in Oakland or New Orleans or Chicago or Connecticut, gun violence in America has gone viral.
We are living through a deadly epidemic like no other we have seen before. In elevating the issue of gun control to national debate, President Obama has stepped into the midst of trauma, turmoil and tragedy in America.
In 1999, citing a "rash of gun-related violence" in Alameda County and a finding that "gunshot fatalities are of epidemic proportions in Alameda County" the Alameda County Board of Supervisors passed a gun control law (See Nordyke v. King summarized below). That law, like most others in America, was vulnerable to attack by the NRA and its supporters because of recent Supreme Court decisions.
In 1999, the nation was shocked by the apparently well-planned massacre at Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. In 2002, filmmaker Michael Moore wrote, produced, directed and narrated Bowling for Columbine. http://www.bowlingforcolumbine.com/
Although the film won numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and propelled Michael Moore to international star status, the Film's main point, that the United States' violent crime rate (particularly violent crimes involving guns) is substantially higher than other nations, seemed to have been lost over time.
For a discussion of another point made in Bowling for Columbine - the racist underpinnings of the Second Amendment - check out "The Second Amendment was Ratified to Preserve Slavery" at
America's "gun culture" is unlike most other western countries. According to Wikipedia, we have about 5% of the world's population but we own about 42% of all of the world's civilian-owned firearms.
In 2011, it was estimated that 47% of the adult population in the United States lived in households with guns. In 2010, the number of homicides by guns in the U.S. was 9,960. By comparison, there were only 173 gun homicides in Canada, 155 in the United Kingdom, 158 in Germany and 142 in France.
While we had almost 10,000 people killed with guns in one year, all of the western countries had less than 200 people. Canada had the highest with 173 - the lowest number was Sweden with only 30 homicides by gun. Japan had only 11 people killed with guns in 2010.
In 2012, the nation was shocked by the massacre of 20 little children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. Between 1999 and 2012, thousands of young men and women have been killed on the streets of Oakland and in major cities across America.
According to the Children's Defense Fund, 87% of children under age 15 killed by guns in 23 high-income countries lived in America. (To read the entire report by the Children's Defense Fund, go to http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/protect-children-not-guns-2012.pdf Black children and teens were only 15% of the child population but were 45% of the total fatal gun deaths in 2008-2009.
In 2011, Oakland's per-capita homicide rate was 26.3, compared to 6.1 in San Francisco, 6.3 in New York City, 7.7 in Los Angeles, 15.9 in Chicago, 20.7 in Atlanta, 31.3 in Baltimore, 48.2 in Detroit, and 57.9 in New Orleans. Oakland's homicide numbers continue to be disheartening: 
Year Homicides
2006 - 148
2007 - 127
2008 - 125
2009 - 108
2010 - 95
2011 - 110
2012 - 131
Three of the 2011 victims were the youngest ever killed by
gun violence, including 23-month old baby Hiram Lawrence, Jr., 3-year old Carlos Nava, and 5-year old Gabriel Martinez, Jr.
On January 11, 2013, the deadliest day so far this year in Oakland, four people were shot and killed in a single day, including 17-year old Ken Harbin, Jr. Ken was killed just one month shy of his 18th
birthday.
Similar to the statistics for America's wars, these numbers do not include the hundreds of people
shot but not killed on the streets of America.
The Children's Defense Fund's gun report estimates that 34,387 children and teens were injured by guns in 2008 and 2009. Nor do the numbers reflect the lost souls who committed the crime. The 13-year-old boy who killed a 15-year old girl in Oakland on December 31, 2012 is not counted.
Where is our anti-war movement here at home? How do we stop the violence here at home?
The number one recommended step is to get guns out of our homes.
The presence of guns increases the risk of death. Gun control should not be an option - it needs to be the law.
Yes, Mr. President, "they deserve a vote."
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Nordyke v. King 
Gun Control in the Courts
Legal decisions in the Courts have routinely restricted gun control laws citing the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. In our community, in the summer of 1999, citing the Columbine massacre, Alameda County then-Supervisor Mary King introduced an ordinance banning guns on all County property.
She also cited a "rash of gun-related violence" in Alameda County. The Ordinance begins with a finding that "gunshot fatalities are of epidemic proportions in Alameda County."
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The Ordinance would have banned gun shows at the Alameda County fairgrounds. The Ordinance passed and was immediately challenged by Russell and Sallie Nordyke, owners of a business that promoted gun shows throughout California.
The case was initially assigned to the Hon. Martin J. Jenkins, then sitting as a District Judge on the federal court. Judge Jenkins decided that the Ordinance was constitutionally valid.
Judge Jenkins ruled that the so-called right to bear arms under the Second Amendment was not an individual right, but a collective right. His decision was upheld by the Ninth Circuit at first. In 2008, the United States Supreme Court held that the Second Amendment gave each individual citizen the right to keep and bear arms. This decision opened the door for the Nordykes to challenge the ordinance under the Second Amendment, something that Judge Jenkins had rejected.
The Nordyke case was caught up in the Courts for almost thirteen (13) years from 1999 to 2012.
While the case was pending, the County retreated and announced that gun shows would be allowed on County property.
On June 1, 2012, the Ninth Circuit Court decided that the law was constitutional in part because it did allow gun shows on County property with tight restrictions, 681 F.3d 1041 (9th Cir. 2012).
The Nordyke case was impacted by a series of decisions by the United States Supreme Court, including District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) (striking down the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 as unconstitutional because it interfered with the individual's right to have a handgun) and McDonald v. City of Chicago, 561 U.S. ____, 130 S. Ct. 3020 (2010) (holding that the Second Amendment applies to all States).
The McDonald case overturned the City of Chicago's gun registration law. In 2009, an amicus or "friend of the Court" brief arguing against gun control was filed by 58 U.S. senators and 251 U.S. representatives, more members of Congress than any other amicus brief in history. Since these cases were decided, the National Rifle Association has filed dozens of cases nationwide asking courts to eliminate gun control laws. |
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5th Annual James Brown Party
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Price And Associates' Fifth Annual James Brown Party was a joyful celebration of the life and music of America's "Godfather of Soul", and the hardest working man in show business.
Held for the first time at the Washington Inn in Old Oakland, it was a premier event of the holiday season. It was attended by friends from all around the Bay, coming from as far away as Fresno and Sacramento and all cities in between.
The catered event featured a delicious menu and the elegant setting of the Washington Inn made it a very special affair. Special Thanks is owed to Price And Associates' community partners and friends who co-sponsored the event by providing generous gifts for the annual raffle and trivia contest.
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Vernon Crawley, Deborah Schweizer, Esq.,
Attorney Pamela Y. Price, Curt Engelhard
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Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
of the San Francisco Bay Area
26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards Luncheon
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 | | Congresswoman Barbara Lee |
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area held its 26th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards Luncheon, on January 31st. The annual event honors Dr. King's legacy by acknowledging pro bono attorneys and community partners for their contributions to the protection and advancement of civil rights. In her second term as Co-Chair, Attorney Price and her new co-Chair Rohit Singla presented the annual awards to the honorees for their service and commitment to justice. This year's event kicked off LCCR's year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The keynote speaker was Congresswoman Barbara Lee who delivered an impassioned plea for continued advocacy against war and the need to address poverty in America. Attended by almost 700 attorneys, judges and civil rights advocates, this year's event was a huge success due to the hard work of the Luncheon Committee and LCCR staff, led by the dynamic Executive Director, Kimberly Thomas-Rapp.
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Executive Director Kimberly Thomas Rapp, Board Member Vincent Ruiz, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Co-Chairs Pamela Y. Price and Rohit Singla
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Luncheon attendee with Price And Associates Staff:
Leigh-Ann Wendling, Evette Padilla, Royl Roberts
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Price And Associates Administrators: Darlene Brooks and Dianne Andrews
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 Live N Let Live is a new public service campaign by Living Water Outreach Services 501 (c) (3) that addresses the many forms of violence, including hazing, bullying, cyber-bullying, relationship abuse, gang violence, and gun violence. Their Vision We envision a world where everyone can live safely, free from all acts of violence including; hazing, bullying, relationship abuse, gang and gun violence. "We all have a right to live in peace, and a responsibility to let others also live in peace." Through various forms of media, community engagement and school based assemblies; Live N Let Live's grassroots approach is to explore solutions to avert violence. Some of their core beliefs are centered on the fact that "we must step-up, speak-up and hold one another accountable." The organization also believes in order to effectively address violence; we must first address the unrest that exists inside the individual that perpetuates acts of violence... which negates peace. And that; acts of violence are often a transference of pain from past and/or present experiences. "Hurt people-hurt people." On the issue of gun violence, Live N Let Live is currently working on a documentary that tells a compelling story about gun violence and why we all should get involved and confront this issue. One of their underlining messages in the film is; it's not about "community policing" it's about "community accountability." And we must find positive steps to hold our communities more responsible and accountable. 'Killing is not normal, and we should not accept it as normal. In fact when an individual takes the life of another individual, we should be just as outraged and march in numbers, the same way we do when a police officer takes the life of an individual.' Live N Let Live also believes it's going to take a multitude of voices to significantly reduce violence, which is why they united with other Oakland groups and organization such as SAVE (Soldiers Against Violence Everywhere) to produce and promote a "Weekend of Peace" back on September 21, 2012 - September 23, 2012. The weekend was a call to action for an end to violence. www.livenletlive.org Other local organizations actively engaged in addressing the violence in Oakland include:    |
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