Lynne Stewart: An American Story
The rough cut of a new film by Francis van den Heuvel.

The cliché after the September 11th attacks was that "the world had changed forever." And in some ways this is true. But more than the Twin Towers may have been destroyed - since that day centuries of judicial protections and procedures have been under attack. In the name of a "War on Terror" there has been a war on justice - and there may be no better example than the prosecution and conviction of one of New York's best known defence attorneys, Lynne Stewart. Her case forms the backbone of this film.

By following Lynne's case, Lynne Stewart - An American Story explores how the Bush Administration used the September 11th attacks to push forward a concerted attack on the American justice system and, in a number of cases, changed strongly held judicial traditions like habeas corpus and the right of a defendant to have adequate legal counsel. Most importantly, this film looks at the long-range impact of these actions and poses the question: "Has something fundamental been altered in the US and international justice systems, impacted individual freedoms and the very essence of democracy - something that will outlive the Bush Administration and persist far into the 21st century?

Lynne Stewart Defense Committee

Directions: The Baruch Performing Arts Center (BPAC) in the Vertical Campus Building at 55 Lexington Ave. Enter building on 25th Street btwn Lexington and 3rd Ave. Take the elevator that leads to BPAC on the right as you past the guard station. There will be signs up as well.