Electrical Sensitivity-Disability Rights Case Argument Scheduled

[Guest guest]

ORAL ARGUMENT SCHEDULED IN TENTH CIRCUIT APPEAL

Dear Friends,

On May 10, 2012 environmental attorney Lovejoy will argue our case before a panel of three federal judges in the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.

This groundbreaking lawsuit, Firstenberg v. City of Santa Fe, was originally filed in state district court in New Mexico to assert the rights of people with disabilities whose lives are threatened by the proliferation of cell towers. If we prevail, we will set a critical precedent. No longer will the courts, the government and the industry be able to pretend that the growing numbers of people who are being cast aside by society in its embrace of these technologies do not exist. No longer will people who oppose Smart Meters, WiFi in schools, and other technologies be afraid to tell the courts that they are suffering.

It is up to a court’s discretion in any appeal whether to hear oral argument, or to decide the case entirely on the written briefs. A court will only hear oral argument if it thinks that important legal issues have been raised. This court has scheduled oral argument in spite of requests by the City of Santa Fe and AT & T that it not do so.

Our briefs, which are available on our website (www.cellphonetaskforce.org), state as follows:

“The Telecommunications Act should not be interpreted to injure an identifiable segment of the population, exile them from their homes and their city, leave them no place where they can survive, and allow them no remedy under City, State or Federal laws or constitutions.â€

We have asked that if the court so interprets the Telecommunications Act, then it must also find that it is unconstitutional. The Fifth and Fourteenth Amend­ments guarantee to all citizens the equal protection of the laws, and say that no citizen may be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law.

We need to raise additional money to pay Mr. Lovejoy for work already completed, and to send him to Denver on May 10 to argue this appeal. If you are a person who consistently contributes, your support has been vital in bringing us this far. If you are one of the majority who reads these newsletters and who has not yet contributed, we need your support at this critical time. The Cellular Phone Task Force has been representing you on these issues for 16 years. We are the only organization in North America that advocates for people who are disabled by wireless technology; the only organization the public can call at no charge seven days a week for information about wireless technology and health, or for support in emergencies; the only organization that keeps a nationwide database of experts in every region of the country; and we are still the only national membership organization dealing with these issues at all.

We are: 9 directors, including our liaison in England (Dr. a Mallery-Blythe); one part-time secretary ( Jewett); and 47 committee members standing by in every region of North America. Almost all of us are disabled, and everyone except is a volunteer. When funds were low, I have supported this organization and kept it going with my own money. The stakes are high, time is short, and the potential rewards enormous.

Three other lawsuits are presently underway in federal courts: one in Naperville, Illinois, against Smart Meters; one in Maine, also against Smart Meters; and one in Portland, Oregon, against WiFi in public schools. The plaintiffs in those cases are alleging violation of privacy rights, property rights, and scientific evidence of harm from microwave radiation. The case in Maine, Friedman v. Maine Public Utiilties Commission, will be argued before the Maine Supreme Court the week of May 7.

In previous cases involving microwave radiation and health, judges have been unwilling to rule against the wireless industry on the basis of only theoretical harm. What our case in the Tenth Circuit brings to the table for the first time are allegations of actual injury caused to people with a documented disability that requires them to avoid exposure to microwave radiation for medical reasons.

Please tell others about our work, send them to our website, and urge them to contribute to this lawsuit. Every $50—or whatever you can afford—will help send to Denver to argue this appeal. Our membership/donation form is on our website: http://www.cellphonetaskforce.org/?page_id=196. Our goal is to raise $16,000 before May 10. We are a 501©(3) tax exempt organization and all donations are fully tax deductible. Please become a member, if you are not one already, in order to ensure that you continue to receive updated information about this case and other important news. Sincerely,

Arthur Firstenberg

Cellular Phone Task ForcePO Box 6216

Santa Fe, NM 87502

USA

(505) 471-0129

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