Update 8/16/2013: Fund attorney Nathan Hansen reports that Alvin was fined $300 plus court fees at the end of his Stearns County trial on August 15 during the sentencing after the jury returned its verdict convicting him on all five charges. Alvin was facing a maximum fine of $5,000 plus up to 15-months jail time; but the judge gave him one year on probation and if he violates the terms, Alvin will have to serve the 90 days in jail that was suspended and pay the $700 balance of the fine [the judge actually fined Alvin $1,000 but suspended $700 of it.]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 Alvin Schlangen during his Hennepin County trial in September 2012 Photo: Kathryn Niflis JohnsonListen to the Food Rights News podcast segment |
Schlangen Found Innocent by Jury in Hennepin County Now Threatened with Jail in Stearns County
Stearns County, Minnesota—(August 5, 2013)—Peaceful farmer, Alvin Schlangen, faces five criminal charges with a possible penalty of up to 15 months imprisonment and $5,000 in fines at his trial slated to run August 13-15, 2013, in St. Cloud. Schlangen is no stranger to the inside of a courtroom having already been prosecuted—and found not guilty by a jury—in September 2012 in Hennepin County on three charges related to delivering food to members of a private buying club.
Attorney Nathan Hansen, in St. Paul retained by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), is representing Schlangen. Hansen also handled the Hennepin trial.
Schlangen offers members of the private buying club, Freedom Farms Co-op, the benefit of his volunteer delivery service as he picks up members’ food items, including raw milk, from other farms and delivers it along with products from his Freeport farm. Horse-and-buggy farmers, who otherwise would have difficulty getting their farm products distributed, especially appreciate Schlangen’s delivery service.
Mothers, handicapped people, and blind customers are some who rely on Schlangen’s food and delivery service. They are irate at the prospect of losing their food supply if Schlangen is jailed on the five misdemeanor charges. The charges include not having a food handlers license, delivering adulterated and/or misbranded food, and failure to maintain the proper temperature requirements for eggs, which are considered crimes according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), the agency pushing the Stearns County District Attorney to bring the charges against the peaceful farmer.
“It is downright disturbing that the state I call home would spend any time or resources prosecuting a peaceful man for essentially picking up groceries for me. It is a travesty to what I once called the Justice System to even bring charges against my friend and farmer for these alleged ‘crimes’; and if he is found guilty on any of the charges, it will be beyond tragic on so many levels,” says Schlangen’s friend and buying club member Elisabeth Berry.
 Elisabeth Berry and other moms signing a Food Declaration of Independence at a May 2012 rally Photo courtesy of HartkeIsOnline.com |
This case is similar to a recent case in Wisconsin where farmer Vernon Hershberger was tried and acquitted on 3 of 4 charges related to operating a private buying club for the products from his farm; FTCLDF has filed an appeal on the fourth charge. Both farmers enjoy vibrant support from their customers, their wider communities, and fresh food advocates from around the nation.
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For additional information on raw milk: realmilk.com and farmtoconsumer.org/map
For additional background on the case: MN Cases: Alvin Schlangen
Previous Press Release about this case: Jury Vindicates Farmer of Criminal Charges Related to Minnesota Food Buying Coop
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MEDIA CONTACT
Pete Kennedy, Esq., President, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
703-208-3276, info@farmtoconsumer.org
Liz Reitzig, Co-founder, Farm Food Freedom Coalition
301-807-5063, lizreitzig@gmail.com
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Alvin Schlangen, as a member of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, is receiving legal representation including the legal fees and all court costs at no additional charge. Attorney Nathan Hansen was retained to represent Alvin in both criminal cases and General Counsel for the Fund, Gary Cox, was assigned the administrative case. The Fund is not an insurance company and cannot guarantee representation on all legal matters; possible representation is just one of the benefits of membership. View other FTCLDF Cases.
You can help the Fund by donating to defray the legal expenses involved in this important case.
Prefer to make a tax-deductible donation? For details,
go to farmtoconsumer.org/PIL