Round Rock is close to Austin in location, but not political view. In Austin, the kids left school along with many teachers, and learned an important lesson in civic responsibility. In Round Rock, the cops busted hundreds of kids with the full support of the school district. I guess the Republicans who run Williamson County had a different lesson to teach - step out of line and go to jail.
Thankfully, the Texas Civil Rights Project
http://www.texascivilrightsproject.org/(a fine group of people who could really use your help) got involved. From a story in the Houston Chronicle, " Round Rock's decision to prosecute 200 high school students accused of breaking daytime curfew to join immigration protests has outraged some lawyers, prompting two dozen to volunteer to represent the teens, a civil rights group said Wednesday.
Jim Harrington, director of the Texas Civil Rights Project, which is representing 82 of the students who pleaded not guilty to the charges, said he thinks Round Rock is the only city in Texas to bring charges against students who participated in nationwide protests this spring over attempts to toughen U.S. immigration law.
Former Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox, who practices in Austin, is one of 25 lawyers who have offered to defend the teens, mostly from Round Rock and Stony Point high schools.
"I would be embarrassed if I were a prosecutor to bring one of these cases before a judge or a jury," Mattox said. "We criticize our young people for not being interested in civic affairs. We send them to school to have them study government and political science and then when they decide they're going to exercise their rights, we're trying to slap them down. It's un-American."
BTW - Jim Mattox was one of the last Democratic state office holders in Texas.
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