In this interview on KFAI-Minneapolis with hosts Don Olson and Dave Gutknecht, Michael Tigar encounters one of his clients for the first time, live on the radio. His host, Dave Gutknecht himself, was a draft resister at a time that draft resistance was extremely widespread, such that nearly half of all cases in Minnesota were draft resistance cases. In an effort to crack down on draft resistance, he was singled out, and sentenced to four years in prison in 1970.
Gutknecht introduces Tigar with a quote from his book: “The collateral effect of winning, would be to free 3,000 others…to forestall the prosecutions of 30,000 others, and to shore up the effects of those millions engaged in protesting the war.” He adds: “So Michael I want to thank you so much first of all for your wonderful career and a wonderful book and of course for coming to my defense those many years ago.”
Michael responds: “What began to happen then was that the massive movement of resistance, exemplified by you and your courage, began to have an effect on judges, and prosecutors. From 1967 to the early 70s, the number of people convicted who were charged with draft refusal, dropped down to about 30%.”
Listen to the full exchange between Tigar and his former client Gutknecht on KFAI: CLICK HERE
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