Latest news with #GregoryAdams
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Judge drops domestic terrorism charges against Atlanta ‘Cop City' protester
A judge has dismissed domestic terrorism charges against a defendant in connection with vandalism against construction equipment at the future site of the police training center near Atlanta, Georgia, colloquially known as Cop City, in what is seen as a win for protesters. DeKalb superior court judge Gregory Adams ruled on Thursday that defendant Jamie Marsicano's due process and constitutional rights to a speedy trial were violated by the state's ongoing delays and failure to issue an indictment two and a half years after arresting them at a nearby music festival. 'The judge acknowledged that the state was delaying on purpose, which is what the public suspected and activists have been saying,' said Xavier de Janon, Marsicano's attorney. 'It's the idea that the process is the punishment.' Opposition to the $109m center, which opened this spring, has come from a wide range of local and national organizations and protesters, and is centered on concerns around police militarization and clearing forests in an era of climate crisis. Atlanta police say the center is needed for 'world-class' training and to attract new officers. In the last three years, the state has leveled domestic terrorism charges against opponents of the training center in DeKalb as well as Rico conspiracy charges in neighboring Fulton county, using a statute that is usually reserved for organized crime. Marsicano faced charges in both places. In a hearing last week over the DeKalb delays, De Janon called the state's attempt to level charges in two counties based on the same alleged acts, 'trying to get two bites of the apple'. Marsicano is also likely to be one of the first of 61 defendants soon to be tried in the Rico case, the largest criminal corruption indictment ever brought against members of a protest or social movement. Meanwhile, in the last several years, Marsicano has graduated law school in North Carolina and passed the bar, only to have the state board of law examiners decline to issue a license to practice due to the unresolved charges. Judge Adams wrote that the 'personal and professional consequences that [Marsicano] has faced as a result of this indefinite charge … are forms of actual prejudice'. 'Domestic terrorism shows up on housing and job applications – it's a deep social and political stigma,' Marsicano said. Adams also wrote that Georgia's deputy attorney general, John Fowler, had been using the DeKalb charges 'to gain a tactical advantage' over Marsicano. De Janon noted that the state had continued to gather evidence on Marsicano despite the charges in both counties stemming from the same alleged acts, and the deadline for gathering discovery material in the Rico case having passed. In the DeKalb hearing last week, Fowler said for the first time that delays were due in part to there being 14 terabytes of evidence – the equivalent of more than 3m photos and an amount at least twice any previous number cited by the state. 'That means there's evidence we haven't seen,' De Janon told the Guardian. Thursday's decision is the second time charges have been dismissed during the three years the state has sought to punish dozens in connection to their opposition to the police training center. Last September, Fowler dropped money-laundering charges underlying 15 of the 18 counts included in the Rico, or racketeering, indictment, against members of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, a bail fund. De Janon also noted that judges in several hearings tied to Cop City 'have reprimanded the state' for conduct such as missing deadlines and sharing privileged attorney-client information. This, together with the dismissal of charges, 'shows the state's intense prosecution is starting to shatter'.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Judge drops domestic terrorism charges against Atlanta ‘Cop City' protester
A judge has dismissed domestic terrorism charges against a defendant in connection with vandalism against construction equipment at the future site of the police training center near Atlanta, Georgia, colloquially known as Cop City, in what is seen as a win for protesters. DeKalb superior court judge Gregory Adams ruled on Thursday that defendant Jamie Marsicano's due process and constitutional rights to a speedy trial were violated by the state's ongoing delays and failing to issue an indictment two and a half years after arresting them at a nearby music festival. 'The judge acknowledged that the state was delaying on purpose, which is what the public suspected and activists have been saying,' said Xavier de Janon, Marsicano's attorney. 'It's the idea that the process is the punishment.' Opposition to the $109m center, which opened this spring, has come from a wide range of local and national organizations and protesters, and is centered on concerns around police militarization and clearing forests in an era of climate crisis. Atlanta police say the center is needed for 'world-class' training and to attract new officers. In the last three years, the state has leveled domestic terrorism charges against opponents of the training center in DeKalb as well as Rico conspiracy charges in neighboring Fulton county, using a statute that is usually reserved for organized crime. Marsicano faced charges in both places. In a hearing last week over the DeKalb delays, de Janon called the state's attempt to level charges in two counties based on the same alleged acts, 'trying to get two bites of the apple'. Marsicano is also likely to be one of the first of 61 defendants soon to be tried in the Rico case, the largest criminal corruption indictment ever brought against members of a protest or social movement. Meanwhile, in the last several years, Marsicano has graduated law school in North Carolina and passed the bar, only to have the state board of law examiners decline to issue a license to practice due to the unresolved charges. Judge Adams wrote that the 'personal and professional consequences that [Marsicano] has faced as a result of this indefinite charge … are forms of actual prejudice'. 'Domestic terrorism shows up on housing and job applications – it's a deep social and political stigma,' Marsicano said. Adams also wrote that Georgia deputy attorney general John Fowler had been using the DeKalb charges 'to gain a tactical advantage' over Marsicano. De Janon noted that the state has continued to gather evidence on Marsicano despite the charges in both counties stemming from the same alleged acts, and the deadline for gathering discovery material in the Rico case having passed. In the DeKalb hearing last week, Fowler said for the first time that delays were due in part to there being 14 terabytes of evidence – the equivalent of more than 3m photos and an amount at least two times any previous number cited by the state. 'That means there's evidence we haven't seen,' de Janon told the Guardian. Thursday's decision is the second time charges have been dismissed during the three years the state has sought to punish dozens in connection to their opposition to the police training center. Last September, Fowler dropped money-laundering charges underlying 15 of the 18 counts included in the Rico, or racketeering, indictment, against members of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, a bail fund. De Janon also noted that judges in several hearings tied to Cop City 'have reprimanded the state' for conduct such as missing deadlines and sharing privileged attorney-client information. This, together with the dismissal of charges, 'shows the state's intense prosecution is starting to shatter'.
Japan Times
06-05-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Times
The drive for luxury: Aston Martin Asia's president explains the want for more
Inside Aston Martin's polished showroom in Tokyo's Kita-Aoyama district, decked out with wood paneling, twinkling lights, and plush leather sofas, Gregory Adams explains that the business is less about selling cars and more about selling emotion. After all, luxury isn't about need. Instead, consumer behavior is driven by 'pure emotion and desire that has nothing to do with practicality,' said Adams, Aston Martin's regional president for Asia based in Japan. 'No one needs an Aston Martin,' Adams said, noting that the selling process is more about making someone's desires into reality. ''I want a pink car with a green thread in the fabric and gold wheels.' OK, we can do that. Let's see how we sit down and take you through the process,' he said. 'Everyone has dreams, no matter what they are, and so you're fulfilling one of those dreams for someone who happens to want a car.' While for Aston Martin — famed as a choice of the British royal family and as the car of James Bond — it's all about delivering a high-end experience, Adams' start in the auto industry was less than glamorous. In 2023, Aston Martin held an event at Sensoji Temple celebrating 110 years of the company, bringing together historians, famed car designers, enthusiasts and rare vehicles. | Courtesy of Aston Martin Prior to working in the luxury space, Adams worked at Nissan, arriving in Japan on the cusp of the burst of the bubble economy, as an eager student of the Japanese language and of the auto industry. Corporate culture In the early 90s, he worked at Nissan with a small cohort of foreign university students through a corporate program designed to cultivate talent. 'What they wanted at the time was more foreign international students to come at the beginning of their career and learn 'the Nissan way' so that they could go back out into the world and help to manage their operations overseas,' he said. Working "the Nissan way" provided a crash course in what was the norm in corporate Japan at the time. 'It was long hours, employment for life, you don't leave before the boss leaves. It was all of that — and then some,' he said of his time working at the company's Atsugi office in Kanagawa Prefecture. While corporate culture was restrictive, Japan's position during the bubble era was buoyed to dizzying heights. The yen was king, Japanese companies were confident powerhouses and design sensibilities were experimental and outrageous — the Nakagin Capsule building being one of the iconic emblems of that time. Adams, who has strong memories of the formative period of his life working as a salaryman, observed a Japan teetering on the brink of change. 'When I first got there, people smoked at their desks,' he said, recalling that at some point during his tenure, the hot, stuffy office moved to a gleaming new building, leaving behind yellowed smoke-stained walls. The new building was planned during the bubble era and looked like 'the future.' After Nissan, which he left at the end of 1995, when the company encountered difficulties, he was off to Ford's Japan operation and later made the move to Mitsubishi Motors and DaimlerChrysler, which is now the Mercedes-Benz Group. Aston Martin's event in Tokyo in 2023 marking its 110-year anniversary | Courtesy of Aston Martin While he loves the vehicles, themselves, it's the details that comprise the business that have kept him on course. 'Recently, I was thinking, 'Why do I like cars? What is it?' Where does that core interest come from? I like motor sports, but I'm not that interested in motor sports. Design, of course, I really like design ... but it's something more than that. Finally, it came down to the realization that I like good concepts,' he said. There is a magic to the process of design, the engineering, the marketing, and the opportunity to work in tandem with all parts of the business, he said. Then, Ferrari came calling, shifting Adams into the luxury auto market, before he joined Aston Martin in Tokyo in 2022. Classic car comeback For years, Aston Martin's leadership has long banked that Japan will become an important market for the company. 'Japan is key to Aston Martin's future success,' Andy Palmer, the company's former president and CEO, said when the brand expanded its presence in Japan back in 2017. According to official numbers, the number of newly registered Aston Martins has grown fairly steadily over the past few years, with 2024 being its best year on record. In 2024, 522 Aston Martin cars were newly registered in Japan, up from 457 in the year before, according to Japan Automobile Importers Association data. While Japan's population is shrinking and the number of cars being bought is on a downward trajectory, it's a different story for foreign auto brands — particularly in the ultra luxury segment. For Aston Martin, Japan is the largest market in the Asia Pacific region — and it continues to grow. 'We're at approximately 600 cars — it's basically doubled in the past, since 2022,' he said, noting that Japan's foreign car market has 'more than doubled in the past 10 years.' In part, Adams puts this down to the aging population being more open to buying something they've always wanted. He also suggests there may be a touch of bubble era-nostalgia for classic cars. 'Japan used to have an amazing treasure trove of some of the most expensive and famous classic cars in the world, as well as being a market for some of the quirkiest cars to be sold into. This used to be Lotus' second-biggest market, the Mini's second-biggest market in the 90s and 2000s, because it's quirky — it just fit. But that all stopped, and a lot of those cars left,' he said. Nostalgia from those who grew up in the bubble era has also filtered into cars. Aston Martin owners drive at the Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture at the carmaker's event in 2023. | Courtesy of Aston Martin "Now, there's a creeping back of classic cars," he said. While Japanese consumers with an affinity for British classic cars in Japan may already love the brand, a push is underway to expand its fan base. In addition to the physical expansion of the brand's footprint in Tokyo, there's also a push for greater visibility through events. In 2023, the brand held an event at Sensoji Temple, celebrating 110 years of the company, bringing together historians, famed car designers, enthusiasts and rare vehicles. The occasion even managed to get something of a royal seal of approval in Japan — with the attendance of Princess Akiko of Mikasa, who went to Oxford University and has an appreciation for U.K. culture. The plan is to hold another event in Kyoto and continue to develop Aston Martin's profile in Japan and across the region. But Adams suggested his team already has something of an advantage. 'It's a brand that people love,' he said, noting that the company's cars charm many who encounter them. 'With this brand ... there's respect, and I think that's why people around the world — and in Japan, in particular — love it,' he said.
