Judge King, you did not hear a case today of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the selective, conscientious disobedience to a particular law that one considers unjust or immoral. One violates that law to press for a change of consciousness and ultimately a change in that law. That is not what we were about on September 27, 2006.

You heard a case of civil resistance. We broke no law. That should be clear. We acted to uphold the law. We acted with hearts broken by the lawless conduct of our government.

... the lawless conduct of our government?

- You heard our testimony that we were resisting an immoral war. Everything about this war is an affront to conscience and human decency.

- You heard our testimony that we were resisting an illegal war. The war in Iraq is an invasion and occupation in violation of the U.N. Charter. Our military's treatment of prisoners and civilians continues to be a violation of all the laws of humanity and human decency.

- We have been struggling to live conscientiously under a president with more than 800 signing statements under his belt. In each statement, he put himself and his administration above the law. He has declared his administration a law unto itself.

- We have been struggling to live conscientiously under a Congress that, in September 2006 when we acted, had abdicated its constitutional responsibility in allowing this war to be waged utterly unchallenged, a Congress that either rubber stamped or ignored the illegal conduct of this administration.

- More, we wake up each day to yet new insults to the rule of law by officials in this administration.

It has been our consistent testimony that, far from "impeding the work of Congress" (the words of Captain Loyd), we went to the Capitol to plead with those who are supposed to be our representatives to do the work they were elected to do.

Perhaps this court has some insight into how utterly unapproachable and unaccountable these civil servants have become in a nation that every day, more and more resembles an empire than a democracy. Perhaps you don't have such insight. We have no way of knowing. But many of us testified to this truth.

We are here today because we continue to try to believe that the law is on the side of justice - surely it is supposed to be. We deeply believe that it is within your power as a man of justice to say that not only is our cause just but our means are just as well. It is within your power to begin to right some of the wrongs and to say that we are not guilty as indeed and in fact, we believe we are not.

On March 14, 21 people were found guilty for Declaration of Peace witness at Congress on September 27, 2006. They were on trial in Superior Court, in Washington D.C. At a previous trial, many others were found guilty.