Speculation among activists has been re-ignited following a new delay in the sentencing of former Bay Area Rapid Transit police officer Johannes Mehserle, who was found guilty July 8 of involuntary manslaughter in the New Year’s Day 2009 shooting death of Oscar Grant.

Originally set for Aug. 6, then pushed to mid-September or October, Superior Court Judge Robert Perry earlier this month consented to a defense request for more time to prepare post-trial motions. The sentencing hearing will now convene Nov. 5.

“Of course it is a tactic by the defense. [Defense attorney Michael Rains] is trying to find anything to get his client off,” said Grant’s uncle, Cephus Johnson. “We’ve been looking for justice over 19 months and this is just another tactic to delay the process.”

Oakland resident Jabari Shaw, who has closely followed the case and participated in several protests, agreed. He speculated that the defense may have pushed back the sentencing date so that it would begin after November elections.

Shaw and others have found advocates for their cause in several elected officials throughout California. They have made it clear that “if they want to be re-elected then they have to do the right thing by the community,” he said, suggesting that the delay spares officials from having to address the issue.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson, president of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, said he considered the delay nothing more than a legal stalling tactic. The defense attorneys “are scratching and clawing to find any legal technicality in the jury verdict to get the conviction scrapped,” he said. “The sentencing delay is part of the strategy to buy time to come up with a plausible ground for appeal or overturn the conviction. This is no surprise.

“Prosecutors ceded vital ground to the defense in agreeing to the indeterminate delay in the sentencing. Mehserle’s attorneys will take full advantage of the delay to make the case that Mehserle should get little or no jail time,” added Hutchinson. “The Grant case was a near textbook example of how the rare time police officers are tried for murder or the overuse of deadly force, a conviction doesn’t end things. Defense attorneys will still relentlessly maneuver to get officers off the hook for their crimes. The delay in the sentencing of Mehserle is proof of that. It’s yet another outrage.”

John Burris, the lawyer representing the Grant family, said the initial sentencing date of Aug. 6 was rushed. Post-trial motions usually take between two to three months, but he said it is not unusual for them to be delayed — as in this case — nearly four months.

During the post-trial motions, he said, the defense will likely make a motion to have the jury verdict set aside on grounds that it was not supported by the evidence, that the judge made prejudicial rulings in the case or that the jury received improper instructions.

Some fear the delay will impact the judge’s decision. As that theory goes, the defense is betting that community support for Grant will wane over the next three-and-a-half months — relieving pressure on the judge to impose the maximum sentence.

Johnson, however, does not foresee any burnout among supporters of the Grant family. He said the various coalitions will proceed with rallies, protests and community forums all the way up to the sentencing date. In addition, they will continue to collect letters and encourage people to submit letters to the judge and the U.S. Department of Justice.

As for Judge Robert Perry being swayed by community pressure, “You really can’t put pressure on the judge, said Burris. “The judge is a guy who makes his own independent decisions. The judge is a very thoughtful guy. I have found him to be thoughtful, smart, analytical and I think he will render a judgment that he thinks is fair. That doesn’t mean we agree with it, but I don’t see him intimidated by public pressure one way or the other.”

Mehserle currently faces five to 14 years in prison. Involuntary manslaughter convictions call for anywhere between two to four years in prison. But because of the added gun enhancement charges, the judge could add an additional three to 10 years.

It has been suggested by Burris that if the judge decides to throw out the added gun enhancement charge, Mehserle could walk away with as little as time served and two years of probation. If that occurs, he believes that the Justice Department — which currently has an open investigation into the case — will be more inclined to file civil rights violations charges.

Throughout the trial, as well as in the days leading up to the verdict, a number of pro-Grant supporters worked in shifts outside the downtown Los Angeles courthouse. But now, pro-Mehserle demonstrators are taking to the streets and such demonstrations may take shape in the coming months.

On Monday, pro-Mehersle demonstrators clashed with Grant protesters in downtown Walnut Creek, a predominately White suburb outside of Oakland. According to published reports, the demonstration — which grew to nearly 300 people — was organized on Facebook by Mehserle supporters as a means of showing solidarity as he awaits sentencing. With roughly 150 officers on hand, no arrests were reported.

Shaw was one of the protesters that day. He said Grant supporters rallied at the BART rail station where Grant was killed, before making their way to Walnut Creek. Upon arriving, he said, Grant supporters were surrounded by suspicious police officers who inquired about their intentions.

Then, when they clashed with Mehserle-supporters, they were subjected to a number of racial slurs and epithets. What was more surprising, he added, was that there were some Blacks among the Mehserle supporters.

The message behind his own activism, said Shaw, is “that we are Oscar Grant and there are Oscar Grants all over this world. So wherever they stand up and protest, there will be people like Oscar Grant to stand up and say that they are wrong.”

Video via Contra Costa Times.