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 Cases dropped against 38 protesters 11/28/00 - by Linda K. Harris - Philadelphia Inquirer In the first major group trial of protesters arrested during the Republican National Convention, Municipal Court Judge James M. DeLeon yesterday dismissed cases against 38 of the 43 defendants. The demonstrators, who had been picked up at a protest at Broad and Spruce Streets on Aug. 1, the second day of the convention, had been charged with misdemeanors, including resisting arrest. DeLeon convicted two of them of misdemeanor charges of blocking a highway and conspiracy to block a highway, and he convicted a third on a summary charge of blocking a highway. The three were sentenced to community service and given fines. Bench warrants were issued for two defendants who did not appear at trial. Assistant District Attorneys Lauren Kelly and Daniel McGravey yesterday struggled to convince the court that the defendants assembled in the crowded courtroom were the same people seen on a police videotape of the protest. But the judge was not buying it. At one point, DeLeon told the prosecutors: "You're going to have to have somebody come in here and testify that somebody did something wrong." The Defender Association's Shawn Nolan, who represented a majority of the defendants, said he believed that the city wanted his clients off the street during the convention. "The city seemed to make a conscious effort to keep people in jail during the convention, and that's why they charged them with misdemeanors," Nolan said. Defense lawyer Andy Erba said prosecutors should have withdrawn the cases before trial. "They couldn't even get to first base. If prosecution knew they had this lack of evidence, I think it's sad that they required people to come up from their homes, from out of town, and stand trial when they knew there was no way they could prove a case against them," Erba said. But Cathie Abookire, a spokeswoman for District Attorney Lynne M. Abraham, said: "We are disappointed in the verdicts today, but we think the police acted appropriately in making the arrests." Convicted of misdemeanors were Constantine Faller, 46, of Amesville, Ohio, and Ethan Spier, 21, of Portland, Ore., both of whom were sentenced to 350 hours of community service in a Philadelphia school and fined $500. Jason Guard, 26, of Richmond, Va., was convicted of the summary offense. He was sentenced to 50 hours of community service in a Philadelphia public school and fined $350. |
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