Document text
Judge Drescher dismisses one case, continues another connected to March 5 rally By Sean Wolfe Ashland Daily Tidings Ashland Municipal Judge Allen Drescher threw out the case against Southern Oregon University freshman Cameron Brooks for his participation in the March 5 protest. In addition, in a similar case against 20 year-old transient Jeremy Dahl, Drescher said he was in the process of reviewing cases where the constitutional right to assemble - and thereby march - trumped local ordinances requiring a permit to march in a demonstration. Brooks had been cited for one count of disorderly conduct at the protest which was marked by several arrests, including that of videographer and SOU environmental health and safety technologist Wes Brain. At his arraignment today, Brooks pleaded no contest to the charges, but also told Drescher that he had not been read his Miranda rights at the time of his arrest. Drescher responded by voiding the case, contingent on Brooks not being arrested at future demonstrations. At the conclusion of the hearing, Brooks was jubilant. "It was totally dismissed, and totally refunded," Brooks said. "Now I can pay back all those people who helped me with my bail." The case against Dahl, who was charged with multiple instances of disorderly conduct derives from a still-anonymous female driving an SUV, which was stopped by Dahl's participation in the March 5 protest in Ashland. Seated before Drescher, Dahl asserted that it is not a crime to protest, and that he was part of a peaceful assembly. He also asserted that he was cited with disorderly conduct twice by police for participating in the same march, and that the charges constituted double jeopardy. Drescher responded with an analogy of a person who smashes a storefront window, then walks a few blocks before smashing another. "I'm trying to get you to understand an abstract concept," Drescher said when Dahl demurred. "I was part of a few hundred people that were obstructing traffic," Dahl said. "We were protesting a war." Drescher then brought up a third allegation of resisting arrest. Dahl, who had declined an attorney for the disorderly conduct and obstructing traffic charges decided at that point that he would need an attorney to face the third charge. With respect to the traffic obstruction charges, Drescher said "the problem might be that there was no parade permit." "The Constitution says you don't need a permit," Dahl said. Drescher said he was doing some research on the issue of where constitutional rights can supersede local ordinances, but that he was not yet finished. "Do you want to continue this?" Dahl asked, drawing a small burst of applause from the seated observers. Drescher said that he would, and the two will meet again in two weeks. Carola Lacy, a retiree who had attended the arraignment in support of Brooks, said the move "showed the wisdom of Allen Drescher." "When I don't know something, I admit it and do something about it. It's a real statement of (Drescher's) character," Lacy said. Ian Minnes, 27 and a friend of Dahl's, said he attended to show Dahl support. "That was interesting. The judge admitted some humbleness," Minnes said. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -