From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
SleepCrime Prisoner Faces Four Years in "Lodging" Trial
Date:
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Time:
10:30 AM
-
4:30 PM
Event Type:
Court Date
Organizer/Author:
Robert Norse
Email:
Phone:
831-423-4833
Address:
309 Cedar PMB #14B Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Location Details:
701 Ocean St. Dept. 2 10:30 AM - noon
1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Trial will continue Wednesday and Thursday as needed.
1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Trial will continue Wednesday and Thursday as needed.
"GroundZero" Gary Johnson, as I call him, goes to trial on four counts of PC 647e for which the maximum penalty is one year per count.
A flyer describing the background is included.
See also "System Failure: Report on the Trial of Gary Johnson" at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/02/19/18707733.php
Attorney Ed Frey reported that Judge Gallagher in a special pre-trial hearing decided he would allow Gary to wear his jail jumpsuit as he requested--he's now been in jail in Watsonville for 2 1/2 months awaiting trial on $5000 bail.
Gallagher then reversed rulings he'd made in an earlier trial of the same defendant on the same charges (protest sleeping outside the courthouse). Though before he'd allowed the use of a "necessity" defense to claim the right to protect others from an imminent evil (a sort of political necessity defense), Gallagher said he wouldn't allow it this time.
Nor would he allow Gary to argue that he had the necessity to sleep, unless he agreed to testify that he would accept shelter if offered.
In Los Angeles and San Diego, no individual testimony is required of homeless people that they have sought and can't find a shelter bed on any particular night. Those cities, like Santa Cruz, have no shelter for the overwhelming majority of their homeless community.
Unlike Santa Cruz, that fact has forced them to acknowledge that people have the right to sleep on the sidewalk at night within certain limitations.
The prosecution reportedly has a dozen police witnesses ready to testify. The defense was prepared to document the lack of shelter space, the necessity of sleep for health purposes, and the necessity of political protest. It's not clear what the defense will be allowed to argue.
Opening statements have already been made and the prosecution will open its case at 10:30 AM. Depending on the length of the prosecution testimony, the defense may begin in the late afternoon around 3:30 PM or 4 PM.
Free Gary Johnson !
A flyer describing the background is included.
See also "System Failure: Report on the Trial of Gary Johnson" at http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2012/02/19/18707733.php
Attorney Ed Frey reported that Judge Gallagher in a special pre-trial hearing decided he would allow Gary to wear his jail jumpsuit as he requested--he's now been in jail in Watsonville for 2 1/2 months awaiting trial on $5000 bail.
Gallagher then reversed rulings he'd made in an earlier trial of the same defendant on the same charges (protest sleeping outside the courthouse). Though before he'd allowed the use of a "necessity" defense to claim the right to protect others from an imminent evil (a sort of political necessity defense), Gallagher said he wouldn't allow it this time.
Nor would he allow Gary to argue that he had the necessity to sleep, unless he agreed to testify that he would accept shelter if offered.
In Los Angeles and San Diego, no individual testimony is required of homeless people that they have sought and can't find a shelter bed on any particular night. Those cities, like Santa Cruz, have no shelter for the overwhelming majority of their homeless community.
Unlike Santa Cruz, that fact has forced them to acknowledge that people have the right to sleep on the sidewalk at night within certain limitations.
The prosecution reportedly has a dozen police witnesses ready to testify. The defense was prepared to document the lack of shelter space, the necessity of sleep for health purposes, and the necessity of political protest. It's not clear what the defense will be allowed to argue.
Opening statements have already been made and the prosecution will open its case at 10:30 AM. Depending on the length of the prosecution testimony, the defense may begin in the late afternoon around 3:30 PM or 4 PM.
Free Gary Johnson !
Added to the calendar on Mon, Mar 19, 2012 9:21PM
Add Your Comments
Latest Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
Support GARY JOHNSON!!
Tue, Mar 20, 2012 1:55AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network