Occupy Charlotte rally in front of Bank of America
corporate headquarters.
(SteelerGrrl/Daily Kos Photo Cooperative)
More than 1,000 people have been arrested in Manhattan during the two-and-a-half months since New York authorities began cracking down on protesters of the Occupy movement. In addition, more than 700 summonses have been issued. And scheduled appearances for those will start
clogging the courts this week:
The hundreds of demonstrators who were hit with tickets in recent months present a challenge to court personnel and attorneys who will scramble to stay organized and prepare for heated battles over what would normally be considered minor cases.
"It's going to be a madhouse there—that what I predict," said Manhattan Criminal Court Administrative Judge Melissa Jackson, who also described the coming week and the handling of the protest cases in general as "an administrative challenge." [...]
Whereas summons holders often accept dismissal offers as soon as they are called in court, many protesters have vowed to fight the charges. Others are not willing to risk taking the standard offer because it can be voided if they are rearrested within a six month period.
This means the court could potentially be conducting hundreds of trials for disorderly conduct, the most common charge.
Each trial, which would be held before a judge, not a jury, likely would take a day. But, having learned from the 2004 Republican Convention, during which there were hundreds of arrests, prosecutors may choose to consolidate cases, holding single hearings for groups who were given summonses at the same time in the same vicinity.
As this was being written, Tweets were reporting that fresh arrests were being carried out in Manhattan and Long Beach, California. With thousands of Occupiers having been arrested across the nation, courts in many cities may see some clogging. And with it, a new forum for a narrative-changing movement that only sprang into being three months ago.