Published: November 16, 2011
Lawyers File Motions to Dismiss Charges Against 'Occupy Sacramento' Defendants
Lawyers for dozens of Occupy Sacramento defendants have filed motions in Superior Court here calling for the dismissal of all charges on the grounds that the law used by the City of Sacramento to arrest them is "vague...arbitrary" and "chilling" to free speech.
A hearing has been tentatively scheduled for Nov. 22, according to Josh Kaizuka, one of 36 volunteer lawyers assisting on the case. He represents Cres Vellucci, the vice-chair of the ACLU Board of Directors in Sacramento, who was arrested Oct. 6 for being at Cesar Chavez Park beyond a curfew.
"(T)here is no doubt that Defendant was participating in an organized meeting intended to vocalize a community's disapproval of our nation's distribution of wealth. This dissent was a political statement, and was, by all accounts, conducted in a peaceful manner...defendant was vocalizing his dissent at precisely the place where we, as a community, would expect: the town square," said Kaizuka in the filing.
He said, in the "Demurrer," that by arresting Vellucci and 83 others since Oct. 6 at Cesar Chavez Park, city officials and police "impermissibly interfered with constitutionally protected speech, at a place that for over 150 years has been the platform to protest for the right of speech and assembly. Cesar Chavez Plaza, in fact, is built on the location of the original California State Capitol Building site." Kaizuka called the charges "vague," and asked the court to throw out the case.
The full brief can be found at: http://occupysac.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Occupy_Demurrer_11-11-11.pdf
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