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La Mesa man at center of First Amendment firestorm
[link:http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/8569|D.A. declines to prosecute felony conspiracy charge for protest at Mayor’s speech, following public pressure
January 29, 2012 (La Mesa) – First Amendment advocates expressed shock when San Diego Police arrested La Mesa resident Mike Garcia and three others on a felony conspiracy charge. Their purported crime? Interrupting Mayor Sanders’ state of the city speech with a brief “Mic-Check” protest.
After public outcry—and criticisms by two of her opponents in the Mayoral race-- District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis declined to prosecute the felony charge. She referred the case back to the San Diego District Attorney for possible enforcement as a misdemeanor.
The case raises troubling issues of free speech in a country where according to the California Supreme Court, “the heckling and harassment of public officials and other speakers while making public speeches is as old as American and British politics; here, as in Great Britain, such protestant conduct has been thought to be outside the realm of legal regulation except in the most egregious cases.”
So the court held in the case of In re Kay,” a 1970 case in which a Congressman was interrupted by protesters for about 10 to 15 minutes. (Read the full decision here: http://law.justia.com/cases/california/cal3d/1/930.html )
Full story: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/8569
My notes: The irony is that Mike Garcia of all people knows what's wrong with our system -- he is a former mortgage industry insider who became disgusted with what he saw and joined the Occupy movement.
After public outcry—and criticisms by two of her opponents in the Mayoral race-- District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis declined to prosecute the felony charge. She referred the case back to the San Diego District Attorney for possible enforcement as a misdemeanor.
The case raises troubling issues of free speech in a country where according to the California Supreme Court, “the heckling and harassment of public officials and other speakers while making public speeches is as old as American and British politics; here, as in Great Britain, such protestant conduct has been thought to be outside the realm of legal regulation except in the most egregious cases.”
So the court held in the case of In re Kay,” a 1970 case in which a Congressman was interrupted by protesters for about 10 to 15 minutes. (Read the full decision here: http://law.justia.com/cases/california/cal3d/1/930.html )
Full story: http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/node/8569
My notes: The irony is that Mike Garcia of all people knows what's wrong with our system -- he is a former mortgage industry insider who became disgusted with what he saw and joined the Occupy movement.
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