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News :: Miscellaneous |
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Another RNC PROTESTOR ACQUITTED! |
Current rating: 0 |
by 2600.com
(No verified email address) |
05 May 2001
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Terrance McGuckin was arrested and held on $500,000 bail during the Republican National Convention. Yesterday, he finally got some justice.
Posted 4 May 2001 20:12:20 UTC |
At 11:42 AM, just two hours after his trial began, Judge Gary S. Glazer granted a motion for a judgement of acquittal of 2600 layout artist ShapeShifter, also known as Terrence McGuckin.
The prosecutor had asked that McGuckin\'s political views not be expressed. He referred to the case of fellow RNC protestor Kate Sorenson, in which the reasons for protesting \"became a lynch-pin.\" The judge responded that he didn\'t want to \"turn [it] into a Chicago Seven trial\" and that testimony would be limited to why he was there. It turned out to be a moot point, as the trial was over before the defense even presented their case.
In his opening statement, the prosecutor\'s voice waivered as he attempted to convey to the jury the gravity of the case, repeating that it is \"not the crime of the century - but a crime,\" and referring to McGuckin\'s participation as \"paramount.\" It seemed as though he was having more trouble convincing himself of these facts than convincing the jury.
He had good reason to worry. The Commonwealth was only able to produce one witness and one piece of evidence (a video that didn\'t even show McGuckin). Detective Angelo Parisi testified that he was visiting Philadelphia as a civilian from Washington DC\'s Metropolitan Police Department. His ever-changing testimony basically said that he saw McGuckin walking with a group of people who was following him while he spoke on a cellphone. When McGuckin pointed towards an intersection, they proceeded to lock arms and block the street. Upon cross-examination, he conceded that only half of the people who participated in the blockade had been with McGuckin and, when asked to leave by police, they left without incident and without arrest. It wasn\'t until the next day when the Philadelphia Police Department asked everyone to write statements of what they\'d observed that he told them what he\'d supposedly seen, which eventually lead to McGuckin\'s arrest and week-long imprisonment on half a million dollars bail. The statement he gave didn\'t mention any pointing and, despite videotaping the group and their actions, McGuckin didn\'t appear at all on the tape until well after the alleged crime took place. To top it all off, despite being accompanied by Philadelphia law enforcment, no action was taken at the time.
Upon redirecting his questioning of Detective Parisi, the prosecutor tried to bring up the police statement he gave as evidence, apparently in order to restore his credibility as a witness. The judge did not allow it because it merely corroborated testimony he\'d already given. The defense\'s objection was sustained, and a brief recess followed.
When the court resumed, McGuckin\'s attorney entered a motion for acquittal. He argued that while McGuckin hadn\'t done what the prosecution said he did, even if he had, walking down a street with a cell phone is not illegal. Any supposed pointing or giving of directions was entirely circumstantial and without context. The law against \"disturbing the peace\" is aimed at people setting off stink bombs, throwing nails in the road, or making unreasonable noises. Since traffic was able to be diverted onto other streets, it was not backed up. Thus, the highway was not obstructed. Since police were there, there was no hazard. And since everyone left when ordered to, there was no disruption of the peace.
The prosecutor briefly tried to salvage his case by restating his reasons for bringing the charges. Judge Glazer rested his hand on his chin and sat silently contemplating the motion for over 30 seconds while the audience of 20 observers waited anxiously. Finally he declared \"I\'m going to grant the motion.\" He went on to express that he had \"very serious doubts whether the conduct was criminal\" and that he found the evidence to be \"underwhelming to say the least.\" Finally, he concluded by remarking that he was \"just sorry [they] had to inconvenience all these people.\" Court was dismissed and the judge went into the jury room to apologize for wasting their time. The jury is reported to have responded, \"We don\'t disagree.\" One juror, an elderly surgeon, shook McGuckin\'s hand after the trial and said he was \"sorry you had to go through this.\"
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See also:
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=38818&group=webcast
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