Posts Tagged ‘civil rights’
Sunday, November 1st, 2009
Proposed act unconstitutional, group says
Mike Joseph
STATE COLLEGE — A proposed borough ordinance to curb the impact of rowdy parties by holding hosts responsible for the illegal activities of guests has come under fire from a national organization that advocates individual rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union told State College in a letter Friday that the borough’s proposed “nuisance gathering ordinance,” which is scheduled for a public hearing Monday night, violates the U.S. Constitution.
(more…)
Tags: centre county, civil rights, constitution, constitutional, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, Fraternity, penn state, Penn State and Students, underage drinking
Posted in Blog, State College Legal Notes and Observations, Underage Drinking | No Comments »
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
STATE COLLEGE — Council on Monday began to look at a “nuisance gathering ordinance” intended to give police a new way to cite hosts with summary offenses if their guests break the law.
Police Chief Tom King told council the intent is not to replace laws but to add to what police have to work with now.
“We’re looking for additional ways for a local ordinance to supplement the crimes code,” he said. “When we can’t absolutely prove who furnished the alcohol … then tenants or property owners are responsible.” (more…)
Tags: civil rights, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Fraternity, penn state, Penn State and Students, underage drinking
Posted in Penn State and Students | No Comments »
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Attorney Andrew Shubin called the case “doomed from the beginning,” yet a Daily Collegian photographer faced misdemeanor charges for months after the October 2008 downtown State College riot.
(more…)
Tags: civil rights, constitutional, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, penn state, Penn State and Students
Posted in Criminal Defense, featured | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009
On Oct. 25 last year, thousands of students rushed into Beaver Canyon to celebrate Penn State’s victory over rival Ohio State.
We didn’t know it, but the First Amendment was on the line.
(more…)
Tags: civil rights, constitutional, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, penn state, Penn State and Students, state college lawyer
Posted in Blog, Criminal Defense, Penn State and Students, State College Legal Notes and Observations, civil rights | No Comments »
Monday, July 27th, 2009
July 27, 2009
PENNSYLVANIA — A photographer at Pennsylvania State University’s Daily Collegian was cleared of his remaining failure to disperse charge July 22 in a pre-trial motion after he was arrested last fall while covering a post-football-game riot.
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Tags: civil rights, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, criminal law, penn state, Penn State and Students
Posted in Blog, Criminal Defense, Penn State and Students, State College Legal Notes and Observations, civil rights | No Comments »
Friday, July 24th, 2009
Penn State Judicial Affairs will not sanction The Daily Collegian photographer Michael Felletter after he was charged in connection with the Oct. 25 riot, a result his attorney said showed the university “understood the prominent First Amendment issues involved.”
Andrew Shubin, a private attorney acting on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), attended Felletter’s Judicial Affairs conference Wednesday and said the university issued no sanctions and found no violations against the photographer.
Shubin, a member of the Board of Directors for the Central Pennsylvania Chapter of the ACLU, called the decision “an excellent result and the correct result.”
(more…)
Tags: civil rights, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, first amendment, Penn State and Students
Posted in Blog, State College Legal Notes and Observations | No Comments »
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
A judge dismissed Wednesday the remaining charge against a Daily Collegian photographer who was arrested while on assignment photographing the Oct. 25 riot following a Penn State football team victory over Ohio State.
Citing “unclear” evidence, Centre County Judge David E. Grine dismissed the failure to disperse charge against the photographer, Michael R. Felletter, according to Grine’s ruling.
“The justice system did its part,” Felletter (senior-visual journalism) said. “Hopefully, journalists will feel freer to go out and gather the news without fearing they’ll be charged for breaking the law.”
Now Centre County officials are reviewing Grine’s ruling to determine whether to appeal or re-file the charges against Felletter, Centre County District Attorney Michael Madeira wrote in an e-mail.
Felletter photographed the riot, during which thousands of Penn State students flooded Beaver Canyon. Police initially arrested 14 people in connection with the incident.
Police said Felletter’s photographing caused the crowd to become “more exuberant, excited and destructive,” according to the criminal complaint.
It is unclear whether Felletter was following police orders to disperse when they arrested him, according to the ruling.
Grine ruled it is uncertain whether Felletter’s compliance with police orders to “move along” was adequate when he moved from the street to sidewalk.
Additionally, Grine blamed the rioters for their behavior — not Felletter, according to the ruling.
Felletter’s Attorney, Andrew Shubin, who represented Felletter for free, said the ruling represented a victory for journalists and the First Amendment.
(more…)
Tags: civil rights, constitutional, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, criminal law, first amendment, Penn State and Students
Posted in Penn State and Students | No Comments »
Thursday, July 23rd, 2009
In the July 23, 2009, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Associated Press
BELLEFONTE, Pa. – A judge dismissed the remaining misdemeanor charge against a photographer for the independent campus newspaper at Penn State in connection with an unruly fan celebration in State College.
Prosecutors had dropped five of six misdemeanors against photographer Michael Felletter earlier this year following the Oct. 25 disturbance after the Nittany Lions’ football win at Ohio State.
A sixth count, for failing to disperse, was dismissed Wednesday by a Centre County judge.
Felletter’s lawyer (Andrew Shubin, from State College, PA) said the student was just doing his job as a member of the press.
Authorities had initially charged about 20 people in connection with the disturbance, and several were charged with felony riot.
Tags: civil rights, Constitutional and Civil Rights, Criminal Defense, criminal law, Penn State and Students
Posted in Criminal Defense, Penn State and Students, civil rights | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 21st, 2009
[Posted by The Associated Press July 20, 2009, 21:12PM]
A sex offender’s bid to overturn the state prison system’s pornography ban was ended Monday by the state Supreme Court, which sided unanimously with the Department of Corrections.
The justices said inmate Shannon R. Brittain, 34, failed to refute the department’s arguments in a meaningful way. They reversed a lower court ruling that had allowed Brittain’s case to continue.
(more…)
Tags: civil rights, constitutional, Constitutional and Civil Rights, prisoners civil rivhts, prisoners rights
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Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Author: JOHN BEAUGE; For The Patriot-News
Edition: STATE
Section: Local/State
Page: B02
Article Text:
When did the U.S. attorney’s office know about the statewide grand jury investigation that led to the arrest last month of two Williamsport police officers on corruption charges?
A defense attorney in a federal drug case in which one of the officers, Cpl. Dustin Kreitz, was a lead investigator wants to know.
Andrew Shubin, who represents Markeif Fields, raises in a court document the allegation that the U.S. attorney’s office might have withheld materials in that case to avoid a credibility issue with Kreitz.
“I want the judge to determine when the U.S. attorney’s office was aware Kreitz was being targeted,” the State College lawyer requested in the filing. U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones Jr. yesterday allowed Shubin to file a motion that could lead to that information.
(more…)
Tags: civil rights, Criminal Defense, criminal law, Federal Criminal Law, state college lawyer
Posted in Blog, Federal Criminal Law | No Comments »