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New york fined for illegal protester detentions Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1094163011645&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1094163011645&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724
Sep. 3, 2004. 01:00 AM
New York fined for detentions
Judge orders immediate release of 470 protesters
Mayor Bloomberg equates yelling with terrorism
SARA KUGLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK—A judge ordered city officials yesterday to immediately release nearly 500 anti-GOP protesters, then held the city in contempt for not complying and imposed a fine that could total almost a half-million dollars.
State Supreme Court Justice John Cataldo fined the city $1,000 for every protester held past a 5 p.m. deadline he had set for their release. It was unclear how many detainees were still in custody, but Cataldo had ordered the release of 470 people.
"These people have already been the victims of a process,'' Cataldo told the city's top lawyer. "I can no longer accept your statement that you are trying to comply.''
Cataldo then ordered the release of the 470 detainees, who had been in custody for anywhere from 36 to 66 hours. The decision was immediately hailed by lawyers for the demonstrators.
"They have to release them right now," said veteran civil rights lawyer Norman Siegel. "The judge, to his credit, said, `Enough.'''
Protests continued during the final day of the convention yesterday, with 26 arrests made by 9:30 p.m. Verbal harassment of delegates also continued, leading New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to draw parallels between the protesters and terrorists.
"It is true that a handful of people have tried to destroy our city by going up and yelling at visitors here because they don't agree with their views," he said.
"Think about what that says. This is America, New York, cradle of liberty, the city for free speech if there ever was one and some people think that we shouldn't allow people to express themselves. That's exactly what the terrorists did, if you think about it, on 9/11. Now this is not the same kind of terrorism but there's no question that these anarchists are afraid to let people speak out.''
City officials blamed the delays in releasing the suspects on extraordinary volume. On Tuesday, for example, there were nearly 1,200 arrests in four hours — one of the largest mass arrests in the nation's history — compared with the roughly 300 arraignments that take place daily in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Once arrested, detainees are supposed to be through the system within 24 hours.
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`We can't just open the jails of the city of New York and let everybody out'
Michael Cardozo, Corporation Counsel
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There were accusations the city was deliberately holding the protesters longer so they would not be in the streets during U.S. President George W. Bush's speech at the Republican National Convention last night.
"The evidence shows that the city told defendants that they would not be released until George Bush went home," said Dan Alterman, of the National Lawyers Guild.
The New York Police Department denied this. "The allegations that the NYPD was purposely holding demonstrators until after the president of the United States left New York City was part of a deliberate misinformation campaign,'' police spokesman Paul Browne said.
At a hearing during which Cataldo determined the city had failed to comply with his release order, Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo tried in vain to convince the judge the city was trying desperately to comply.
"We can't just open the jails of the city of New York and let everybody out," Cardozo said. "We're not trying to flout Your Honour's order... We're doing everything humanly possible.''
Siegel, the civil rights lawyer, was representing the mother of a 17 year old arrested Tuesday. He said the teen's mother claimed she was told by Manhattan booking officials that her son would be held until Bush left town.
About 50 of the detainees launched a hunger strike yesterday to protest their extended time behind bars.
Last night, some 2,000 people attended a candlelit vigil in Union Square organized by United for Peace and Justice, which also sponsored a huge rally Sunday.
With files from New York Times
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