Lawyers for Occupy Protesters: Drop Charges...

...or we'll overload the court system
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 17, 2011 8:45 AM CDT
Occupy Wall Street: Lawyers for Arrested Protesters Want All Charges Dropped
Police arrest demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement after they attempted to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on the motorway on October 1, 2011 in New York City.   (Getty Images)

If prosecutors don’t drop the charges against the roughly 800 Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested so far in New York, they will—as the Daily News puts it—“Occupy the Courts.” Lawyers for the protesters are urging the DA’s office to dismiss all charges, saying that if charges aren’t dropped, “we take them all to trial.” If protesters insist on going to trial rather than taking a deal, it could make trouble for Manhattan’s overloaded court system.

Officials from the DA’s office say that first-time offenders charged with minor crimes are typically offered “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal,” and their charges are dropped as long as they are not arrested again within six months. Most of the Occupy arrests have been for minor crimes, although 47 people were held overnight. Lawyers for the protesters will meet with prosecutors today; if no deal is reached, 60 protesters are scheduled to appear before one judge on Nov. 15. Click to read about arrests that occurred across the nation over the weekend. (More Occupy Wall Street stories.)

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