SAFERchoice Denver - Press Articles

Colorado Daily
Monday, May 8, 2006

Ready, set, sue!

By PAULA PANT Colorado Daily Staff Writer

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Officials say CU-Boulder fully intends to fight a potential lawsuit some students identified in the April 20 crackdown may file, and some experts believe the plaintiffs bringing the suit forward have little chance of winning.

“There's no way we would settle this out of court,” said CU spokesperson Barrie Hartman. “To tell the University that it can't close buildings or fields is absurd.”

Thursday evening between 50 to 60 people met with civil rights attorneys Robert Frank and Perry Sanders, famed for representing the estate of the rapper Christopher Wallace, otherwise known as “Biggie Smalls,” in a suit against the Los Angeles Police Department. Saunders and Frank told the crowd that CU violated their right to peacefully assemble, guaranteed by the First Amendment, by closing public access to Farrand Field from noon to 5 p.m. on April 20.

The CU Police Department took photos of people on the closed field and posted those photos online, offering a $50 reward for each picture identified. Because CU would have a difficult time proving that students on the field were smoking marijuana - even those photographed in the act of smoking could argue that they were smoking tobacco - identified people face a possible misdemeanor charge of “criminal trespassing.”

“The big issue here is the issue of the right to free speech,” said Mason Tvert, campaign director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, a Denver-based non-profit which advocates that marijuana is a safer recreational alternative than alcohol. “The University prohibited people from assembling.”

“These are people who are gathering lawfully, but for the fact that they (CU) knew they were going to gather and therefore closed the field,” said Sanders.

CU law professor Paul Campos calls that argument “a long shot, but it's not completely impossible” for students to win.

Campos said the University is within its rights to close the field for a “content-neutral reason,” such as landscaping, or “to preclude illegal activity,” such as smoking marijuana.

The plaintiffs could win “if you could manage to convince a jury that the University's motive (for closing the field) was not to stop people from smoking marijuanaŠ but to stop people from holding a rally,” said Campos.

As of Friday afternoon, no one had officially retained a lawyer or filed a suit, through Sanders said “several” people were interested in doing so. He said the issue could be “amicably resolved,” if CU agrees to remove the photos from the Web site and drop all sanctions.

Administration officials voiced no regrets about their actions. Asked if dragging this issue through a lengthy full trial would cost CU more time and money than its worth, Hartman responded, “We don't even have to hire a lawyer. I could fight this one and win.”

“If we feel that a suit has no basis, then we're going to fight it,” Hartman said. He added that in spite of the national media attention the April 20 crackdown has garnered, “I don't think it's hurting our reputation at all.”

“It would have hurt our reputation more if we had done nothing,” he said.

Contact Paula Pant about this story at pant@coloradodaily.com or (303) 443-9508.
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	Colorado Daily Monday, May 8, 2006 Ready, set, sue! By PAULA PANT Colorado Daily Staff Writer (Return to Press Section) Officials say CU-Boulder fully intends to fight a potential lawsuit some students identified in the April 20 crackdown may file, and some experts believe the plaintiffs bringing the suit forward have little chance of winning. “There's no way we would settle this out of court,” said CU spokesperson Barrie Hartman. “To tell the University that it can't close buildings or fields is absurd.” Thursday evening between 50 to 60 people met with civil rights attorneys Robert Frank and Perry Sanders, famed for representing the estate of the rapper Christopher Wallace, otherwise known as “Biggie Smalls,” in a suit against the Los Angeles Police Department. Saunders and Frank told the crowd that CU violated their right to peacefully assemble, guaranteed by the First Amendment, by closing public access to Farrand Field from noon to 5 p.m. on April 20. The CU Police Department took photos of people on the closed field and posted those photos online, offering a $50 reward for each picture identified. Because CU would have a difficult time proving that students on the field were smoking marijuana - even those photographed in the act of smoking could argue that they were smoking tobacco - identified people face a possible misdemeanor charge of “criminal trespassing.” “The big issue here is the issue of the right to free speech,” said Mason Tvert, campaign director of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation, a Denver-based non-profit which advocates that marijuana is a safer recreational alternative than alcohol. “The University prohibited people from assembling.” “These are people who are gathering lawfully, but for the fact that they (CU) knew they were going to gather and therefore closed the field,” said Sanders. CU law professor Paul Campos calls that argument “a long shot, but it's not completely impossible” for students to win. Campos said the University is within its rights to close the field for a “content-neutral reason,” such as landscaping, or “to preclude illegal activity,” such as smoking marijuana. The plaintiffs could win “if you could manage to convince a jury that the University's motive (for closing the field) was not to stop people from smoking marijuanaŠ but to stop people from holding a rally,” said Campos. As of Friday afternoon, no one had officially retained a lawyer or filed a suit, through Sanders said “several” people were interested in doing so. He said the issue could be “amicably resolved,” if CU agrees to remove the photos from the Web site and drop all sanctions. Administration officials voiced no regrets about their actions. Asked if dragging this issue through a lengthy full trial would cost CU more time and money than its worth, Hartman responded, “We don't even have to hire a lawyer. I could fight this one and win.” “If we feel that a suit has no basis, then we're going to fight it,” Hartman said. He added that in spite of the national media attention the April 20 crackdown has garnered, “I don't think it's hurting our reputation at all.” “It would have hurt our reputation more if we had done nothing,” he said. Contact Paula Pant about this story at pant@coloradodaily.com or (303) 443-9508. (Return to Press Section)