[nfbmi-talk] Fw: charges dismissed against blind protester

[Christine Boone]

Very good news indeed!  Kudo’s to Joe along with our thanks for standing up at the right time!  We have all benefited from what Joe did here.  

Christine

> On Aug 23, 2016, at 8:10 AM, David Robinson via nfbmi-talk <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Good news for all blind persons. Joe fought and won as we all should.     
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: joe harcz Comcast 
> To: terry Eagle 
> Cc: Mark Eagle ; Eleanor Canter ; David Robinson NFB MI ; Mary Ann Robinson NFB MI ; Joe Sontag NFB MI ; Laura Hall ADAPT MDRC ; terri Sullivan 71 ; Mark Whalen ; Phil White ; Clark Goodrich MIADAPT ; Michael Steinberg ACLU ; jfroyal2000 . ; Larry Wanger ; Fran Fulton ; Bill Earl MI ADAPT ; Leigh Campbell-Earl ; Jill Gerrie MI ARC ; Norm DeLisle MDRC ; Theresa Squires MDRC ; Joseph Pietron MDRC ; Mark Johnson ; Kelly Buckland NCIL ; Marsha Katz ; Mark Finnegan ; Denise Heberle ; Sidhu,Mehgan ; Mark A. Riccobono NFB Pres. ; Mark Kamar, Esq. ; Samuel Bagenstos ; Georgia Kitchen FANFB 
> Sent: Monday, August 22, 2016 12:59 PM
> Subject: charges dismissed against blind protester
> 
> 
> Charge dismissed against blind protester at Michigan Capitol
> 
> Paul Egan,
> 
> Detroit Free Press 10:38 a.m. EDT August 22, 2016
> 
> 636073878677336936-joe-harcz-and-attorney.jpgBuy Photo
> 
> 
> 
> Joe Harcz (left) and his attorney Brian Kamar, during an earlier hearing at Lansing district court.(Photo: Paul Egan/Detroit Free Press)Buy Photo
> 
> 
> 
> MASON -- Minutes before a trial was scheduled to begin, Ingham County prosecutors today dismissed a charge against a blind activist who was arrested while
> 
> demonstrating outside the state Capitol in Lansing last year.
> 
> 
> 
> Paul Joseph (Joe) Harcz, 63, of Mt. Morris was charged with resisting and obstructing police, a two-year felony.
> 
> 
> 
> Harcz was arrested on Sept. 17 when he tried to cross a police barricade to enter a 25th anniversary celebration of the federal Americans With Disabilities
> 
> Act, taking place on the Capitol lawn, after police identified him as a protester they believed was intent on disrupting the event.
> 
> 
> 
> "In the interests of justice, the people are moving to have this case dismissed," assistant Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Stevens told Ingham Circuit Court
> 
> Judge William Collette on Monday morning, minutes before the bench trial was scheduled to begin.
> 
> 
> 
> Stevens didn't elaborate, but Interim Ingham County Prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer, who was appointed to the post after Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings was charged
> 
> with prostitution-related charges, said she made the call after reviewing the file, viewing a videotape of the incident, and discussing the case with Stevens.
> 
> 
> 
> "While we all have an interest in ensuring protests at the Capitol remain safe, we must also observe an individual's fundamental right to protest," Whitmer
> 
> said in an e-mail to the Free Press.
> 
> 
> 
> Stevens asked for the dismissal after a blind witness for Harcz asked prosecutors to move the case to Lansing, because of difficulties accessing the Mason
> 
> courthouse through public transit and ADA issues at the historic courthouse.
> 
> 
> 
> Stevens told Collette the courtroom is ADA-compliant and the courthouse has Braille markings in the elevator, but still requested the dismissal.
> 
> 
> 
> Harcz was
> 
> protesting the fact organizers chose the Capitol
> 
> as the site for the event, when the historic building lacked Braille signage and other features to make it fully ADA-compliant. He was also protesting the
> 
> fact that some of the organizers of the event, as permitted by federal law, paid sub-minimum wages to some disabled workers.
> 
> 
> 
> Source:
> 
> http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/08/22/trial-begins-blind-protester-arrested-capitol/89078270/
> _______________________________________________
> nfbmi-talk mailing list
> nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nfbmi-talk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbmi-talk_nfbnet.org/christineboone2%40gmail.com