[nfbmi-talk] : charges dismissed against blind protester

Wed Aug 24 03:59:10 UTC 2016

if he broke the law, and or was charged with a crime, then he should have 
gone before a judge reguardless of where the trial was held period!!!

timelord09 at comcast.net

There Are None So Blind As Those Who Will Not See

William and Leader Dog Lynerd
-----Original Message----- 
From: Terry D. Eagle via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Tuesday, August 23, 2016 19:09
To: 'NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List'
Cc: Terry D. Eagle
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] : charges dismissed against blind protester

Hello,

I have gotten calls and been asked to share the letter I sent to Ingham
County Prosecutor Gretchem Whitmer, requesting that the charge against Joe
Harcz be dismissed, or that the trial be  relocated to an accessible
courthouse in downtown Lansing, rather than the Mason courthouse, which is
not accessible by any public transportation service.  I am the unnamed blind
person referred to by the prosecutor in the article.  Here is the letter:

August 8, 2016

Ms. Gretchem Whitmer, Prosecutor

County of Ingham

303 W. Kalamazoo St,. 4R

Lansing  MI  48933

Dear Ms. Whitmer,

I am writing as a concerned citizen and potential witness in an upcoming
case about three issues that further cast a dark cloud over the office of
the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office.  You have publicly pledged to restore
integrity to the office of the prosecuting attorney, and as my former state
legislator, I have confidence in your pledge and mission. I am concerned
regarding the following that clearly reflects negatively on the office of
prosecuting attorney.

First, the pending case approaching trial I am concerned about involves an
arrest and felony charge of a totally blind man (Paul [Joe] Harcz),who is in
his sixties, and who also cares for his elderly parents,  who was arrested
and charged for simply expressing his Constitutionally guaranteed civil
right to petition our government, during the nearly one year ago, Septemver
17, 2015 State of Michigan ADA 25th anniversary Celebration at our state
Capitol.

Mr [Joe] Harcz, approximately fifteen other persons with disabilities, and I
were exercising our First Amendment Freedom of Speech right to protest our
ongoing disgust with the State of Michigan's failure  to make our Capitol
fully accessible to blind and other persons with disabilities, along with
our disgust that the ADA Celebration event financial sponsors are engaged in
and continue to pay submimimum wages, although legal under current federal
law, which amount to slave labor wages to persons with disabilities.  I
believe we were specifically targeted by the event organizers and state
police to be excluded from access to the free public event because we
carried protest signs and banners, and informational literature.  Most
disturbing and disgusting to me is that despite Mr. [Joe] Harcz being a
memver of the event organizing committee representing the disability
community, and he not only wasn't permitted to enter the event venue, but
also was arrested and charged for attempting to simply enter the event to
fulfill his role as an event organizer.

Secondly, of equal concern to me, as a potential case witness, the
courthouse site in Mason, is not fully accessible to blind and other persons
with disabilities, as the courthouse, among other things, is not accessible
by mode of public transportation, and presents an undue burden on persons
who cannot drive and participate fully in the case as a potential witness.
I strongly urge you to have the trial moved to the Kalamazoo Street
courthouse in Lansing, to reasonably accommodate blind and other persons
with other disabilities, so we can have barriers removed to full access and
participation in the judicial process.  The U.S. Supreme Court has clearly
spoken that courts and proceedings must be fully accessible to participation
in the judicial process by persons with disabilities, through reasonable
accomodations or modifications.

Page 2 - Prosecutor Letter

Finally, I am seriously concerned and disgusted by the tactics employed by
the Michigan State Police.  As if it was not bad enough the blind persons
were selectively and specifically targeted by the state police before we
even approached the Capitol, as we gathered at the corner of West Ottawa
street and North Capitol Avenue, simply because we held protest signs, and
told we could not enter the free public ADA 25th anniversary celebration. ,
equally disgusting was the constant and repeated phone calls by more than
one state police detective, seeking over-the-phone oral statements from me
and others as a potential case witness.  I believe these bully case
supporting investigative tactics are repulsive and inappropriate in a free
democracy society.

In closing, I urge you to conduct a full review of Mr. Harcz case, including
court proceeding transcripts to date, and urge you to dismiss the case.
Should you see fit to not dismiss the case, I strongly urge you to
alternatively have the case moved for trial to the Kalamazoo street
courthouse, so I and other persons with disabilities may fully access and
participate in the judicial process, in full compliance with the ADA,
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

Thank you for your serious considerations of my concerns, and I anticipate
positive action to address and resolve my concerns, so justice may be best
served, and add to restoration of faith in the office of Ingham County
prosecutor.

Best regards,

Terry Eagle

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/

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