On 3-3-2015 in order to protest tuition fee hikes, and nationwide police brutality, six students of the University of California, Santa Cruz chained themselves to each other, and cement filled garbage cans, and spanned the Highway 17 at the entrance into Santa Cruz. This point is where Highway 17 merges with Highway 1, and continues as Highway 1 Southbound. By an elaborate system of arms connected to arms within pipes that passed through cement filled metal garbage cans the six students were able to form a wall that spanned the highway and preventing through traffic for about four or five hours. Santa Cruz is a coastal town with essentially no way to bypass Highways 1 and 17, both of which were effectively shut down. As a result of their actions hundreds, if not thousands of people were stuck in traffic. The city's emergency response services were severely inhibited, people lost time and money. People seeking hospital treatment suffered needless delays, though, no one appears to have died as a direct result of the the two blocked highways. Santa Cruz is a town of roughly 64,000 people. I am not sure if that includes the 20,000 or so UC students. There is a strong feeling amongst at least the non-student population of Santa Cruz that the six students should be expelled. At present they are on an interim 14-day suspension. The six were arrested after they were finally untangled, without incident. Four of the six are out on $5,000 bail bonds. Two remain in custody, not having posted bail. The charges filed were: Suspicion of creating a public nuisance, failure to obey an officer, attempting to prevent an officer from performing a duty and conspiring to execute a plan of conspiracy. The first three charges are misdemeanors and the last, a felony.
My question is do any other laws apply. Perhaps laws on terrorism apply? Who would file the charges that would apply? The county, state, or federal government? What seems like a responsible legal position to take? No one died, so let's just forgive these overzealous youth?
I chose debate the issues, but I will be forced to play the role of spectator, as I have no legal training. Our local paper the Santa Cruz Sentinel has a good article describing what happened. Nobody I have heard will say what the actual legal implications are. Since I am not sure if I am encouraged to provide a link to the actual article, let me give you the names of the six students and I will hope that a search for a Santa Cruz Sentinel article, and other material will be make it not too inconvenient to get an overview of what happened. I thank you all in advance if you can shed some light on this situation for me. I frankly, do not know a specific forum on this site that can address the issue, since I don't know what laws apply here, other than I do know the charges that the students were booked on. My assumption is that more charges could be filed, possibly by the state of federal government. And of course, there is always the possibility of civil charges, for lost time, and wages, and pain and suffering. I consider those type of charges to be only marginally likely, since it does take time and money to pursue that route, and the defendants will probably not be easy to collect from!
The "Highway 17 Six" as they are now called are:
Ethan Jacob Pezzolo, 19, of Santa Cruz; Janine Victoria Caceres, 21, of Los Angeles; Alexander Bryant Pearce, 19, of San Francisco; and Sophia Jeanne DiMatteo, 19, of Sherman Oaks, Lori Leigh Nixon, a 28-year-old from Santa Cruz, and Sasha Lee Petterson, a 19-year-old from Oakland.
Please debate the issues, and please shed some legal light on this for me!
-Monroe Doctrine
My question is do any other laws apply. Perhaps laws on terrorism apply? Who would file the charges that would apply? The county, state, or federal government? What seems like a responsible legal position to take? No one died, so let's just forgive these overzealous youth?
I chose debate the issues, but I will be forced to play the role of spectator, as I have no legal training. Our local paper the Santa Cruz Sentinel has a good article describing what happened. Nobody I have heard will say what the actual legal implications are. Since I am not sure if I am encouraged to provide a link to the actual article, let me give you the names of the six students and I will hope that a search for a Santa Cruz Sentinel article, and other material will be make it not too inconvenient to get an overview of what happened. I thank you all in advance if you can shed some light on this situation for me. I frankly, do not know a specific forum on this site that can address the issue, since I don't know what laws apply here, other than I do know the charges that the students were booked on. My assumption is that more charges could be filed, possibly by the state of federal government. And of course, there is always the possibility of civil charges, for lost time, and wages, and pain and suffering. I consider those type of charges to be only marginally likely, since it does take time and money to pursue that route, and the defendants will probably not be easy to collect from!
The "Highway 17 Six" as they are now called are:
Ethan Jacob Pezzolo, 19, of Santa Cruz; Janine Victoria Caceres, 21, of Los Angeles; Alexander Bryant Pearce, 19, of San Francisco; and Sophia Jeanne DiMatteo, 19, of Sherman Oaks, Lori Leigh Nixon, a 28-year-old from Santa Cruz, and Sasha Lee Petterson, a 19-year-old from Oakland.
Please debate the issues, and please shed some legal light on this for me!
-Monroe Doctrine
What Laws, if Any, Apply to Ucsc Protesters in Santa Cruz, California
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