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Democracy American style

Mar 07, 2003 03:59 AM
by Theo Paijmans


NEW YORK (Reuters) -- A lawyer was arrested late Monday and charged with
trespassing at a public mall in the state of New York after refusing to take off a
T-shirt advocating peace that he had just purchased at the mall.

According to the criminal complaint filed Monday, Stephen Downs was wearing a
T-shirt bearing the words "Give Peace A Chance" that he had just purchased from a
vendor inside the Crossgates Mall in Guilderland, New York, near Albany.

"I was in the food court with my son when I was confronted by two security guards
and ordered to either take off the T-shirt or leave the mall," said Downs.

When Downs refused the security officers' orders, police from the town of
Guilderland were called and he was arrested and taken away in handcuffs, charged
with trespassing "in that he knowingly enter(ed) or remain(ed) unlawfully upon
premises," the complaint read.

Downs said police tried to convince him he was wrong in his actions by refusing to
remove the T-shirt because the mall "was like a private house and that I was acting
poorly.

"I told them the analogy was not good and I was then hauled off to night court
where I was arraigned after pleading not guilty and released on my own
recognizance," Downs told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Downs is the director of the Albany Office of the state Commission on Judicial
Conduct, which investigates complaints of misconduct against judges and can
admonish, censure or remove judges found to have engaged in misconduct.

Calls to the Guilderland police and district attorney, Anthony Cardona and to
officials at the mall were not returned for comment.

Downs is due back in court for a hearing on March 17.

He could face up to a year in prison if convicted.





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