Legal Status of Moral Monday Arrestees
By Nelda Holder
The status of the Moral Monday arrestees has been in a state of flux since the adjournment of the N.C. General Assembly in July.
At the time of this writing, only two full trials have been held in Wake County District Court. One defendant was found guilty on all charges; a second trial resulted in acquittal on all charges for a married couple who were tried together.
Professor Irv Joyner of the N.C. Central University School of Law, who serves as legal counsel to the NAACP of NC, acknowledged by email to the Urban News that most of the 961 people in his arrest count were charged with exactly the same things: second degree trespassing, failure to disperse upon command, and violation of General Assembly rules.
“Of those who were arrested,” said the counselor, “most have opted to go to trial and assert their constitutional rights to assemble, speak and present their grievances to members of the General Assembly.” Because of professional ethics rules and individual rights, Joyner explained, he does not know exactly how many people have accepted a plea deal offered by the Wake County District Attorney (dismissal of charges in exchange for 25 hours of community service plus $180 in court costs). But he believes “roughly 10 percent to 12 percent have accepted this offer and have completed the community service or are in the process of doing so.”
More than 80 attorneys were recruited to provide free legal assistance to those who were arrested. “Never in North Carolina history have so many attorneys stepped forward … on this level,” said Joyner. The pro bono attorneys are representing between five and 50 clients each.
“We feel that we have some very strong federal and state constitutional defenses to these charges,” Joyner concluded. “In addition, we (the lawyers) have concluded that the facts do not support the charges which are being prosecuted.” The Wake County district judges involved in trying the cases, he said, “will have to find the existence of facts which would support each of the offenses. The lawyers are confident in the strengths of our individual cases.”
