State’s motion denied in case of Black Lives Matter protesters … – WCSH-TV
Chris Costa and NEWS CENTER , WCSH 11:50 PM. EDT May 24, 2017
By admitting to a charge of disorderly conduct, 17 protesters who were arrested during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Portland avoid going to trial.
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- A judge's ruling sets the stage for another attempt at restorative justice between a group of Black Lives Matter protesters and Portland Police.
Cumberland County Superior Court Justice Lance Walker on Wednesday denied a motion by the State of Maine to seek a new solution after a plea deal with protesters fell apart.
"We feel good about that," said defense attorney Tina Nadeau, who represents some of the protesters. "We had strong arguments in the hearing. The judge obviously spent quite a bit of time reviewing testimony and thinking about the issue, and rendered a pretty thoughtful opinion."
Cumberland County district attorney Stephanie Anderson said the order was "well-reasoned," as well.
However, the judge wrote in the order that, unless the plea agreement is amended, both parties will still have to participate in a restorative justice session.
During a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Cumberland County district attorney Stephanie Anderson said the State has no plans to pursue any restorative justice session. She said that if the protesters came to them and wanted to have a conversation, they would be amenable to it.
"They've had three opportunities to discuss their grievances, and they haven't wanted to do that," said Anderson. "We've decided to let the whole restorative justice conversation go because we don't think it will be fruitful. Everything that I've seen indicates that they did not want to have a conversation. I still don't know what their beef is in Portland or against the Portland Police Department and there hasn't been anything that's happened since July 15 to give me any indication to what it is."
If the sides do not fulfill the agreement within six months, the criminal charges will be dismissed. Currently they are "filed, but inactive," according to Anderson, meaning the court would have to approve the charges to become active, but Anderson said it would only happen if the protesters committed a new crime.
WATCH: Cumberland Co. DA's office responds to judicial ruling that denied its motion to seek restoration of charges in BLM case
"I'd feel like justice was done in this case," Anderson said about if the charges were dismissed. "We wanted to understand what their concerns were. We wanted to have a conversation with them. We're disappointed that they don't want to do that, but we're fine with the way it worked out."
Nadeau believes her clients already fulfilled that requirement when they arrived at the original restorative justice session, demanding to meet as one large group, instead of in two separate sessions as the DAs had scheduled.
"Just because they didn't reach an end point or an agreement with the DA's office at the end doesn't mean that the session was a failure, it just means it was at an earlier stage than I think the DA's office would have wanted," said Nadeau.
The order states that the State was required to "perform its obligation to participate in the meeting or allow the meeting to go forward." Fred Van Liew, the restorative practices coordinator, told one attorney that he could facilitate a meeting with the entire group together.
"Participate is the key word here, and they did participate," said Nadeau. "It doesn't say complete to the satisfaction of the DA. It says 'participate,' and they made every attempt to."
"They're just protesters. They don't have a message. They don't have a complaint. They don't have nothing to say except Black Lives Matter and that's a bumper sticker," said Anderson. "I'd still like to hear what they'd like to say."
The DA's office plans to hold a news conference at 4:30 this afternoon to address the State's response to the order.
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The protest last July was part of a nationwide campaign calling for improvements in the relationship between police agencies and people of color. In order to ensure their voices were heard, protesters demonstrated in the middle of on Commercial Street in Portland, bringing traffic to a stop. When protesters refused to allow traffic to pass, police arrested 17 of them.
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To keep criminal charges off their records, attorneys for the protesters entered into an agreement with the district attorney's office. The deal required protesters to meet with police at a restorative justice center with the goal of helping both sides come to a better understanding.
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But the meeting never happened, and both sides blamed the other for breaking their agreement. The district attorney's office wanted the protesters to split into two groups for the meeting with police, while protesters said they would only meet if they could all stay together. Attorneys for the protesters said they would not have agreed to the meeting if they had known there would be no flexibility.
In his review of the dispute, Justice Walker said district attorney's office was within its authority to set boundaries for the meeting. Although the protesters refused to comply, Walker said their willingness to meet under other circumstances did not constitute a total breach of contract. For that reason, Walker said the terms of the plea agreement still apply and both sides should work toward fulfilling them.
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State's motion denied in case of Black Lives Matter protesters ... - WCSH-TV