Some arrested during G-20 attend community service hearings

As of 8:50 a.m. the courtroom had yet to come to order. About 90 people were summoned to prove… As of 8:50 a.m. the courtroom had yet to come to order. About 90 people were summoned to prove they completed 50 hours of community service as part of a deal cut with the district attorney’s office. Together they chatted quietly, recounting the circumstances of their G-20 arrests and sharing expectations about the upcoming hearings.

Public defenders scurried in and out of the room, carrying stacks of manila trial folders, urging their clients to be patient until District Judge Kevin Cooper took the stand just before 9 a.m. It was nearly an hour after defendants were instructed to report to the Pittsburgh Municipal Court building.

“Everybody just seems to be taking their grand old time,” Pitt student Anthony Brino said before the proceedings commenced. “No one seems exactly sure what is going on. I guess we just prove our service and that will be it. I’m hoping this is the last step.”

Brino’s prediction turned out to be about right. In slightly less than an hour, all but two of about 90 defendants had their charges dropped. Final figures were not available as of press time, but Pittsburgh Municipal Court Administrator Angharad Stock confirmed that of about 130 people who accepted community service in exchange for having their charges lessened or dropped, about 100 took the offer.

Essentially, everyone who took community service finished their hours, she said.

“We haven’t put together a definitive count yet, but it looks like a vast majority of those who opted into the program completed their 50 hours,” Stock told The Pitt News Wednesday evening.

From the start, Brino and others observed an atmosphere much more relaxed than at the preliminary G-20 hearings in late October, which was described by one lawyer as “organized chaos.”

Friends Dylan Essig and John Chriest, who police arrested together on Sept. 24 near Hillman Library, thought the relaxed atmosphere was a result of that initial chaos.

“We’ve been through this before, for our preliminary hearings back in October. Now all we have to do is show that we’ve completed our hours. That’s easy,” Essig, a Pitt freshman, said.

Chriest agreed and said he felt confident that he would finally be rid of “the whole G-20 thing.”

“I mean, check out this fancy letterhead,” he said, pointing to the letter proving he completed the 50 hours of service. “We’re sure to get off with this. I didn’t even bother to dress up this time.”

The room grew quiet as Cooper took the bench. He ordered everyone who had a pending case to stand and be sworn in, and warned that if any cell phones or other electronic devices were seen in use he would order the sheriff to confiscate them.

“I don’t want to see any cell phones,” Cooper said. “Don’t just turn them to vibrate. Turn them off and put them away. And remember, no talking in the courtroom.”

The judge then called each defendant to the bench and quickly read the letters they provided as documentation of their service hours. Most students didn’t testify, but instead stood quietly for less than a minute, until Cooper allowed them to leave.

“Case dismissed,” he told most defendants after reviewing their letters.

Each time the hum of impatient chatter seemed to grow above a mild roar, Cooper looked up and called for quiet.

“I realize you don’t want to be here,” he said to one student, after calling for silence. “But community service is not about what you want to do, or are going to enjoy doing. This is a punishment.”

In spite of the mostly genial process, one point of confusion seemed to arise during the morning’s proceedings: Even though their charges were dropped, students are still responsible for paying court fees. The fees range from $113 to $200, depending on which charges the district attorneys office originally filed, Cooper said.

“I believe it was made clear during the preliminary hearing process that all of you would be responsible for paying court fees,” Cooper said. “If you can’t pay the fees today, you must let me know, [or] else you will get yet another subpoena.”

The cases moved forward steadily, and by 10:00 a.m., only a smattering of defendants remained in the courtroom.