Judge reconsiders punishment for SempleFest offenders

A local judge said he’s less likely to give students community service for offenses they… A local judge said he’s less likely to give students community service for offenses they commit during SempleFest.

In the past, Judge Eugene Ricciardi has given students the option to perform community service if they were cited at SempleFest, a party in which students traditionally overrun Semple Street drinking alcohol, for summary offenses such as underage drinking and public drunkenness. If the person opted for this punishment, he could perform community service and, after paying a $100 fee and completing some paperwork, have the citation expunged from his record.

But Ricciardi said he’s now “concerned about SempleFest. The offenses over there seem very over the edge.”

Pitt police Sgt. Tracy Harasyn said she’s still collecting statistics from this year’s SempleFest, which occurred in April, but that at least 22 people received citations. The previous year, 64 people were arrested, 18 of which were Pitt students.

If a person is found guilty of offenses such as public drunkenness — a common offense at SempleFest — he might receive a $300 fine, will have to pay for court expenses and might have his driver’s license suspended for 90 days, Ricciardi said.

Whether the judge finds the person guilty or innocent, the offense will remain on the offender’s record for five years before it can be removed, he added.

Ricciardi said he likes when he can go easy on people cited at SempleFest.

“You have to have some compassion and understanding, especially in summary cases,” said Ricciardi.

While he noted that his first priority is to rule on the evidence, he said he takes into consideration that in a few years, the student will graduate and try to enter the work force, which can be difficult with a summary offense on the record.

Ricciardi said he looks first at the type and nature of the crime and checks for past offenses, but he also consults the arresting officer before offering the option of community service. If the officer wishes to prosecute the offender, Ricciardi said he must follow the decision made.

Ricciardi said officers tend to prosecute more often for citations given at SempleFest than other incidents.

Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney said he understands the increase in citations because of the nature of the offenses at SempleFest, but that the lack of repeat offenders tends to make this less effective.

Each year, new students arrive at Pitt and have not heard warnings against participating in SempleFest, and these students tend to be the ones who get cited, Delaney said. So offering them a harsher punishment might not help deter people from participating, he said.

While he offers the deal, Ricciardi said he wanted to emphasize that a first-time offender can’t always expect to receive community service instead of a harsher punishment.

The difference lies in whether the offender has created a public disturbance, or endangered other people in committing the offense, he said. For those who receive community service, Ricciardi said he tries to place them somewhere that will benefit the community and themselves.

Most of the time, this means cleaning a local neighborhood or working with a local organization, but Ricciardi said he has also decided to try a new option. For female students cited for underage drinking or public drunkenness, Ricciardi said he hopes a new program in which the students attend a defense class will help. In the class, students will learn about protecting themselves and the consequences of becoming intoxicated, he said.

The class, already offered at Pitt, will also include stories of female students who have been taken advantage of while intoxicated.

Still, Ricciardi said, students shouldn’t feel as though offenses they get at SempleFest will automatically get them nothing more than community service.