Lawyer Arrested for Wearing a 'Peace' T-Shirt (AT THE MALL)

reuters ^ | 3/4/2003 | reuters

[TLBSHOW]

Lawyer Arrested for Wearing a 'Peace' T-Shirt

— 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 on 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.

[Illbay]

And?

[TLBSHOW]

That is it. Anyone want to call him I have the number.

[perfect stranger]

You can buy a shirt at the mall and they can customise it by printing s**t, or f**k on it. If you want to wear it in the mall that's another story.

[doug from upland]

Ditto.

[TLBSHOW]

or you tell me what you want answered and I will call him back.

[perfect stranger]

Since when does Reuters have so much credibility here?

[TLBSHOW]

You want to call him or anyone please feep mail me for his number.

[Illbay]

I'm not. Unfortunately, this is an example of what I've noted from time to time before. FR is really no longer stricly a "conservative" website, but a "reactionary" website. Constitutional principles are, for far too many here, arbitrary in their application.

Therefore, you have people angry at the "outrage" of a conservative whose rights are abrogated, but "glad" about the same thing as long as the rights are those of a "lefty."

It's too bad, really.

[rwfromkansas]

The mall exercised its right of refusal of service. He refused to leave and the police were called. It doesn't sound bad to me.

[CharacterCounts]

Freedom of speech guys--- I am pro bush on the war here.... but to arrest a guy for buying and wearing a t shirt...

The articlw title was misleading. He was not arrested for wearing a t-shirt. He was arrested for trespassing on private property.

If the mall through its security told this guy to leave, his refusal to do so is trespassing.

[Illbay]

I still don't get why they had to take off the shirts. This isn't right.

[Mad Dawgg]

>>>By your standards, you can refuse service to a black man based on his skin color.<<<

Really interesting just where is there a law pertaining to that? You can do this with housing laws (very hard to prove) but I can sell to whom ever I choose and refuse sale to whomever I wish and I don't have to give a reason!

[Willie Green]

I also respect the mall ownership's right to ask him to leave the premises if he refuses to remove a shirt that they believe may lead to trouble within the mall.

I refuse to believe that, despite current international events, that the slogans are so "controversial" that they would initiate such action by rent-a-cops at a shopping mall.

Something STINKS big time. The whole story is NOT being told.

[csvset]

Story from local NBC station w/ video.

Peace T-shirt leads to man's arrest

[Illbay]

The cops were wrong.

Ahem. Not "cops." "Mall cops," that is "rent-a-cops." As someone else here noted, security guard types are usually policeman wannabes with a hugely inflated sense of their own autority.

They just bought the mall an out-of-court settlement, at least.

[error99]

"...I can sell to whom ever I choose and refuse sale to whomever I wish and I don't have to give a reason!..."
- - -
What planet are YOU from ?

[TLBSHOW]

Here is what i say happened, a pal of his was also given this attitude earlier, so the lawyer went in to see if it would happen to him.

......


I called him back and asked if he had heard of others that had the same problem. He said he had heard that a group in Dec was kicked out for wearing war protest tshirts, but those that wear Nuke Iraq tshirts are allowed to stay, said they must not like war protesters.

Bingo! you hit the jackpot.

[Illbay]

Actually, I guess it was the mall cops who caused the trouble. Hopefully the mall can reduce their exposure in this crummy episode by disavowing the decision of the mall cops.