http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/97871894_Judge_spares_worst_for__stunt_.html
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
BY JEFF FRANKEL
BLOOMFIELD Environmental activist and township resident Ted Glick
won't be headed to jail after all.
Glick was facing a lengthy sentence after his arrest for hanging two
banners from a federal office building in Washington D.C. last year.
But he was largely spared the penalty by a judge's ruling on Tuesday.
"The judge was pretty vague," said Glick's son, Daniel Califf-Glick,
via phone outside the Washington D.C. courthouse shortly thereafter.
"It seemed like he was leading up to jail time, but then all of the
sudden he said, 'I don't think jail time would be appropriate for you.'"
Superior Court Judge Frederick H. Weisberg handed Glick a suspended
sentenced July 6, but warned he would head to jail for 30 days if he
is arrested again. In addition to fines, Glick was sentenced to a
year's probation and ordered to complete 40 hours of community
service in the D.C. area.
Though Glick was facing up to three years behind bars, the
prosecution wanted him to serve only 40 days, Califf-Glick said.
Glick, 60, was convicted last month of hanging two banners from the
Hart Senate Office Building demanding climate legislation. One read,
"Green Jobs Now," the other, "Get to Work," intended to remind
senators as they returned from summer recess in September 2009.
He, along with a younger woman, were arrested as they left the
location. Authorities offered the woman six months probation, since
she had never been arrested. But Glick was not so fortunate, having
already served time for protesting the Vietnam War draft and with
additional prior convictions for similar stunts.
Glick could have avoided the threat of a lengthy prison term
altogether with a guilty plea at the initial arraignment, which would
have meant a 30-day sentence. But Glick refused to admit any guilt in
expressing his mind.
From an early age, Glick says his parents fostered in him an
activist lifestyle, so much so that his father went to Selma, Alabama
during the Civil Rights movement.
Glick, an avid environmentalist and policy director of the
Maryland-based Chesapeake Climate Action Network, has often resorted
to hunger strikes to protest perceived environmental injustices.
With the Gulf of Mexico oil spill still unresolved, he previously
said the federal government should worry about sending BP executives
to jail, not individuals expressing First Amendment rights.
Glick could not immediately be reached for comment as of press time Tuesday.
When Glick was convicted last month, hundreds of supporters wrote
letters to Weisberg asking for leniency. Glick had numerous
supporters on hand for Tuesday's proceedings many of whom could not
enter the courtroom due to the size of the crowd.
"It was pretty shocking," Califf-Glick said.
E-mail: frankel@northjersey.com
BLOOMFIELD Environmental activist and township resident Ted Glick
won't be headed to jail after all.
Glick was facing a lengthy sentence after his arrest for hanging two
banners from a federal office building in Washington D.C. last year.
But he was largely spared the penalty by a judge's ruling on Tuesday.
"The judge was pretty vague," said Glick's son, Daniel Califf-Glick,
via phone outside the Washington D.C. courthouse shortly thereafter.
"It seemed like he was leading up to jail time, but then all of the
sudden he said, 'I don't think jail time would be appropriate for you.'"
Superior Court Judge Frederick H. Weisberg handed Glick a suspended
sentenced July 6, but warned he would head to jail for 30 days if he
is arrested again. In addition to fines, Glick was sentenced to a
year's probation and ordered to complete 40 hours of community
service in the D.C. area.
Though Glick was facing up to three years behind bars, the
prosecution wanted him to serve only 40 days, Califf-Glick said.
Glick, 60, was convicted last month of hanging two banners from the
Hart Senate Office Building demanding climate legislation. One read,
"Green Jobs Now," the other, "Get to Work," intended to remind
senators as they returned from summer recess in September 2009.
He, along with a younger woman, were arrested as they left the
location. Authorities offered the woman six months probation, since
she had never been arrested. But Glick was not so fortunate, having
already served time for protesting the Vietnam War draft and with
additional prior convictions for similar stunts.
Glick could have avoided the threat of a lengthy prison term
altogether with a guilty plea at the initial arraignment, which would
have meant a 30-day sentence. But Glick refused to admit any guilt in
expressing his mind.
From an early age, Glick says his parents fostered in him an
activist lifestyle, so much so that his father went to Selma, Alabama
during the Civil Rights movement.
Glick, an avid environmentalist and policy director of the
Maryland-based Chesapeake Climate Action Network, has often resorted
to hunger strikes to protest perceived environmental injustices.
With the Gulf of Mexico oil spill still unresolved, he previously
said the federal government should worry about sending BP executives
to jail, not individuals expressing First Amendment rights.
Glick could not immediately be reached for comment as of press time Tuesday.
When Glick was convicted last month, hundreds of supporters wrote
letters to Weisberg asking for leniency. Glick had numerous
supporters on hand for Tuesday's proceedings many of whom could not
enter the courtroom due to the size of the crowd.
"It was pretty shocking," Califf-Glick said.
--
E-mail: frankel@northjersey.com
.
0 comments:
Post a Comment