The move by the Sacramento City Attorney's Office to dismiss criminal charges against Occupy Sacramento protesters has not stopped the legal arm wrestling.
Lawyers working for the demonstrators who were arrested in recent weeks for violating the city's park curfew ordinance said Thursday they will fight the city's attempt to collect an administrative penalty from their clients.
After dismissing the misdemeanor criminal charges last month, the City Attorney's Office moved to collect $100 for each arrest from each of the nine people arrested multiple times for violating the park curfew.
To date, the city has made 110 arrests within Cesar Chavez Plaza after the park's nighttime curfew.
"The city has decided to waste taxpayer dollars on a vendetta," said attorney Jeff Kravitz, who represents several of those who were arrested.
Administrative fines are separate from the criminal court process and carry a different legal burden. Cases are heard by a hearing examiner, but those subject to the fines can be represented by an attorney and can appeal. No hearing dates have been set.
The two sides disagreed over the legality of seeking administrative penalties after misdemeanor changes have been dismissed.
Supervising Deputy City Attorney Gustavo Martinez dismissed Kravitz's argument that the protesters' due process is being taken away because they don't get a jury trial.
"They still have due process rights. They can still appeal it to Superior Court," Martinez said.
And he said Kravitz's claim that the city is on a vendetta is overblown.
"If you look at the administrative penalties that were imposed, it was $100 per violation, which was the very bottom of the range," Martinez said. "If the penalty were $5,000, perhaps you could say that the penalty has no relation to the violation, but that is not the case."
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