Madison NORML

Masel still faces a state trespassing charge that carries a maximum $252 fine after misdemeanor disorderly and resisting/obstructing charges were dismissed. The presiding judge declined a motion to join the cases, so the trespassing charge will wait until the lawsuit is decided.

No matter who wins, Masel says the case is likely headed to appeals court over the legal standard of public versus private spaces. There are no free speech rights in private places, but there are many spaces with elements of each, such as public-private partnerships. The Union, with its special place in the public heart, makes this case particularly unique, he says.

Ben thinks it could ultimately be up to the State Supreme Court to decide the balance, which he says is now wide open at state level. There are similar cases nationwide, including downtown Silver Spring MD, where the private operator who invested and revitalized the entire downtown now says they can prohibit all political signature gathering and leafleting. Ben, never one to allow distance to interfere with his First Amendment rights, finds that situation tantalizing, noting Maryland is just an overnight train ride away…

Source: Wisconsin State Journal
Pubdate: July 27, 2007

Marijuana activist sues over arrest

Marijuana activist Ben Masel filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming his rights were violated when he was arrested at Union Terrace in June 2006 while collecting signatures to get his name on the ballot as a U.S. Senate candidate.

The suit, filed in Dane County Circuit Court , seeks unspecified monetary damages and asks the court to find a policy prohibiting people from soliciting signatures in specific areas of Memorial Union unconstitutional.

Defendants include UW-Madison Police Officers Mike Mansavage and John McCaughtry, whom the suit alleges ”brutally manhandled” Masel and sprayed him with pepper spray.