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Lawyer for Wall Street Protestors Says DA Offered Dismissals

By DNAinfo Staff on October 25, 2011 7:37am

Defense attorney Martin Stolar called on the Manhattan District Attorney's to dismiss hundreds of cases in connection with the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Defense attorney Martin Stolar called on the Manhattan District Attorney's to dismiss hundreds of cases in connection with the Occupy Wall Street protests.
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DNAinfo/Shayna Jacobs

MANHATTAN — Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge and around Union Square were offered a provisional type of dismissal of their cases by prosecutors, an attorney representing them said.

Lawyers for the roughly 400 protesters who received desk appearance tickets during arrest sweeps at Brooklyn Bridge and Union Square Occupy Wall Street protests may accept deals that would see their cases dismissed if they are not rearrested within six months, according to attorney Martin Stolar.

That kind of deal is "often seen as a form of probation" and a protester who accepts it may have disincentive to exercise his or her right to continue protesting for fear of getting rearrested and violating the deal, Stolar said.

Stolar said to prosecute the cases, the vast majority of which are disorderly conducts for blocking traffic, is pointless and restrictive.

"I think it's a foolish waste of resources by prosecutors and defense attorneys," he added, when reached by phone Monday.

Stolar said a number of of the protesters may accept the deal, known in court as an "adjournment in contemplation of dismissal," but that many of them may refuse and exercise their right to a trial. 

"If they want to proceed, we'll provide them with legal counsel," said Stolar, of the National Lawyers Guild.

Arrested protesters will begin appearing in court on Nov. 3. Stolar and his colleagues at the Guild met with prosecutors last week to request an across the board outright dismissal of the cases.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. declined to comment. Last week the DA said the office would review each case on an individual basis.