Unfortunately for people who want to keep moving while on crowded sidewalks it’s been ruled that even if you and your friends are blocking peoples paths through bustling Times Square it’s not a crime.
Matthew Jones had been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in June of 2004, but the New York Court of Appeals decided on Tuesday to overturn his conviction. At the time police has said that people had to walk around him and that he wouldn’t moved when asked and he flailed his arms.
Jones pleaded guilty in 2004 after spending a night in jail, but he later appealed.
To be convicted of disorderly conduct in New York, a person must be acting “with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk thereof” and obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic, according to the unanimous opinion.
The court found that Jones’ behavior - standing in the middle of the sidewalk at 2:01 a.m. with friends - did not meet the definition.
“Otherwise, any person who happens to stop on a sidewalk - whether to greet another, to seek directions or simply to regain one’s bearings - would be subject to prosecution under this statute,” the opinion said.
Maybe this isn’t illegal, but it sure is rude when I encounter it on the streets of Toronto. Move to the side people!
A Detroit Michigan man, who admitted to a sexual fetish for female shaped mamequins was sentenced to more than a year in prison after repeatedly breaking into storefront windows.
Ronald Dotson, 39, was sentenced to 18 months to 30 years on charges of breaking and entering, and being a habitual criminal.
He was arrested in October after police spotted him near a smashed storefront window in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak. The storefront window contained a mannequin dressed in a french maid outfit.
His arrest came less than a week after he had been paroled for his sixth break and entering conviction in 13 years.
In some of the previous cases mannequins were involved. Apparently police once found him in an alley behind a womans clothing store with three mannequins dressed in lingerie.
“I’ve never been able to take care of myself,” Dotson told Judge Denise Langford Morris at sentencing.
Morris acknowledged that Dotson had never assaulted a person but said his behavior “strikes fear in the community.”
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It’s administered by well educated and trained staff who care about improving the lives of the kids in their care.
I wouldn’t want to have to put my child in a rehab facility but if he had a problem that could be treated I would certainly want to help him. Please visit the Echo Malibu site if you are struggling with a decision to help a troubled adolescent.
