Wake County's interim DA dismissing hundreds of Moral Monday cases
WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Interim Wake DA Ned Mangum dismissed hundreds of pending Moral Monday cases from 2013 on Friday.
Mangum told ABC11 that his decision was not about his personal opinion or politics, but rather on Wake County Superior Court Judge Don Stephens' recent ruling.
Earlier this month, Judge Stephens ruled Leonard Beeghley's constitutional rights were violated when he was arrested on June 17, 2013 for trespassing at the state Legislative Building.
The News and Observer reports that Stephens said Beeghley was arrested by General Assembly police under vague orders "that vested Chief (Jeff) Weaver with wide discretion in the regulation of speech without providing measured guidance as to how to evaluate, regulate and restrict those exercising their First Amendment rights."
General Assembly Police arrested 83 other "Moral Monday" protesters that night after they refused to leave the building. Hundreds of protesters have been arrested since the Moral Monday rallies started in April 2013.
Mangum dismissed about 900 of the trespassing cases from this year and last.
Attorneys for the demonstrators are calling the dismissal a constitutional victory.
"People ought to feel real comfortable going into the Legislature, speaking with their representatives, making speeches in the Rotunda area and making their voices heard without fear of being arrested," Defense Attorney Scott Holmes said.
However, a few cases remain unresolved -- including one person who allegedly refused to leave Speaker of the House Thom Tillis' office, and another who may have been at the Legislature when the building was closed.
Going forward, the DA said he hopes he's seen the last of these kinds of arrests, saying it's a drain on court resources.
"All of these cases have put a lot of strain on what we do down here ... and that's on top of the several thousands of DWI cases we're trying to deal with down here," Mangum said. "These cases are a challenge for us, but our resources are really thin here in Wake County."
