Moral Monday protester hopes Supreme Court ruling will lead to overturned conviction
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A "Moral Monday" protester, convicted of trespassing at the state Legislative Building last year, is hoping a Supreme Court ruling will help overturn his case.
Wake County Superior Court Judge Don Stephens is currently deciding whether Leonard Beeghley's constitutional rights were violated when he was arrested on June 17, 2013.
General Assembly Police arrested 83 other "Moral Monday" protesters that night after they refused to leave the building.
Beeghley recently watched a Wake County district court judge drop charges against five other "Moral Monday" protesters, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling that essentially demands police to warn individual protesters that they're breaking the law and could be arrested.
Defense lawyers for Beeghley say General Assembly Police did not do that on June 17, 2013. Instead, Police Chief Jeff Weaver says he used a megaphone to walk through the large crowd and issue three different warnings before officers started making arrests.
"Law enforcement was operating under building rules that were passed back in the 80s that didn't have the benefit of a lot of constitutional rulings," said defense attorney Scott Holmes.
"Right now, all I see is a bit of First Amendment muddle about what these law enforcement officers are supposed to do," said Judge Don Stephens.
Stephens heard closing arguments Friday and said he hopes to deliver a ruling sometime late next week.
