Moral Monday arrestees weigh legal options

Court officials in Wake County are looking to simplify the aftermath of nearly 1,000 people being arrested over the dozen Moral Monday protests this summer — but some UNC-affiliated arrestees say they are hesitant to comply.

Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby announced last week he would offer those arrested the option of deferred prosecution — completing 25 hours of community service and paying $180 in court fees — to have all charges dropped in lieu of a trial.

Willoughby said he wants to speed up the process of trying the 924 protestors and reduce costs for the county.

But Irv Joyner, an N.C. Central University law professor and a lawyer representing some of the protestors, said only a few people so far have accepted Willoughby’s offer.

Though protestors would not have to admit guilt, many have said they prefer the trial option because they believe the arrests were unjust, he said. “They had a constitutional right to go to the General Assembly and address their legislators,” he said. “They were not interrupting any proceedings that were going on at the time.”

Most of the protestors were charged with trespassing, violation of General Assembly building rules and failure to disperse — all misdemeanors.

Trials for Moral Monday protestors are slated to begin early next month. About 65 lawyers from Orange, Wake and Durham counties, including Joyner, have volunteered to represent the arrestees in court free of charge.

Two UNC students arrested said they are leaning toward refusing the deferred prosecution.

“I’d want to have a conversation with the lawyer about it,” said senior Josh Orol. “Part of me feels like I wasn’t arrested for anything I should have been arrested for.”

Orol, arrested June 10 with 150 others, said he thought about potential long-term implications of having an arrest on his record — but he said a misdemeanor was a small price to pay for actively promoting social justice.

“I can’t say (the arrest) is not risk-free,” he said. “But I felt pretty comfortable with it.” Junior Kaori Sueyoshi, arrested July 29, said going through with a trial would be more meaningful to her.

“The arrest is more public, but the trial is where you’re doing something with the system that’s cumbersome, and (state officials) have to deal with it,” she said.

But Jacquelyn Hall, a UNC history professor, said she feels ambivalent about the deferred prosecution. She said those arrested could use community service to directly address the issues they protested against — like volunteering to register voters and ensure they have proper ID. Hall said she is unsure if she wants to protest the law under which she was arrested.

“This is not the place I want to put my energy and take my stand,” she said.

She added that deferred prosecution might be a good option for students.

“I don’t think it is an invalid thing at all to consider the benefits of having this just taken off your record,” she said. Hall said she will think carefully about her final decision before her Sept. 30 trial.

“Among most of the people I have talked to, one thing they share is that whether they accept the offer or not, they do so reluctantly,” she said. Sueyoshi said if a future opportunity for civil disobedience arose, she would make the same choice.

“If an arrest is what it takes, I think I’d do it again.”

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