Leslie secured a not guilty verdict in a case where Client was accused of theft by taking for taking a poster down on a college campus.
The poster contained a message the Client believed was harmful to the Client and other students on campus, and the Client pulled it down. Some people might disagree with her assessment and choice of how to respond to what the poster said.
The group who bought the poster and placed it in the public domain–at the whim of all elements–sought the help of police to criminally prosecute the Client and 6 other people who separately engaged in similar acts of speech. Some people might disagree with the group’s choice of how to respond to the poster being taken down.
At issue on all sides was First Amendment expression. The right to post the poster and invite other folks to attend an event advertised by the poster, and the Client’s right to take it down as a First Amendment act of expression and speech.
The jury saw the act for what it was–no intention to deprive anyone of anything–but rather an act of protected speech for the Client and other folks in the campus environment, where the poster was posted on a Government-owned board.
All of the other 6 people similarly charged chose not to fight the Government’s case against them. The group that posted the poster stated on their website prior to this Client’s trial that forcing these students to pay was proof of the group’s right to free speech. The group was hoping to see a similar result at trial.
But, the jury in this case found Client not guilty.
After trial, Leslie obtained records restriction of the Client’s arrest and got the case sealed.
