Kent Prosecutor Drops Littering Charge Against Anti-War Activist

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Kent Prosecutor Drops Littering Charge Against Anti-War Activist
Submitted by Jerid on Fri, 09/07/2007 – 2:01pm.
It’s about damn time.

KENT, Ohio (AP) — A prosecutor agreed to drop a littering charge against an anti-war activist who placed an “Impeach Bush” placard in a public garden, the second time a charge has been dropped in the case.

Police had originally issued a ticket to Kevin Egler in July on a charge of unlawfully advertising in a public place, a violation that carries a $125 fine.

But Kent Law Director Jim Silver moved to dismiss the case last month and said Egler would be charged instead with littering, which carries a possible two-month jail penalty.

Silver declined to say Thursday why he was dropping the littering charge.

The decision saves the city $100,000 in legal fees it would have been forced to spend had Egler been convicted and then appealed, said Bob Fitrakis, a lawyer for Egler.

What an absolute abuse of prosecutorial discretion. Sure, the sign shenanigans was against the law, but the amount of effort the prosecutor Jim Silver put into this one was ridiculous, and the costs were ghastly. If the city had a massive problem with anti-war activists disrupting the park regulations, then, then, then the suit might’ve been warranted in terms of social harm. However, Silver’s shenanigans sounded more like just a lone prosecutor getting his political jollies out of his office.