About one dozen people attended the rally, which started at noon in front of the county courthouse. Only Heicklen smoked marijuana. At 12:30 PM, Heicklen was approached by police officers McGarvey and Igoe of the Bellefonte police. They asked Heicklen to talk with them. Heicklen did not respond. Then they took Heicklen's marijuana cigarette and field tested it in his presence. When the result was positive, they placed Heicklen under arrest. Heicklen went limp and was dragged to a patrol car. After Heicklen was dragged from the demonstration, the demonstrators moved the
demonstration to the office of Magistrate Dan Hoffman.  Heicklen was taken to the Bellefonte police station, where he was carried into the station and placed in a holding cell until 2:00 PM. During all of this time, Heicklen was lying on the floor, limp and uncommunicative. At about 2:00 PM, Heicklen was carried from the cell to a patrol car and brought to the office of District Magistrate Dan Hoffman, where he was carried into the courtroom at 2:10 PM.
 
   Present in the courtroom were Magistrate Hoffman, the two police officers that carried Heicklen into the courtroom, Carla Moquin, Consulting Director of Smart on Crime, and Alec Morgan, Correspondent for DRCNet.  Magistrate Hoffman arraigned Heicklen and said that he would release Heicklen on his own recognizance subject to his agreeing to not violate any laws. Heicklen responded that the condition was unconstitutional, because the sole purpose of bail was to insure court appearances and not to enforce the law. Heicklen stated that he would not agree to the bail conditions.  Hoffman then informed Heicklen that the offense with which he was charged carried a maximum sentence of 1 year in prison and set bail at $10,000.  (The maximum sentence actually is 30 days in prison and a $500 fine. The
usual bail for this offense is $500.) Heicklen said that he would refuse to post bail. Then Hoffman said that Heicklen will be held in the Centre County Prison, but would be bail eligible under intensive supervision. As Hoffman rose to leave, Heicklen asked him if he had any sense of decency.  Heicklen asked Hoffman if he knew right from wrong. Hoffman said yes.  Heicklen than asked Hoffman if he had no sense of shame. Hoffman left the courtroom. Heicklen was carried from the courtroom to the patrol car, brought to the prison, where he was carried into the prison and booked at
2:55 PM. Heicklen refused to answer all booking questions, except for the few that were necessary for his well-being. He declined to answer medical questions except to medical personal, none of which were present.

        The following day, Heicklen was seen by a nurse and doctor for a medical interview and examination. Also he was seen by Beth Rudloff from the supervised bail office. Heicklen was presented with a list of conditions for supervised bail. Heicklen crossed out the two provisions that said that he would not break the law or use illicit drugs. He also
signed a second form with the two revisions in place, but wrote that he was signing under duress and objected to the two provisions. After the interview, Ms. Rudloff presented each of the forms to Magistrate Hoffman for approval. He rejected both of them. Heicklen remained in prison.  On Thursday, June 25, Joe Devecka, Heicklen's attorney, asked
Magistrate Hoffman for a bail reduction from $10,000 to $500 without restrictions regarding the law or drugs. Magistrate Hoffman rejected the request. An appeal was made to President Judge Charles C. Brown, Jr., who set a hearing for 8:45 AM on Friday, June 26. At this hearing, Judge Brown reduced the bail to $1000 unsecured bond (no money had to posted). The stipulations to follow the law and not use illicit drugs were included with the exception that Heicklen could smoke marijuana as a form of political protest in public demonstrations without being in violation of bail conditions. Heicklen accepted this agreement and was released from prison.

During Heicklen's arrest the Bellefonte police officers acted in a very professional manner. They took considerable care to see that Heicklen was not injured while he was being dragged or carried. Under the circumstances, they handled Heicklen as gently as could be expected. The Bellefonte police are commended for a proper and professional execution of their duties.
        The Centre County Prison is a model of how a county prison should be run. Both the staff and inmates treat each other with civility and respect. The food is decent. The medical attention is prompt and professional. Regulations are followed, and the prison has many programs for the inmates. Heicklen has interviewed over 3 dozen inmates over a
two-year period, and never heard a substantive complaint. The Centre County Prison is the jewel of the criminal justice system in Centre County. For 1997, Warden Gerald Wilson was honored by Smart on Crime for outstanding
contributions to criminal justice.  Unfortunately, the judicial system is another matter. It functions on the principle that trials should be delayed as long as possible-6 months if the defendant is incarcerated or 1 year if the defendant is not
incarcerated. It is 4-1/2 months since Heicklen's first arrest, and no trial date has been set. The defendants are to be harassed as much as possible prior to trial, often by incarceration. In this way, many (probably most) defendants are harassed into accepting plea bargains to discontinue the harassment. This saves the judges time and the county
money.
 
Heicklen has faced all 5 of the district magistrates in court. Both Dan Hoffman and Ronald Horner have lied to him from the bench with the intent of intimidating him. Alan Sinclair falsely arrested him for failure to appear at a hearing, when Heicklen had appeared. It was Magistrate Sinclair that had failed to appear. Magistrate Bradley Lunsford sentenced
Heicklen to 2 days in prison for contempt of court when Heicklen asked for indictment by grand jury.          Two of the 3 judges (Charles Brown, Jr. and David Grine) are former district attorneys, and they rule as if they still are. The third judge (Tom Kistler), elected last November, was rated unsatisfactory (D rating) as a lawyer by a professional group of his peers. He has been sued for malpractice for failing to file necessary papers. He violated the State College sign ordinance when campaigning last year for judge.
        The jury pools are rigged. The adult population of Centre County is about 25% in the ages of 18-21 according to the 1990 census. Less than 2% of the jury pools is in this age range. About 50% of the adult population is in the age range of 18-35 years, but only about 20% of the jury pools is in this age range. The vast majority of the inmates in the Centre County Prison are under 35 years old. Have they been tried by juries of their peers?
        The courthouse is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. There is no handicapped parking provided. The restrooms do not have visual fire alarms for the protection of the deaf. Counters in the Office of Probation and Parole (and probably other offices) are too high to use for a person in a wheelchair.

 

       Hello! Thanks for coming out. I appreciate the strong support that I received during my stay in prison last week.

        The case of Ken Keltner vs. State College Area School District has been settled. Ken was expelled from high school for smoking marijuana at the February 12 Marijuana Smoke Out in State College. The school suspended
Ken for three days and required that he undergo drug rehabilitation as a condition for return. The drug rehabilitation condition was rescinded.  Ken's official record has been changed to read that the smoking of marijuana was done as a political act of protest at a public demonstration not on school property. The School Board paid Ken $3 damages for the suspension.

        Ken Keltner and Jenny Corbett's criminal case also has been settled. Charges have been dropped. No fines or court costs were assessed.  Ken and Jenny accepted 30 days unsupervised probation.

        Alan Gordon had several arrests. His cases have been settled. He pleaded no contest to one felony charge and one misdemeanor charge. He was sentenced to time served (14 days). No court costs or fines were assessed.
Alan also agreed not to smoke or possess marijuana at a public demonstration.

        Andrew Burke was arrested last Friday, June 26, 1998, for failure to appear for jury selection on June 8, 1998. He was released on $1000 bail on the same day. This was a false arrest. Andy has not had his pre-trial conference, which was rescheduled from May 25 to July 17. Therefore he could not choose a jury. When his pre-trail conference was postponed, the court failed to delete his name for jury selection on June 8, 1998.
        My 4 arrests in State College were combined into one case over my objection. Currently, my pre-trial conference is scheduled for July 17 and jury selection for august 3. My preliminary hearing for last week's (June 22) arrest is scheduled for 9:00 AM on July 1, 1998.

        On the 4th of July, I will address the annual Hemp Rally in Lafayette Park in Washington, DC opposite the White House. About 15,000 people attended this rally last year, so we expect a sizable crowd.

        The 30-Hour Marijuana Smoke Out in State College will take place from July 9-12, less than two weeks from now. All arrangements have been made. We are ready to roll. We still need volunteers to man the tables for Smart on Crime, the Centre County Libertarian Party, NORML, and Svoboda Books. Please sign up with Carla Moquin if you can help. Also I am receiving requests for housing arrangements from out-of-town people. If any of you can take in a visitor or two during July 9-12, give your name to Carla Moquin.

        The Bellefonte and State College Marijuana Smoke Outs will continue indefinitely on Mondays and Thursdays, respectively, until our freedom is reclaimed. I will not be smoking today, because it is more important that I address the Hemp Rally in Washington on Saturday than that I be arrested today. However anyone else 18 or more years old is free to do so.

        I ask that no-one under 18 years old smoke marijuana. We appreciate your support, but if minors smoke, it will hurt our cause. If arrested, give only your name and address. Go limp and make the officers carry you away from the demonstration. Plead not guilty and ask for a speedy, jury trial.

        If you are attacked by either police or bystanders, go into the fetal position, and use your hands to protect your head. Under no circumstances, even if provoked, use violence. Thank you for your cooperation.

        Fifteen people participated in the demonstration, which lasted an hour.  The police did not appear.  No-one smoked marijuana.
 

        My request for a jury pool representative of the population of the county has been denied by Judge Charles Brown. According to the 1990 census with estimated growth to 1998 and the population of University Park as provided by the Penn State University Housing Office, the population of University Park during the academic year 1997-1998 was 11.8% of the adult population of Centre County.

        There are 400 people in my jury pool of August 3, 1998. Based on the population distribution, the expected value of University Park residents is 47. Because of random sampling variations, there is a 5% chance that this number could be as low as 35. Values higher than this are not considered statistically significant. However values lower than this
indicate probable sampling error in choosing the jury pool. There is only a 0.1% chance that the number could be as low as 26 and 0.05% chance that it could be as low as 25. Statistical probability values are not available for lower probabilities, because such values are considered statistical certainties in analyzing data. How many residents of University Park do you think are in my jury pool? The answer is 4. Judge Brown considers that to be an acceptable geographical representation of the county. Folks, this is a rigged jury pool if there ever was one. It cannot be attributed to random sampling error. It is outright fraud.

        Stephen Sloane, the Assistant District Attorney trying my cases, has requested that the Court prohibit me from using a jury nullification defense, even though it is a legally recognized defense. He wants to convict me without allowing me to defend myself. The Court has granted his request for the trial of Andrew Burke. It will make a decision for my cases at the pre-trial hearing tomorrow. My expectation is that the Judge will rule the same as he did for Andy. Folks, this is a judicial system that does not permit the defendant to defend himself, in direct violation of the 5th and 6th Amendments to the U. S. Constitution. This is not a court of law; it is a court of inquisition. The Court has committed treason!

        Should the above rulings stand, law will have left the land. The time will have come to abandon the judicial process and prepare for revolution. The first step in this revolution is to elect candidates from the Libertarian Party to public office, especially to the Governorships of the states. If that fails, more drastic methods will have to be considered. In the meantime, we will continue our semi-weekly Marijuana Smoke Outs in Centre County.

        I ask that no-one under 18 years old smoke marijuana. We appreciate your support, but if minors smoke, it will hurt our cause. If arrested, give only your name and address. Go limp and make the officers carry you away from the demonstration. Plead not guilty and ask for a speedy, jury trial.

        If you are attacked by either police or bystanders, go into the fetal position, and use your hands to protect your head. Under no circumstances, even if provoked, use violence. Thank you for your cooperation.

        Only 3 of us demonstrated today, and we did not smoke.  However we kept the Movement alive.