just a quick little follow-up on the upsidedown LIFE incident...
the hearing was held yesterday morning at 100 center st, the manhattan criminal court. i was wearing an upsidedown LIFE t-shrit and had pics of the "crime scene" on hand for reference. i had a chance to describe the situation to the legal aid lawyer who was assigned to my case prior to going before the judge, and he immediately wanted to know about the meaning of the sticker (content really does seem to matter...which, to my mind, brings up freedom of speech issues, but that's a whole other issue...). he classified it as "non-specific philosophical humor", which i was satisfied with. once before the judge, i was charged with possession of a "graffiti implement", but in my research i discovered that graffiti implements are specifically defined as spray paint, wide-nibbed markers, and etching powder. the lawyer and the judge and the DA guys ("the people") argued back and forth a bit (not without smirking, i might add). things mentioned: it was my first offense, there were already other markings on the pole, i had already spent 7 hours in jail, the nature of my message was non-commercial and apolitical (sort of...). at first they were going to let me off with an ACD ("adjournment on contemplation of dismissal"...my case dropped and my prints destroyed if i manage not to get arrested again for 6 months to a year) and one day of community service, but the lawyer managed to eliminate the community service and get me out without even having to pay a court fee (i was actually kind of looking forward to seeing what they had in mind for community service...working an extra day at the soup kitchen? planting flowers in a park? or scraping off other people's stickers...that would have sucked...).
i never needed to mention it to the judge, but i found it rather good omen to have come across this stuck to a pole on my way to the courthouse.
now if only all the goddamn politicians would go arrest themselves...
