A Toledo, Ohio, jury returned a mixed verdict last Friday in the case of two photographers who were arrested while covering a white supremacist rally in 2005.
Jeffrey Sauger was found guilty of criminal trespass, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and Jim West was acquitted on the charge of failure to disperse, according to their lawyer.
"This case is not about either one of these guys. It's about the First Amendment," said their attorney, Julie Hurwitz.
Sauger and West are both freelance photographers who were covering a rally by the National Socialist Movement and a counter-protest against the group on Dec. 10, 2005, in Toledo. Sauger was working for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) and West was working for the Southern Poverty Law Center
Both were arrested after they took photos of police using horses to keep a crowd away from a barrier, Hurwitz said.
West was arrested while trying to shoot a photograph of a police horse from an area apart from the crowd. Sauger was arrested in the media area and charged with trespassing since he did not have a media pass issued by the Toledo Police. Sauger said at the time he didn't get a media pass because officials told him he was too late for anyone to issue him one, and he was able to enter the media area without one.
"It's been costly in terms of legal fees provided by EPA and in terms of the minimum of $6K I've lost in jobs while having to be in Toledo for all of the pretrials and postponed trials," Sauger wrote in an e-mail.
Sauger now awaits his sentencing, which is likely to be relatively mild given the charge. He will not serve any jail time, Hurwitz said. He is considering whether to appeal.
West, likewise, is considering whether to file a civil rights action against the police, Hurwitz said.
A third photographer who was arrested at the 2005 rally, Jeffrey Willis, reached an agreement to have his charges dismissed, according to Hurwitz. Willis testified at the trial in support of the other photographers, according to Sauger.
The case is number CRB-05-024002 in Toledo Municipal Court and was argued before Judge Lynn H. Schaefer.
By Daryl Lang of Photo District News
Jeffrey Sauger was found guilty of criminal trespass, a fourth-degree misdemeanor, and Jim West was acquitted on the charge of failure to disperse, according to their lawyer.
"This case is not about either one of these guys. It's about the First Amendment," said their attorney, Julie Hurwitz.
Sauger and West are both freelance photographers who were covering a rally by the National Socialist Movement and a counter-protest against the group on Dec. 10, 2005, in Toledo. Sauger was working for the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) and West was working for the Southern Poverty Law Center
Both were arrested after they took photos of police using horses to keep a crowd away from a barrier, Hurwitz said.
West was arrested while trying to shoot a photograph of a police horse from an area apart from the crowd. Sauger was arrested in the media area and charged with trespassing since he did not have a media pass issued by the Toledo Police. Sauger said at the time he didn't get a media pass because officials told him he was too late for anyone to issue him one, and he was able to enter the media area without one.
"It's been costly in terms of legal fees provided by EPA and in terms of the minimum of $6K I've lost in jobs while having to be in Toledo for all of the pretrials and postponed trials," Sauger wrote in an e-mail.
Sauger now awaits his sentencing, which is likely to be relatively mild given the charge. He will not serve any jail time, Hurwitz said. He is considering whether to appeal.
West, likewise, is considering whether to file a civil rights action against the police, Hurwitz said.
A third photographer who was arrested at the 2005 rally, Jeffrey Willis, reached an agreement to have his charges dismissed, according to Hurwitz. Willis testified at the trial in support of the other photographers, according to Sauger.
The case is number CRB-05-024002 in Toledo Municipal Court and was argued before Judge Lynn H. Schaefer.
By Daryl Lang of Photo District News
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