ROBINSON v. TOWN OF KENT

ERNEST L. ROBINSON, III, Plaintiff, v. TOWN OF KENT, DARREN CEA, sued in his individual capacity, and THOMAS CARROLL, sued in his individual capacity, Defendants.

No. 09-CV-9027 (CS).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

December 29, 2011.

Stephen Bergstein, Bergstein & Ullrich, LLP, Chester, New York, Counsel for Plaintiff. Steven C. Stern, Adam I. Kleinberg, Leo Dorfman, Sokoloff Stern LLP, Westbury, New York, Counsel for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER CATHY SEIBEL, District Judge. Before the Court are the Motion for Summary Judgment of Defendants Town of Kent (“the Town”) and Police Officers Darren Cea and Thomas Carroll (collectively “Defendants”), (Doc. 24), and the Cross-Motion for Partial Summary Judgment of Plaintiff Ernest L. Robinson, III, (Doc. 25). For the following reasons, Defendants’ Motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART, and Plaintiff’s Cross-Motion is GRANTED. I. Background The following facts are undisputed, except where noted. In 1973, the Town passed a comprehensive anti-littering ordinance, which is codified in Chapter 45 of the Town’s Code. (Ds’ 56.1 ¶ 6.)1 [...] [Read More]

In New York, a state supreme court justice and a New York City council member were beaten up; in Berkeley, California, one of our greatest national poets, Robert Hass, was beaten with batons. The picture darkened still further when Wonkette and Washingtonsblog.com reported that the Mayor of Oakland acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security had participated in an 18-city mayor conference call advising mayors on "how to suppress" Occupy protests.

via The shocking truth about the crackdown on Occupy | Naomi Wolf | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk.

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POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Shanon Murray’s brother, parents, and son convened in Poughkeepsie to celebrate the holidays. But instead of a big meal with just their family, they joined to "Occupy Thanksgiving.""Even though family is so important it’s like looking at family in the bigger sense and that’s what this movement about," said Murray. "It’s looking out for one another, looking out for more than just your own."Over 60 showed up in solidarity, including an informal group of supporters called the "Occupy Poughkeepsie Moms and Dads" who collaborate on a regular basis to make sure the movement gets fed."And so we cook food and bring a hot meal every night," explained Vonn New. "We try to make sure that everybody down here gets plenty of vegetables in their diet–and eat healthy.""We all have to pitch in as a community to see what we can do to bring our community back together," said Nicole Kennedy, another member of the "Moms and Dads." "You know you can’t always depend on the government or the powers that be to take care of you."

via Occupy Thanksgiving – YNN, Your News Now.

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You’ve been seeing this across the country … Americans assaulted, clubbed, dragged, pepper-sprayed … Why? For exercising their right to free speech and assembly — protesting the increasing concentration of income, wealth, and political power at… [Read More]

Critics who label them slovenly misfits, troublemakers and drug addicts, have not bothered to take the time to engage them.
Nor do those critics understand that social movements are never neat and tidy or easy to decipher — not at the beginning.
Even… [Read More]