Berkeley City rewrites trespassing law to stymie attacks on free speech by Berkeley U

We read:

"The Berkeley City Council has rewritten its trespassing law to stop UC-Berkeley police from using it to arrest demonstrators on campus. The move Tuesday night came after two demonstrators who were arrested in separate incidents sued the city, saying its trespassing law was being improperly applied by campus police.

Kortney Blythe of Riverside, a 25-year-old member of Survivors of the Holocaust Revolution who was cited by University of California-Berkeley police in 2007 and who sued the city, found it ironic that she was arrested at the home of the free-speech movement. "I was just appalled that a place like Berkeley, which is a mecca for free speech, would do that to us," Blythe said. "Now I'm happy they can't use that ordinance anymore to falsely arrest people and squelch free-speech rights."

Blythe said as an anti-abortion advocate, "part of our job includes defending free speech and everyone, whether they are pro-life or pro-abortion, should be protected."

The other plaintiff, Eric Baxter, is an anti-gay preacher from Oakland who was arrested, handcuffed and cited in 2007 for carrying a sign in front of Sather Gate that said in part "Warning: fornicators, drunkards, thieves, liars, God haters, homosexuals, Jesus' forgiveness is wonderful." Even though the city won Baxter's challenge in state court and won a first round in federal court in Blythe's suit, it decided to change the law in exchange for a promise from both plaintiffs to drop further challenges.

New language makes an arrest on trespassing invalid if the person is exercising "freedom of speech or assembly on outdoor property owned and controlled by a public entity." It also includes the right of labor groups to picket on public property without being arrested for trespassing. "The city's trespass law was never intended to impinge on the exercise of free speech on outdoor property owned by a public entity," said Matthew Orebic, a deputy city attorney with the city.

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