Dear My Fellow Bikers,
My name is Brian Goldner. I was arrested while participating in a peaceful protest on November 24th, 2006. I am a junior at Emory University majoring in mathematics, economics and sociology and I am hoping to attend medical school upon graduating. I have a
3.8 GPA and no prior criminal history.
The protest was a bicycle ride in the city of Atlanta. It was part of a larger global movement called Critical Mass:
1. Critical Mass Atlanta:
http://criticalmassatlanta.org/
2. Wikipedia article on the Critical Mass movement: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_Mass
Critical Mass in Atlanta has been occurring every month for several years, and for the past year or so the monthly attendance has been between 200-300 people. To my knowledge, this is the first time arrests have been made during Critical Mass. Although there have been recent illegal arrests of protesters in New York for participating in Critical Mass. Judges in New York ruled that the actions of the police were unjust.
I was arrested, as was Patrick Stephens, for participating in the Critical Mass Atlanta ride. As far as I know, we were the only 2 arrested out of several hundred riders. We were sent to jail, later posted bond, and will be appearing at court this Monday, November 27th for arraignment. According to the GA Driver's Manual (which can be obtained from here) we were not in violation of any traffic laws. According to the manual: "Every person riding a bicycle upon a roadway must obey the same traffic laws governing the drivers of motor vehicles." Instead, we were charged with Disorderly Conduct (a more detailed description is below). We believe our rights have been violated and we are seeking counsel in this matter.
Our next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, February 14th at 5:00PM at the Atlanta Municipal Court that is located 150 Garnett St. in the City of Atlanta. The first court appearance was reset so I could be assigned a public defender. The second was reset because my lawyer was out sick that day, and the most recent court appearance was reset so that my codefendant could be assigned a public defender.
Description of events after arrest:
Patrick Stevens and Brian Goldner (me) are both being charged with crimes related to our riding in CM. The crimes with we are charged are: Disorderly Conduct 106-81(8) and Disorderly Conduct 106-81(9). These are both city (not state) ordinances. The officer noted that the accused did: "obstruct vehicular traffic and fail to clear when ordered. Also obstruct lawful occupation by trying to flee."
Description of accused crimes from city website:
ARTICLE III. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER