"A Charlottesville judge Monday acquitted 17 University of Virginia students charged with trespassing during a four-day April sit-in, finding that school officials and police sent mixed messages during the arrest.

The student protesters, family and friends celebrated outside Charlottesville General District Court after the ruling, vowing to keep campaigning for what they call a living wage for all UVa employees.

“Justice was done today in this courtroom,” student Sean Butterfield yelled from a retaining wall that became an impromptu podium. “There is a greater injustice at the University of Virginia and we will continue to work to that end.”

Judge Robert H. Downer Jr. reviewed two different video recordings of the April 15 arrests and noted that police did not appear to allow enough time for students to voluntarily leave Madison Hall after receiving a last warning from the university’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.

On the video, Leonard W. Sandridge Jr. is heard announcing that the students have five minutes to leave before they would be arrested. Two minutes later, the university’s police chief makes his own announcement for the students to leave.

Less than four minutes after Sandridge’s remarks, the police begin arresting the students.

Downer said he did not want to criticize the way university officials or the police conducted themselves, but said he could not find the students guilty of a crime when they had received an “implicit offer to remain” inside the building, even having been granted a meeting with President John T. Casteen III.

“They could’ve told the students to leave,” Downer said. “The choice was made, we’re going to conduct a dialogue with students.”

The judge said that he did not think that police used excessive force during the arrests. He acquitted one student, Kevin Simowitz, charged with resisting arrest.

Prosecutors dropped a destruction of property charge against Simowitz, acknowledging that police, not the student, had damaged furniture inside Madison Hall.

In a separate trial, Downer found professor Wende Marshall guilty of trespassing, despite arguments from attorney Steven D. Rosenfield that she had a right to protest with the students.

Downer sentenced Marshall to 10 days in jail with all 10 suspended and required her to be on good behavior for two years and pay court costs. The judge noted that Marshall entered Madison Hall after being told to stay out.

The 17 arrests came on day four of the sit-in, in which students hoped to reach an agreement with administrators to pay all university employees at least $10.72 an hour. Casteen has maintained that the changes must come from the state legislature.

The student advocates previously were found guilty of violating a university code of behavior at a student judiciary trial and were required to write letters of apology to administrators." (Liesel Nowak, The Daily Progress, May 22, 2006)

Contact Liesel Nowak at (434) 978-7274 or lnowak@dailyprogress.com.