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Judge dismisses 'Buy Nothing Day' charges
4/5/2005

By SEAN O'SULLIVAN
The News Journal

A case involving freedom of speech was dismissed Monday because of a failure to communicate.

A prosecutor said she was not ready to try a trespassing case against four women for promoting "Buy Nothing Day" at the Christiana Mall in November.

Court of Common Pleas Judge John K. Welch said that was no reason to delay the case because proper notice had been given of the trial date and the defendants had traveled to Delaware from out of state. So he dismissed all the charges.

Anna, Laura and Rachel White, along with a friend, Terri Carter, were
arrested by state police on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, at Christiana Mall, for promoting an anticonsumerism event called Buy Nothing Day. The women were wearing Santa hats and white T-shirts with the words "NOTHING - What you have been looking for" and "Ask me about NOTHING" on them. Carter also had a video camera.

After a mall security guard told the group to leave, they did, they said,
but they were surrounded by four or five state troopers when they got to their car. The four were arrested and charged with third-degree trespassing, a violation which is less than a misdemeanor. If found guilty, they could have faced probation and fines of up to $345 for a first offense.

Attorney Sid Balick, who was representing the group at the request of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the trial had been scheduled for Wednesday, but he asked the court to move it to Monday to accommodate the schedules of the defendants. The White sisters were all raised in Delaware, but they all live out of state.

The court approved the move, and notices were sent to the attorneys and witnesses, Balick said.

But Deputy Attorney General Phyllis Scully told the court her witnesses were not expecting to testify until Wednesday.

Anna White said she was disappointed that the case was not dismissed on the merits because she believes prosecutors did not have a case.

"People should not be arrested for exercising their right to speak in a
public place," said Drewry Fennell, executive director of the Delaware ACLU.

At the same time, Anna White said, she was happy she is no longer facing criminal charges. And she might raise those issues again - on the next Black Friday.

Copyright © 2005, The News Journal

Reprinted with permission of The News Journal

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