Politics & Government
Man Convicted of Illegally Camping Outside Courthouse Freed, But Lawyer Objects
Gary Johnson was freed after 84 days in jail by Judge John Gallagher, but faces two years if he does it again.
In front of a large group of supporters, protester Gary Johnson was freed by Santa Cruz County Court Judge John Gallagher Thursday, but given a 634-day suspended sentence.
Johnson, 47, was arrested outside the courthouse sleeping on a bench under a sign that said "Sleeping is not a crime."
He was protesting ordinances preventing people from sleeping outside a property they don't own without permission of the property owner, something advocates say criminalizes the homeless. He was arrested four times over the winter for it and convicted by a jury for one case.
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"If he does it again he will have to go to jail for two years," said his attorney, Ed Frey, who wanted the sentence dropped, not suspended.
Frey had argued that Johnson, like any resident, owns the courthouse.
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The attorney faces a hearing before Judge Gallagher. The attorney, reflecting his client's impoverished state, wore only a sweater and refused to wear a jacket and tie to court after the judge wrote him a letter asking him to do so, and was charged by the judge with contempt for showing disrespect to the court.
That case is scheduled to be heard April 29.
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