Earlier this week, a judge dismissed charges stemming from a protest in Saratoga Springs last summer against a prominent Capital Region activist. The defendant is praising the decision while the Saratoga District Attorney says it could set a precedent for others to violate the law.
Jamaica Miles, one of the most vocal Black Lives Matter organizers in the Capital Region, was arrested on September 9th for her actions during a July 14th protest on Broadway in Saratoga Springs.
Prosecutors presented video of the event where Miles and others stood in the street, with Miles using a megaphone to call attention to remarks made by the city’s former Assistant Police Chief in June. In a press conference about weekend violence on June 28th, former Assistant Chief John Catone attacked “want to be elected officials” for pushing a “narrative of lies and misinformation” regarding police, adding he would “pull out every single connection my family has made over the last 130 years and I will stop your narrative.”
Almost two months later, Miles and several others were arrested on warrants, following a complaint from a driver who contacted authorities from his vehicle, as protesters stood in front of the car. Miles, who turned herself in, and some others faced charges of disorderly conduct and false imprisonment.
Miles earlier this month resisted an offer from the office of Saratoga District Attorney Karen Heggen to plead guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct, a violation.
In a court hearing Monday, Judge Francine Vero dropped the charges through “dismissal in the interest of justice.”
Miles praised the judge’s decision and weighing of several factors.
“It was based on facts, not rhetoric,” said Miles.
Miles, who is an elected city school board member in Schenectady, said the judge’s decision speaks for itself. She points to Vero’s written decision that reads:
“Miles is not the most culpable, she is simply the loudest. What differentiates Ms. Miles from the other protestors is the volume and intensity of her voice. Ms. Miles blocks the vehicle's path for about three minutes while other protestors stand in front of the car for the duration of the video. Four protestors spoke directly with the occupants and denied their repeated requests for the crowd to disperse. Ms. Miles never spoke with the driver or passenger and it appears she was unaware the passenger needed to leave to take heart medication. Furthermore, the video plainly shows the crowd was already blocking the vehicle's path before Ms. Miles arrived upon the scene. Contrary to the assertion of the People at the Hearing, no evidence was introduced establishing that Ms. Miles was a ‘leader’ of the group in this case.”
Often seen at social justice protests as a co-founder of the All of Us community action group, Miles claims she was unfairly targeted by authorities.
“I am seen on the video for approximately three minutes, back and forth in front of the video. Other individuals were there the entire time. Other individuals who actually stopped the vehicle in question and stayed in front of the vehicle the entire time were offered ACOD’s, something the District Attorney refused to offer me without giving any evidence that I was actually more culpable than the individuals that stood in front of the car for the entire nine minutes. She simply is choosing to save face for all of the errors that her office made and try to convince the public that they were not biased in their persecution of me in the first place,” said Miles.
Miles’ mention of ACOD’s refers to “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal.”
District Attorney Heggen issued a statement Monday on Vero’s decision to dismiss the charges against Miles. Heggen said it did not reflect the facts of the case, but rather other factors involved.
Heggen spoke with WAMC on Wednesday.
“I think it’s telling that Judge Vero in her decision, in her written decision, starts out by noting very specifically that blocking traffic is a serious matter and that with respect to the evidence of guilt, there is little question that the defendant Jamaica Miles’ actions constituted disorderly conduct. The video evidence plainly showed Ms. Miles blocking the path of a complainant’s car, and then the judge went on to review the defendant’s background and other factors, which the judge indicated weighed heavily in favor of dismissal. And that’s what a motion to dismiss in the interest of justice is, it’s not just based on the facts, but it’s also based upon other factors including the accused person’s background and history,” said Heggen.
Heggen said her office was not surprised by the court’s decision to dismiss the disorderly conduct charge in the interest of justice, following the court’s earlier proposal of adjournment in contemplation of dismissal. But she said she believes the decision Monday sets a precedent.
“I’m concerned about this decision that it sends the wrong message, that someone can violate the law and stop traffic but that if you have a background with involvement in your community and your family, that that will sway a court to dismiss the charges against those individuals, and I believe that this may set a precedent to invite others to do the same type of actions in the future,” said Heggen.
Saratoga Springs Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino, a first-term Democrat elected in November who campaigned on issues related to social justice demonstrations in the Spa City, says Heggen’s statement “went a little too far.”
Montagnino is a retired court attorney and court attorney referee for the New York State Unified Court System.
“In 26 years, I drafted one decision granting a motion to dismiss in the interest of justice. It’s very, very rarely given. And in Judge Vero’s case, or in this particular case, the judge weighed a lot of factors that are, if not unique, at least extremely rare in terms of not only the background of the defendant and her contributions to the community, her age, her status as a single mother – all of those factors – plus the nature of the offense itself, that it was allegedly committed in the course of a social justice protest. So I do think it’s an overstatement to say that this sends a message that you can violate the law with impunity depending on your background, because of the rare set of circumstances that occurred here,” said Montagnino.
Montagnino and other Democrats were backed by racial justice activists in the 2021 elections.
Heggen, a Republican seeking re-election, disputed a characterization from Miles that her actions were an attack on free speech.
“People have rights to exercise the First Amendment, and that is something that I whole-heartedly believe and agree with. But this was not an issue of someone exercising their First Amendment right. It was someone who was acting in violation of laws of the State of New York as it relates to the flow of traffic on public roadways,” said Heggen.
In an email to WAMC, Saratoga Springs Police Chief Shane Crooks said:
“The arrests were made based off the facts surrounding the incident, not how vocal someone was. The Saratoga Springs Police Department recognizes and respects the right to peacefully and lawfully protest. We have and will continue to work with different groups that hold protest events inside the city of Saratoga Springs. When someone chooses not to work with us and decides to commit acts of civil disobedience they place themselves, the public and the police officers in harm’s way. Our priority has been and will continue to be the safety of everyone involved.”
