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University of Iowa anti-war protests, 1970

1970-08-07 Daily Iowan Article: ""Injunction Testimony: More Protests in Fall""

Injunction Testimony: More Protests in Fall
DI  Aug 7, 1970

State and local law enforcement officials testified over objections from  defense attorneys Thursday in a district court injunction hearing that information they have leads them to believe that disturbances even more severe than those in May will hit the University of Iowa this fall.
"There's no question in my mind there'll be something going again," said Iowa State Highway Patrol Capt. Lyle Dickinson in predicting more Iowa City disorder in the fall.
The testimony came out in the second day of a hearing on the status of a temporary injunction issued on behalf of the city of Iowa City on May 6 to curb obstruction, disruption, destruction of property and incitement to disorder relating to the demonstrations that practically shut down the university in early May.
Judge Harold D. Vietor presided over the hearing and will determine whether the injunction is to be modified, abolished or made permanent, as City Atty. Jay Honohan is asking.
Dickinson, who was in charge of nearly 100 patrolmen and city police who were called up to deal with the May disorders, also said the group that demonstrated in the spring was "bent on going against the system: and would continue to "find something to fight in the establishment."
Kingsley Clarke Jr. and Kelly Smith of Hawkeye Area Legal Services stepped in Thursday at the request of the Hawkeye Area Iowa Civil Liberties Union to represent the 22 named defendants on the injunction, three of whom — Deborah Bayer, A3, Iowa City, Roland Schembari, Iowa City, and Sam Sloss, G, Grimes — were present at the hearing.
During Clarke's cross-examination, Dickinson said the demonstrators were primarily youthful, "between 18 and 20," and, to his knowledge, unarmed.
Also on the stand for the city were Iowa City Police Chief Patrick McCarney; police detective Ronald Evans; and police officers Robert Vevera, William Cook and Donald Hogan.
McCarney defined dissidents as "professional troublemakers."
Evans said information he has gathered from the BCI and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with rumors that the fall disturbances will be "50 times worse" than those in the spring, have led him to a similar conclusion.
Evans also testified that "Leona Durham was there" at the burning of a stack of Daily Iowan newspapers on the university Pentacrest May 15 in protest of the firing of Durham as editor of the DI on May 14.
Durham is the presently the DI editor.
Nearly all the law officers questioned testified that the number of May demonstators ran as high as 5,000.
Evans also testified that the BCI had informants within two of the organizations restrained by the injunction — Students for a Democratic Society and the Conspiracy.
It was during the testimony of Hogan Smith that raised his objection to the plaintif's evidence, saying it was 'conspiratorial and suppressive in nature," that it "implies guilt by innuendo to the persons named on the plaintif's injunction without due process and with complete disregard for constitutional rights," and further it creates a "chilling effect on free speech" by "tainting normally free acts" by associating them with "patently illegal acts."
Vietor indicated he would take the objection into consideration and allowed the testimony to continue.
In further testimony by the city's witnesses, Richard Gibson, university director of facilities and planning, said that only one of the almost daily rallies held between May 5 nd May 9 had any sort of authorization.
Howard J. Ehrlich, professor of sociology, said in testimony for the devense that there will probaly be more of these "illegal" rallies in the fall.
"To the best of my knowledge there is no organized plot to close down the university," Ehrlich said. But he emphasized that if more than rallies do occur in the fall, it will be largely becuse the city and its police have overreacted to demonstrations and the university has "completely ignored" the demands that students put forth in the spring.
Ehrlich, who specializes in the field of collective behavior, said that the demonstrations began as a result of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the student shootings, especially at Kent State. But he said the incorporation in the students list of demands of a demand for justice in the Iowa City police department indicated that the local authorities had made themselves a target for student unrest.
Schembari, Bayer and Sloss all took the stand to testify that they had no plans to further participate in illegal activities.
During the tetimony Vietor on a number of occasions asked whether charges has been brought against those who allegedly participated in unlawful rallies or paraded without permits. The response was nearly always negative.
Vietor indicated at the close of testimony that his decision may hinge on that consideration because he questioned whether the district court should enforce rules that the university and the city were not enforcing.
Final testimony, if any, will conclude the hearing beginning at 9 a.m. today. Vietor told the attorneys that written arguments and briefs on the case were due Aug. 27, and a decision would be handed down before the beginning of the university's fall semester.

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Injunction Testimony: More Protests in Fall DI Aug 7, 1970 State and local law enforcement officials testified over objections from defense attorneys Thursday in a district court injunction hearing that information they have leads them to believe that disturbances even more severe than those in May will hit the University of Iowa this fall. "There's no question in my mind there'll be something going again," said Iowa State Highway Patrol Capt. Lyle Dickinson in predicting more Iowa City disorder in the fall. The testimony came out in the second day of a hearing on the status of a temporary injunction issued on behalf of the city of Iowa City on May 6 to curb obstruction, disruption, destruction of property and incitement to disorder relating to the demonstrations that practically shut down the university in early May. Judge Harold D. Vietor presided over the hearing and will determine whether the injunction is to be modified, abolished or made permanent, as City Atty. Jay Honohan is asking. Dickinson, who was in charge of nearly 100 patrolmen and city police who were called up to deal with the May disorders, also said the group that demonstrated in the spring was "bent on going against the system: and would continue to "find something to fight in the establishment." Kingsley Clarke Jr. and Kelly Smith of Hawkeye Area Legal Services stepped in Thursday at the request of the Hawkeye Area Iowa Civil Liberties Union to represent the 22 named defendants on the injunction, three of whom — Deborah Bayer, A3, Iowa City, Roland Schembari, Iowa City, and Sam Sloss, G, Grimes — were present at the hearing. During Clarke's cross-examination, Dickinson said the demonstrators were primarily youthful, "between 18 and 20," and, to his knowledge, unarmed. Also on the stand for the city were Iowa City Police Chief Patrick McCarney; police detective Ronald Evans; and police officers Robert Vevera, William Cook and Donald Hogan. McCarney defined dissidents as "professional troublemakers." Evans said information he has gathered from the BCI and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with rumors that the fall disturbances will be "50 times worse" than those in the spring, have led him to a similar conclusion. Evans also testified that "Leona Durham was there" at the burning of a stack of Daily Iowan newspapers on the university Pentacrest May 15 in protest of the firing of Durham as editor of the DI on May 14. Durham is the presently the DI editor. Nearly all the law officers questioned testified that the number of May demonstators ran as high as 5,000. Evans also testified that the BCI had informants within two of the organizations restrained by the injunction — Students for a Democratic Society and the Conspiracy. It was during the testimony of Hogan Smith that raised his objection to the plaintif's evidence, saying it was 'conspiratorial and suppressive in nature," that it "implies guilt by innuendo to the persons named on the plaintif's injunction without due process and with complete disregard for constitutional rights," and further it creates a "chilling effect on free speech" by "tainting normally free acts" by associating them with "patently illegal acts." Vietor indicated he would take the objection into consideration and allowed the testimony to continue. In further testimony by the city's witnesses, Richard Gibson, university director of facilities and planning, said that only one of the almost daily rallies held between May 5 nd May 9 had any sort of authorization. Howard J. Ehrlich, professor of sociology, said in testimony for the devense that there will probaly be more of these "illegal" rallies in the fall. "To the best of my knowledge there is no organized plot to close down the university," Ehrlich said. But he emphasized that if more than rallies do occur in the fall, it will be largely becuse the city and its police have overreacted to demonstrations and the university has "completely ignored" the demands that students put forth in the spring. Ehrlich, who specializes in the field of collective behavior, said that the demonstrations began as a result of the U.S. invasion of Cambodia and the student shootings, especially at Kent State. But he said the incorporation in the students list of demands of a demand for justice in the Iowa City police department indicated that the local authorities had made themselves a target for student unrest. Schembari, Bayer and Sloss all took the stand to testify that they had no plans to further participate in illegal activities. During the tetimony Vietor on a number of occasions asked whether charges has been brought against those who allegedly participated in unlawful rallies or paraded without permits. The response was nearly always negative. Vietor indicated at the close of testimony that his decision may hinge on that consideration because he questioned whether the district court should enforce rules that the university and the city were not enforcing. Final testimony, if any, will conclude the hearing beginning at 9 a.m. today. Vietor told the attorneys that written arguments and briefs on the case were due Aug. 27, and a decision would be handed down before the beginning of the university's fall semester.