'Irvine 11' case goes to the jury
After two full days of closing statements from six defense attorneys and the prosecution, the fate of the so-called Irvine 11 is now in the hands of the jury.
Deliberations are set to begin Wednesday morning. Defense attorneys said the seven UC Irvine and three UC Riverside students were defenders of the Constitution when they shouted in protest as israeli Ambassador Michael Oren tried to give a prepared speech on U.S.-Israeli relations.
The students are being tried on misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and disrupting a public meeting. They face up to six months in jail if convicted.
On Monday, prosecutor Dan Wagner argued that the "right to free speech is not absolute."
He said the students, by interrupting Oren's speech in the manner they did, violated the 1st Amendment by
Report: No open-meeting violations in Capistrano school district
A report released Tuesday by the Orange County district attorney's office has concluded that the Capistrano Unified School District did not violate state open-meeting laws.
The district attorney's office had received complaints, including one from an attorney for two district board members alleging violations of the Brown Act, which governs open meeting and agenda requirements for public agencies.
The alleged violations occurred at three meetings between Dec. 13, 2010, and March 16, 2011, the report said.
An initial inquiry by the district attorney's office resulted in