BOULDER JURY CONVICTS MARIJUANA ACTIVIST OF TRESPASSING, USING FIGHTING WORDS AFTER ALTERCATION AT LIBRARY

BOULDER - A marijuana activist with a knack for controversy was
convicted Thursday in a case stemming from a dust-up with supporters
of a marijuana-legalization initiative.

A six-person jury convicted the activist, Corey Donahue, of
trespassing and using fighting words after an all-day trial in Boulder
Municipal Court.

The case began last summer, when Donahue refused to leave a meeting at
the Boulder Public Library that was held by a campaign working to put
a measure for limited marijuana legalization on the 2012 ballot.

Donahue thinks the measure does not go far enough and has accused its
supporters of being disingenuous. A meeting organizer complained to
library security that Donahue had hijacked the meeting.

Police were eventually called, and Donahue was arrested after refusing
to leave. He later cursed out a police officer, prompting the charge
of fighting words.

"There are rules to being at the library," said Boulder assistant city
attorney Janet Michels during opening statements Thursday. "And one of
those rules is that you can't disrupt other patrons in their work."

Donahue contended his arrest - coming in a public library where he was
arguing an opinion that the meeting's organizers didn't like -
violated his free-speech rights. He also disputed that he disrupted
the meeting, saying his interaction with the initiative's supporters
was calm and came before the meeting was scheduled to start.

"He would be the first to admit, I think, that he has a big mouth,"
Donahue's attorney, Adam Platt, said of his client. "... But the First
Amendment exists to protect speech that not everybody likes. If
everybody liked it, it wouldn't need to be protected."

Donahue said after the verdict that he planned to appeal and said he
is glad the case has drawn attention to what he thinks are the
proposed initiative's failings.

"This just continues the discussion," Donahue said.