COURT DATES FOR RAVERS CANCELED

Racine Prosecutors in Talks With ACLU to Resolve Cases

Racine - The ravers may win yet.

Two months ago, police issued $968 citations to more than 440 people
who attended a rave, a party with distinctive music - and, often,
drugs - that teens and young adults will drive hours to attend.

News of the crackdown shocked the rave community nationwide, and the
Racine City Attorney's Office quickly offered to reduce the forfeiture
to $100. Then it offered to remove any reference to controlled
substances from the ticket.

But most of the ravers refused the plea bargain, leaving the city with
the potentially costly prospect of holding hundreds of trials.

Now the city has blinked again.

Some 75 pretrial conferences scheduled for Friday and other Municipal
Court proceedings for the citations were canceled. Instead, city
prosecutors are negotiating with American Civil Liberties Union
attorneys in an effort to resolve the cases.

None of the attorneys would comment Friday on the talks.

At this stage, some of the ravers think it's increasingly likely that
the citations could be dismissed.

"I think that means either they're withdrawing their (plea bargain)
offers or they know they're wrong and they're going to end up dropping
it, which is how I think it will end up going," said Crystal Sheets,
20, of Kansasville, whose Friday pretrial conference was canceled. "I
don't think anything is going to come of this. I'm not worried about
it."

Mayor Jim Smith and Police Chief David Spenner couldn't be reached for
comment. But two of Smith's challengers in next month's primary think
the city should just drop the citations.

"I agree that the party probably did get out of hand, but I think
they've taken it too far, and I think they're wasting the taxpayers'
money," said political newcomer Laurie Kell.

Added County Supervisor Ken Lumpkin, another mayoral candidate: "I
think they should cut their losses and walk away from it."

U.S. Customs officials had shared a tip with Racine police that drugs
would be at a Racine tavern that held the Nov. 2 rave, which also was
promoted as a fund-raiser for a nearby theater. About 20 police
officers descended and spent a few hours writing the tickets, also
arresting three men on drug charges in the process.

Police said the party-goers violated the city's "inmate of a
disorderly house" ordinance because drug activity was apparent to all
in attendance.

The ACLU's success in stalling the prosecutions should help convince
people around that country that not all raves are drug-filled, said
Chicago rave promoter Dave Meeker. Until now, only ravers and their
backers touted that line, he said.

"I think it brings a little more legitimacy to the entire argument
that everyone who goes to a rave party isn't a drug addict, that you
can go to these parties and not do drugs and that it's a violation of
your civil liberties" to be ticketed for merely attending, Meeker said.

Sheets said that if the citations were dismissed, she could see
another rave being held in Racine. But the others interviewed
disagreed, saying that however the cases are resolved, Racine's
handling of the party would encourage any future rave promoter to hold
the party somewhere else.

"I probably would think twice about it," Assistant City Attorney Scott
Lewis said.