MOST PARTY-GOERS REJECT RACINE PLEA DEAL

Young People Ticketed at Rave Have Stuck to Not-Guilty Pleas

Racine - Rave Wars, which began when police issued $968 citations to
each of 441 party-goers in November, may continue here for quite some
time.

The city has backed off since socking the ravers with the big-dollar
tickets, offering to reduce the fine to $100, change the violation to
disorderly conduct and offering to expunge the record of any reference
to the original citation: "inmate of a disorderly house/controlled
substances."

But even with the new offer, a heavy majority of young adults at the
first round of pretrial hearings Wednesday stuck to their not-guilty
pleas for attending the rave, a type of party known for distinctive
dance music and, oftentimes, illegal drug use. And Assistant City
Attorney Scott Lewis changed gears, saying he likely wouldn't hire a
special prosecutor for what could turn out to be hundreds of Municipal
Court trials.

That means some who got their citations Nov. 2 might not get a trial
date for a year, he said.

No matter, said 26-year-old Kansasville raver Daniel Thomas, whose
pretrial hearing is next month. Neither the reduced fine nor the
threat of a drawn-out court fight will make him give in, he said.

"I wouldn't change my not-guilty plea even if they paid me," Thomas
said. "I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not going to pay them a
dime."

Pretrial hearings were held Wednesday for 81 of the defendants who had
previously entered not-guilty pleas. Eight didn't show up, and 10
changed their minds and took the plea bargain. But the other 63 said
they would proceed to trial.

If city attorneys handle the trials, there wouldn't be an additional
expense for a special prosecutor. But police officers would have to
testify, causing either lost time on the street or overtime costs.

Lewis said he had encouraging talks Wednesday with the Milwaukee-based
American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin in hopes of finding ways
to reduce the time needed for each trial. But holding so many trials
will just plain take time, he said.

The ACLU has been advising the defendants of their options.

"I have no control over how many plead guilty or don't plead guilty,"
he said.

Only three men were arrested on drug charges at the party, which was
billed as an event to raise money for an old theater, but police said
they issued the disorderly house citations to everyone in attendance
because it was obvious that illegal activity was taking place.
Remaining in a place where illegal activity is going on violates the
city ordinance, police said.