The Denver Post

Clash over jurors starts off Columbus Day parade trial
By Amy Herdy
Denver Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, January 19, 2005 -

Like the parade and all its controversy, the start of what is known as the "Columbus Day trial" began with color and conflict.

Faced with prosecuting eight of the more than 200 protesters arrested in Denver on Oct. 9 for blocking the parade, assistant city attorneys were rebuffed Tuesday in an effort to have two potential jurors dismissed. A defense attorney said the prosecutors' move was racially motivated, with one of the targeted potential jurors having American Indian heritage and the other, Hispanic - backgrounds that match most of the defendants. Both people were chosen for the jury.

"It's shocking," said David Lane, attorney for three defendants charged with disobeying a lawful order. "They were trying to challenge the jurors based on race. Twice they tried it, and twice they were rejected. They got caught."

The assistant city attorneys trying the case, Kris Andrews, Corey Beato and Robert Reynolds, declined to comment.

In a brief opening statement, Reynolds said the evidence would show the defendants "directly entered the path of the Columbus Day parade."

"Whether or not you like Columbus Day, we're having a parade that day," he said.

Lane told the jury the events of Oct. 9 "started, whether you like it or not, hundreds of years ago."

Christopher Columbus, he said, represents genocide, slavery and oppression, and the protesters had the right under the First Amendment to peacefully assemble and express their outrage.

"The parade was ethnic intimidation," said Lane, who promised to explore whether protesters heard the order and whether it was lawful.

"This trial puts at stake nothing less than your Constitution," he told the jury.

The police, Lane said, took down part of the barricade to the parade route. "They invited people to come into the street."

The first witness, Denver police Division Chief Steven Cooper, stressed that the police actions, including removing the barricade, were done with safety in mind. "Our mission here is to preserve the peace," Cooper said.

The courtroom erupted in laughter when a videotape Cooper was asked to comment on played in comically fast speed on the monitor.

Denver County Judge Doris Burd finally said, "It's not clear exactly what is happening."

Reynolds explained that the traffic-camera video could only play at that speed.

A second videotape, shot at regular speed by an officer, was played for several minutes, showing protesters chanting and sitting in the street and police organizing what appeared to be peaceful arrests.

Staff writer Amy Herdy can be reached at 303-820-1752 or aherdy@denverpost.com.