Mere minutes before his trial was scheduled to begin, the single felony charge against 63-year-old Paul Joseph (Joe) Harcz of Mt. Morris, MI was dropped. Harcz, a blind activist, was arrested while demonstrating outside the Capitol building in Lansing last year.
The arrest took place on September 17, 2015. Harcz had been present to participate in the 25th-anniversary celebration of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), which was taking place on the Capitol lawn. A police barricade had been set up in order to keep protestors and other disruptors out.
Michigan State Police troopers were present in an effort to keep the event peaceful. When Harcz attempted to cross the police barricade and join the celebration, he was arrested. Officers present at the time said that they identified him as a protester and that was why he was arrested, although Harcz insisted that he had been invited to the event. Police reports also state that the 63-year-old Genesee County man struck officers with his white cane while attempting to get past a barricade.
This is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison
Harcz was subsequently charged with a single count of Resisting and Obstructing Police. Under Michigan law, this is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison. But just minutes before the trial was set to begin, Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney Andrew Stevens announced to Ingham Circuit Judge William Collette that “in the interests of justice, the people are moving to have this case dismissed.”
Although Stevens didn’t provide any additional details at the time, Interim Ingham County Prosecutor Gretchen Whitmer announced that she decided to dismiss the charges after having viewed a video recording of the incident, reviewed the file, and then discussed the case with the prosecutor. Whitmer was appointed to the position of prosecutor for Ingham County after Stuart Dunnings was charged with prostitution related charges and other felonies.
One of the factors that allegedly placed a role in the prosecutor’s office choosing to dismiss the case, was that one of the witnesses was also blind and was having difficulty making an appearance. The blind witness apparently requested that prosecutors move the case to Lansing, as they had difficulties accessing the Mason Circuit courthouse.
The reasons provided by the witness were that they were limited by public transport and also due to alleged ADA issues at the historic courthouse in Mason. ADA refers to the American with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities. According to the Ingham County prosecutor’s office, the courthouse in Mason is ADA-compliant and has Braille markings in the elevators for blind persons.
Harcz has gone on the record to say that that blocking him from the ADA celebration was a violation of his Constitutional rights. He has also said that he intends to sue to the Michigan State Police along with other parties whom he believes were involved in the violation.