State v. Babson

Defendants were arrested on the steps of the state capitol in Salem while conducting a day-and-night vigil to protest the deployment of Oregon National Guard troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. The state charged, and defendants do not deny, that defendants at the time of the arrest were in violation of a rule that prohibited use of the capitol steps between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. They were subsequently convicted of second-degree criminal trespass, a misdemeanor that the state chose to treat as a violation, and fined $500 each. On appeal, they argue that the rule making their presence on the…