Kuhl protesters found guilty
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

BATH - A six-person jury last Saturday convicted five anti-war demonstrators of criminal trespassing charges, concluding a trial that stretched over two days.

The demonstrators - all from the Ithaca area - were arrested Aug. 6 after refusing to leave the Bath office of Congressman John "Randy" Kuhl. They are: Daniel J. Burns, 47; Ellen Grady, 44; Richard T. Saddler, 42; Mark C. Scibilia-Carver, 54, and Christopher Tate, 46.

Bath village Justice Chauncy Watches scheduled sentencing for 2 p.m. Nov. 28. The criminal trespassing conviction carries penalties of up to three months in jail.

Much of the trial involved arguments between the defendants, Assistant District Attorney Travis Barry and Watches concerning the admissibility of testimony regarding the war in Iraq.

The defendants tried basing their defense on their criticism of the war; Barry, however, responded the war was irrelevant to the issue of whether they had illegally occupied Kuhl's office. Watches continually supported Barry's contention, sustaining his objections when defendants began referring to the Iraq conflict.

"This was not about the war," Barry told The Leader at the conclusion of the trial. "It was about trespassing."

The defendants visited Kuhl's office last month in an effort to deliver petitions containing more than 3,000 signatures asking Kuhl to vote against future appropriations for the war. They refused to leave at the close of business hours, in spite of requests from the office manager.

They also subpoenaed Kuhl to appear at their trial as a witness; the congressman, however, did not appear, and it is unknown whether the order was served.