THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 15, 1994 TAG: 9411150304
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
A judge on Monday dismissed trespassing charges against Stanley L. Ginish, a political activist who carried signs at the courthouse earlier this year protesting an anti-obscenity campaign by the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
Judge A. Bonwill Shockely ruled that Ginish's right to free speech was violated when he was arrested in March.
Ginish, 43, was arrested while carrying a sign critical of Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Albert Alberi. Courthouse deputies had asked Ginish to leave, telling him he could protest outside, but not inside the courthouse.
``They asked him to leave because he was carrying a sign, but there's no written regulation which says you can't carry a sign in the courthouse,'' Shockley said. ``So he was exercising his right to speech.''
The retired Navy SEAL said he refused to leave the courthouse last March because he wanted to protest Alberi's actions regarding obscenity charges brought against local bookstores for selling sexual aids. Also, Ginish said, he wanted to generally protest the way Alberi runs his office.
Alberi was out of town Monday and was not available for comment.
Ginish said Monday he was also upset because he was held without bond for four days before he was released on personal recognizance. Since Ginish was arrested on a Friday, he could not appear before a judge until Monday. It is not known why the magistrate refused to release Ginish on the misdemeanor charge.
``There is no law that says you can't protest in the halls of the courthouse,'' said Ginish's attorney, Stephen G. Merrill. ``Only when he came to protest the deputy commonwealth's attorney does he get in trouble.''
One side of the sign read: ``Commonwealth HA! HA! Deputy `Dawg' ALBERI. He broke his toys from Frustration and Violating Free Peoples RIGHTS So he get's New toys By Taking Them. Are you Getting a Good Buzz Little Napoleon???''
The other side read: ``ALBERI Deputy Dawg of Commonwealth VA Found unfit to be a general Dist Court Judge.''
Ginish said he wanted to protest Alberi's use of local residents from a Methodist church to serve on a confidential panel to determine whether the sexual aids were obscene. Ginish said he disagrees with Alberi's prosecution of merchants who sell sexual aids because it's a privacy issue. The aids were seized in raids by police.
Also, Ginish said, he disagrees with Alberi's use of subpoenas that were kept confidential and never filed in Circuit Court as required by law.
The second side of the sign referred to a vote taken by the Virginia Beach Bar Association earlier this year. The bar association did not endorse Alberi as a judicial candidate.
Monday was not the first time Ginish has been in court. Earlier this year, a jury acquitted him of attempted malicious wounding and using a firearm against a former tenant.
In that case, the tenant alleged that Ginish had fired at him and had driven erratically into neighbors' yards, but police had found no evidence of gunfire or unusual tire tracks in nearby yards, Merrill said.
In March, a 1993 stalking conviction against Ginish was overturned for lack of evidence. In that case, Ginish was convicted of stalking a school-bus driver who said Ginish followed her and videotaped her and her family day and night. The videotaping was part of an ongoing feud between Ginish and the bus driver, testimony showed. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Stanley L. Ginish
KEYWORDS: TRESPASSING by CNB