SUIT TARGETS BURBANK ON CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST SEEKS $1 MILLION.Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer BURBANK - A community activist from North Hollywood has filed a $1 million civil rights lawsuit against the city of Burbank and its top officials, claiming she was maliciously prosecuted for trespassing and interfering with a police officer. Theresa Karam, who has long criticized the City Council over its handling of the proposed Burbank Airport expansion, is seeking more than $1 million in the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Jan Tucker, a private investigator representing Karam, said Friday that she filed suit because of the stress and expense resulting from a brief trial in May, when a judge dismissed the charges against her. ``To put someone through a criminal prosecution on a case that's that bizarre - weak doesn't begin to describe it - it obviously casts doubt on the judgment on the people who caused and allowed this case to be filed,'' Tucker said. City Attorney Dennis Barlow said malicious prosecution malicious prosecution n. filing a lawsuit with the intention of creating problems for the defendant such as costs, attorneys fees, anguish, or distraction when there is no substantial basis for the suit. If the defendant in the lawsuit wins, and has evidence that the suit was filed out of spite and without any legal or factual foundation, he/she may, in turn, sue for damages against the person who filed the original action. is a tough standard to prove, and that there is no evidence of it in this case. ``People, when they get arrested and prosecuted, they think they're innocent and they think we shouldn't do it,'' he said. ``If we have substantial cause to go forward, we will.'' Karam was arrested Aug. 17, 1999, two weeks after attending a City Council meeting where there was an overflow crowd. City officials have said the officer keeping order at the meeting told Karam that because of crowding, she would have to watch the session from a room, and wait for her turn to be called to speak. But Karam's attorney, Josh Glotzer, has said Karam was told she would have to wait only until someone else left the room. When that happened, Glotzer said, she walked in. The officer approached Karam and there was a brief discussion as to whether she should be in the room. He later submitted a report on the incident. She was ordered to surrender to authorities and was released on her own recognizance own recognizance (O.R.) n. the basis for a judge allowing a person accused of a crime to be free while awaiting trial, without posting bail, on the defendant's own promise to appear and his/her reputation. The judge may consider the seriousness of the crime charged, the likelihood the defendant will always appear, the length of time the person has lived in the area, his/her reputation in the community, his/her employment, financial burdens, and the. Judge Rand Rubin dismissed the trespassing charge before the trial started. He then dropped the interfering charge after the prosecution rested its case. Glotzer had argued that since Karam was not being arrested by the officer at the meeting, there was no interference. |
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