Addison Mikkelson Goes To Court

Addison Mikkelson, the seventeen year old Topeka youth who enjoys filming and recording police officers on duty, has begun his tour of the judicial system. A couple of days ago, he had his first hearing, wherein he entered a plea of not guilty to jaywalking and inattentive driving. Hopefully, Addison will insist upon a jury trial for the jaywalking charges. That should make a district judge's day! The police in Topeka are only posturing and attempting to ruin Addison's future, anyway. Appearing impromptu on camera adds up to accountability, and any police officer who cannot cope with accountability should find another line of work.

This is beginning to look a little like Abbie Hoffman's trial in 1968 for conspiring to incite a riot during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Abbie and his friends were demonstrating against the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War, and got arrested, despite the fact that they had a permit. The trial began on September 24, 1969 and lasted until February 18, 1970; at which time Abbie Hoffman and his cohorts where found not guilty. Their demeanor on court dates during the trial, however; was a different matter. All seven of them, and a couple of their defense attorneys, were found guilty of contempt of court for their creative self expression at intervals during the whole process. One day, Hoffman and Rubin, a co-defendant, wore judge's robes to court. When Judge Hoffman (no relation to Abbie Hoffman) ordered them to remove their robes, they complied, revealing police uniforms under the robes. Throwing Abbie and et els in prison....yes, prison....for contempt of court may have merely been a means of saving face for a district court that had a problem with satire on the parts of the defendants while on trial and of those pesky "not guilty" verdicts on the part of the jury. Trying young Addison Mikkelson for jaywalking appears about as silly.

Isn't it grand to know that law enforcement in Topeka Kansas is protecting all of us from young, amateur photographers? Don't you feel safer, knowing that all those dangerous jaywalkers, or at least those who pose a threat to abusive police officers, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law? After all, Addison Mikkelson, pictured at the top of this post, looks like a very scary kid, doesn't he?

Hoffman and Rubin, dressed for court in judge's robes.