Initial appearances for defendants charged with minor offenses over Halloween concluded today. Dozens of people from various locations in the Midwest appeared in Madison Municipal Court Tuesday and Wednesday to enter a plea, Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said.
\From what I understand from the judge and from what I observed, everyone was very respectful, which included some people who apologized,"" Verveer said.
Everyone who appeared in court over the past two days was charged with non-criminal charges and received either fines or community service. Those who entered a plea of ""not guilty"" will stand trial in February, he added.
""These are the folks who are, in some respects, lucky,"" Verveer said. ""Some of these people were given tickets for hitting the police horses, while some were charged in criminal court for virtually the same thing.""
UW-Madison sophomore Rita Borlingame was one of those who entered a ""not guilty"" plea by mail for her public urination charge. Borlingame said she believed the increased fines over Halloween were ineffective.
""I think the focus was in the wrong place on Halloween,"" Borlingame said. ""My house was broken into and the police didn't do anything.""
Borlingame said her friend was arrested for climbing a tree while dressed as a monkey.
""There's no other day of the year you would get arrested for climbing a tree,"" Borlingame said.
Mark Christian, a graduate student at UW-Madison, said he missed his court date and was forced to pay the fines for public urination and underage drinking. The court automatically enters a guilty plea for those who miss their court date.
Verveer said he thinks the increased fines deterred a lot of criminal behavior and kept the citizens of Madison from having to pay the bill for police overtime pay.
Christian said he has somewhat curtailed his drinking since his brush with the law.
""I won't be peeing behind anymore dumpsters,"" Borlingame said of her experience.
During the appearances, many of the court bailiffs recognized students who they processed at the Dane County Courthouse, 201 Martin Luther King Blvd., on Halloween weekend.
""Bailiffs were saying 'Oh, you were Jesus Christ' or 'You were SpongeBob' because their costumes were so memorable,"" Verveer said. ""One bailiff said he remembered one guy immediately because he was so drunk and was talking the bailiffs' ears off while they were booking him.""
