Four of five people arrested for protesting in Denver's marriage-license office over the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold a same-sex marriage ban were acquitted of all charges Friday.
A Denver County Court jury found John Ferguson, Catherine Burns, Sharon Wilkins, Lewis Thompson and Donald Foxworth not guilty of failure to obey a lawful order.
But Burns was convicted of trespassing and sentenced to 40 hours of community service.
In May 2008, Burns was convicted of trespassing for staging a sit-in with her partner after the two were denied a marriage license in Denver.
On May 26, 2009, Burns and the other four protesters were arrested by Denver police in the Wellington Webb building at the office of the clerk and recorder because police said they were impeding others from obtaining a license.
Qusair Mohamedbhai, an associate at Killmer, Lane & Newman, took on the case without fee because he felt the protesters' First Amendment rights were trampled on when they were arrested for protesting in a public space.
Mohamedbhai said witness Daniel Stone and his fiancee went into the office during the protest and testified that the demonstrators did not prevent them from obtaining a license.
Co-counsel Mari Newman claimed the city attorneys who prosecuted the case had gays struck from the panel during jury selection.
"It is patently illegal for one side to strike all of the jurors because they share a common protective feature," she said. "The city did it three out of three times."
Assistant City Attorney Vince DiCroce said the jurors were excused not because they are gay but because they said they could not be impartial when questioned by the judge.
DiCroce said the defense did not raise the issue or make an objection about the jurors during selection.
