04/08/2015
Once upon a time two young entrepreneurs had the grand idea to capture some of the madness that regularly takes place on
Mill Ave. So they set up a photobooth and coaxed inebriated ASU students to their booth to strap on a few priceless props and take a photo. The pictures spread across the interwebs and were loved by many. On 3 separate occasions the police attempted to shut them down, but never really giving them a solid reason why. Until the 3rd time when they threatened to cite us on a specific city code. Just wanting to have a good time on Mill, and not spend a night in the bunker, we packed up our bags and called it quits. Over a month later we received a summons to court. A state prosecutor picked up the info and decided to make a case of it. We went to our preliminary hearing where we were urged to pay over a thousand dollars in fines a piece to have this put to rest. We decided we would take our chances in a good ol fashioned court of law and take it to trial. Not having an abundance of funds for fancy attorneys we also thought it a good idea to represent ourselves. So we did. So there we sat, in a courtroom alone (where we took the opportunity to take this selfie that was propped up on the judges bench), waiting for a tardy judge and a state prosecutor to make their appearance. They finally did and the show began. Accusations were made, one of the officers was called to the stand to bear testimony against us, we cross examined the witness, even made an attempt at an objection which was over ruled. Finally we made our final statements after being sworn in and it was in the judges hands. Being that it wasn't a criminal case and they weren't seeking jail time, we didn't have the right to a jury. After what seemed to be an hour the judge finally came back in with her ruling. "After reviewing the evidence presented to me today, I find the defendants not guilty". We silently celebrated and tried not to act like this was our first time representing ourselves in a court of law, which of course it was. We mentally flipped off the prosecutor while he offered his hand for a light hand shake and said "no hard feelings". Of course we were happy to have this put behind us, but we shook our heads at the waste of time and tax payers money that it took to take the two of us to court when we were simply capturing some of the amazing culture and atmosphere that only exists at a place like Mill Ave. We appreciate everyone's support. Please like this post if you want us back on the streets and have had your photo taken in the past! Carry on!
