Two squatters who were among the first to be arrested under Weatherley' s law in Brighton had the case against them for squatting in a residential building thrown out of court this week. In what hopefully is sign of things to come, the court realised they couldn't prove they were actually living in the building.
Weatherley's law was attacked before it was passed as badly drafted and full of loopholes. Unfortunately those best able to defend themselves are going to be exactly the kind of well-educated drop-outs that Mike claimed he was targetting in the first place. The draconian nature of the law means that cops across the country often use it as a means of conducting short-cut evictions of those who don't know their rights.
A third squatter is still on trial as a cop claims the squatter told him he was living in the residential part of the building, and not the commercial part. The case has now been adjourned until the 24th of May as the trial ran out of time. SchNEWS will of course be on hand for the verdict but it's looking like the case against him is pretty weak too.
The advice to squatters from this case is don’t plead guilty. Presence in a building where someone is living is not enough, they have to prove with documentary evidence that you as an individual actually live there. So take our advice - give a “no comment” interview and take it to trial.
Follow @HousingWar on twitter for updates on the trial.
For a story on the original eviction see SchNEWS A Fight on the Tiles