Court overturns conviction of recent grad

In a hearing at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on July 18, the conviction of recent University graduate and former Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Ian Blake was overturned, Blake's attorney said. According to the attorney, Daniel Conner, the prosecution had no evidence to present and the charges were dismissed on Conner's motion. Blake had been convicted of charges including disorderly conduct in June, at a hearing presided over by Judge Robert Blasi at the Philadelphia Southwest Detectives Station. At that hearing, University Police Officer David Carroll testified that he went to Van Pelt Library at about 2:50 p.m. on May 2 in response to a woman's complaint that her wallet had been stolen. He said that the woman believed Blake to have committed the theft. According to Carroll, when he approached Blake the latter raised his voice and pushed the officer into the library office. Blake said he was reluctant to go into the stacks with Carroll, adding that the officer pulled him into the stacks, shoved him three or four times, and arrested him. Although no criminal charges remain against Blake, he is not out of trouble yet. Carroll filed a complaint with the Student Dispute Resolution Center concerning Blake's conduct. According to Blake, the charges at the SDRC made it impossible for him to graduate in May despite having the requisite academic credit. As a result, he says he has had to ask graduate schools of education at the University, Columbia University and Harvard University for permission to delay accepting their offers of admission. He added that they are all still waiting despite his having missed the extended deadline for at least one school. Blake says the SDRC has told him to expect a hearing on those charges sometime this month.

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