The Military Line

The U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments on U.S. v. John Dennis Apel on December 4, 2013. John Dennis Apel was arrested at Vandenberg Air Force Base while protesting against nuclear and space-based weapons. He was cited three times for trespass while standing quietly on the shoulder of the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1) holding a peace sign outside the base’s main gate. He was charged under a federal statute (18 USC Section 1382) for reentering a military base after being banned from Vandenberg by the base commander.

Apel defended himself in U.S. District Court. I was with him when he was arrested and assisted him with his legal defense. A U.S. magistrate judge and a regular federal District Court judge found him guilty in his trials and initial appeal. We then petitioned for an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The Circuit Court accepted the case and appointed a legal clinic at UC Irvine Law School and Erwin Chemerinsky, the school’s dean, as pro bono counsel for Apel. He won his appeal in the Ninth Circuit Court, which overturned his conviction. The U.S. Solicitor General and lead counsel for the Pentagon then successfully petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a review. This was no surprise because Apel’s victory in the Ninth Circuit has ramifications for every military base that is traversed by a public street — which is most military bases in the country. Dean Chemerinsky and a group of attorneys associated with his law clinic continue to represent Apel in his Supreme Court case.