Charter hit with Borough charges

The trial against the club, however, did not begin Tuesday as scheduled because two of three witnesses for the prosecution did not appear in court.

The charges result from two separate incidents that occurred during the 2007-08 academic year, Charter Club attorney Rocco Cipparone said in an interview after Tuesday’s court proceedings, adding that the first incident occurred on Dec, 1, 2007, and the second took place on April 5, 2008.

Though the Borough has already dropped its charges against former Charter Club president Will Scharf ’08 relating to the December incident, Cipparone explained that the prosecutor is able to bring charges stemming from the incident for a second time because the current charges are against the club as a whole, not Scharf.

Each offense normally carries a sentence of up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine. If the club is convicted of the charges, however, it is unlikely that any individual will receive jail time, Cipparone said. “You can’t send a club to jail,” he explained.

Six Charter officers were present at the Borough Municipal Court on Tuesday. Charter president Mike Coolbaugh ’09 declined to comment for this story.

Conflicting accounts

Tuesday’s postponement of the trial represents the second time that Borough prosecutor Kenneth Lozier has been forced to ask for a postponement due to absent witnesses when prosecuting the December Charter incident.

In the March trial in the case involving Scharf, Kara Murphy ’09 did not appear in court because she did not receive a subpoena intended for her. Borough Police Lt. David Dudeck said at the time that the subpoena never reached Murphy due to a communication error between the police department and the court clerk’s office. The charges against Scharf were subsequently dropped.

Murphy, however, said in an e-mail Tuesday that she never received a subpoena for the current trial against Charter club, either.

“I was never subpoenaed,” she said. “This same thing happened last spring; the prosecutor told the Daily Prince[tonian] I’d been subpoenaed and didn’t show up, when in fact I’d never been contacted. My presence was never requested.”

Kelsey Stallings ’09, the other absent witness, could not be reached for comment.

The new trial has been set for February, though the exact date has not yet been determined.

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Municipal Court Judge Russell Annich said in court that he had received a confirmation from Det. Sgt. Christopher Quaste that all three witnesses had been subpoenaed but questioned Lozier about Murphy’s repeated absence.

“What makes you think [Murphy] will come next time?” Annich asked.

Lozier responded that if his witnesses continue to fail to appear, he could request “a warrant for contempt of court for not responding to subpoena[s].”

Incidents leading to charges

In the December 2007 incident, Page Schmidt ’08 poured beer on Murphy. Murphy then struck Schmidt, who called the police, Murphy said in an interview with the ‘Prince’ in March.

Murphy said that she was questioned by the Borough Police after the incident but never told them that Charter had served alcohol to her.

Instead, she said, she had informed the police that Charter was checking identification at the entrance to the club and was using a wristband system to identify students of legal drinking age.

Charges brought against both Schmidt and Murphy were eventually dropped.

The second incident involved David Freifeld ’11, who was found intoxicated and vomiting in Charter Club, Cipparone said, adding that Charter members subsequently called Public Safety.

“Ultimately, the Princeton Borough Police [became involved], and the individual told the police that he had been drinking pretty heavily in Cuyler [Hall] and he was intoxicated from that,” Cipparone said.

Freifeld, who was subpoenaed by the Borough and appeared in court Tuesday, said in an e-mail after the hearing that he reiterated to Lozier on Tuesday that he did not drink in Charter.

“The prosecutor took me outside and asked me what I remembered about the night, and I told him the truth, which was that I don’t remember drinking at Charter,” Freifeld said, adding that Lozier “then told me that I could be of no help to his case.”

Cipparone defended Charter’s practices on the night of April 5.

“Charter was using wristbands; the policy was being enforced,” Cipparone explained. “There was adequate door staff and a certified bartender.”