Free Republic

Six animal rights advocates, arrested in December during a protest at Wawayanda State Park on the final day of the 2005 black bear hunt, went on trial Tuesday in Vernon Municipal Court. The six -- Lynda Smith, Elenor Hoffman, William Crain, Catherine McCartney, Kristen Sondej and David Stewart -- are all charged with obstruction for allegedly jumping a plastic fence that park police had set up to corral demonstrators, then sitting down on the pavement before being led away in handcuffs. The trial began after all six pleaded not guilty before Municipal Court Judge C. William Bowkley Jr. The state...