EDISON, N.J. — A court has issued an order dismissing criminal charges against a New Jersey man whom police arrested after he shared the Gospel on a sidewalk outside a public high school after the end of the school day. At the request of the principal of Edison High School, Robert Parker was taken into custody after his toe touched the grass on the school’s side of the sidewalk. He was charged with trespass and disorderly conduct.

“Christians shouldn’t be arrested and charged as criminals for expressing their beliefs on public property.  They have the same First Amendment rights as anyone else in America,” said ADF-allied attorney Demetrios Stratis of Fair Lawn. “A person cannot be charged with a crime just because a school official has a complete misunderstanding of the First Amendment or doesn’t like what that person has to say. We are pleased that we prevailed in court in getting these unwarranted criminal charges dropped.”

In May 2009, Parker began sharing the Gospel from a public sidewalk outside Edison High School after students were dismissed for the day, at which time the principal told him to leave. Parker explained that the First Amendment protected his free speech and free exercise of religion rights, but the principal took no heed and called police.

The police instructed students not to go near Parker, and the principal insisted that he be arrested. While speaking with officers, Parker’s toe brushed against the grass along the school side of the sidewalk. The officers arrested him and issued him a summons for “defiant trespassing.” The events leading to the arrest were recorded on video.

Stratis filed a motion to dismiss the charges with the Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County, and the court subsequently issued an order dismissing the charges in State of New Jersey v. Parker. The Edison Municipal Court, where the charges and complaint were still pending, later complied with the higher court’s decision and dismissed the charges.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.