City cites game inventor for possessing illegal milk crate
A game inventor accused of illegally operating a business on the Third Street Promenade without the proper permits may be heading to trial today.
Stewart Lamle will appear in Santa Monica Superior Court today in his ongoing fight against 16 misdemeanor citations that each carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Six of those citations are for illegally possessing a milk crate.
Lamle has argued when it comes to selling his invented game on the Promenade, the city is accusing him of breaking laws that don’t exist. And because six of the 15 citations the police department issued last year for the illegal possession of a milk crate were given to Lamle, he believes the city has targeted him for prosecution.
“We want to know about these other nine people,” said Paul Mills, Lamle’s attorney.
“What were they doing to have the full weight of the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office coming down on them?” he said. “Lamle represents one-third of the milk crate crime wave in Santa Monica.”
However, Lamle and Mills say Deputy City Attorney Linda Mills, who is prosecuting the case, has neither produced the specific city code Lamle violated nor the reasons the city decided to prosecute the nine other people who were charged with illegally possessing a milk crate.
Linda Mills was unavailable for comment Thursday.
Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Kamins will rule today whether the city must present the evidence Lamle and his attorney have requested. He will also decide if a full jury trial should begin today, or if the case should be sent to a courtroom in the Airport Courthouse located in Westchester.
Due to Lamle’s federally protected right to a speedy trial, the proceedings against him must begin by Dec. 4.
For the past three years, Lamle has set up an impromptu table on the Promenade to demonstrate a game he has invented called Farook, which looks like a tic-tac-toe board combined with Chinese checkers.
However, the demonstrations are not considered “performance” by the city, which refuses to grant Lamle permits or a business license for his game.
“The city contends playing Farook is no different than hair braiding or personal massage,” Mills said.
Santa Monica police, however, ticketed Lamle 34 times during the last three years for not having a performance permit, but he was able to have each ticket thrown out because he was not considered a performer in the eyes of the court, Lamle said.
Then on July 6 at 11:30 a.m., police arrested Lamle on the Promenade. They seized his game, his table and all his money for operating a business without a license.
A Santa Monica Superior Court Judge later returned the property to Lamle, and police were told not to further interfere with his activities until today’s court date.
Lamle says his right to freedom of speech protects his ability to set up shop on the Promenade and sell his invented game.
Playing and selling the game garners a lot of money for Lamle, who charges $1 to play a game with him and $15 for a copy of Farook.
Mills said the city is playing a game with his client. When the 34 performance citations were thrown out of court, police then issued him with misdemeanor citations for not having a business license, which the city refuses to issue to Lamle.
Mills said he believes the city has deliberately written vague street performer laws to give them more leverage over controlling performers.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 22, 2002. Read the original PDF.