At a hearing Wednesday afternoon at the Alameda County Fremont Hall of Justice, the judge declined to rule on the request, instead setting a hearing date of October 1st for a full hearing on the issues where both sides would have adequate time to prepare their arguments.

The judge characterized the University's request for a judgment as a "quick" action that allowed little time for defendants to prepare their response.

During the hearing today, the judge questioned the University’s attorney as to why a court order was needed at all. "It's your property, isn’t it? Don't you already have the authority to manage it?"

By asking the question, the judge was not asserting the University's right to act - instead he was asking Cal's attorney to respond to the question. The response was that a court order would lend weight to Cal's request that the protestors act within campus regulations that, among other issues, pemit no camping on campus.

After the hearing, UC spokesman Dan Mogulof told reporters that "the University has a long history of respecting protests, and if the tree sitters would come down out of the trees and conduct their protests in accordance with long established campus rules, the campus would not only not interfere - it would support their rights to conduct their protest.

This remark was met with catcalls from protestors standing in the hallway outside the courtroom. Long time protest participants "Ayr" (pronounced "air") and Zachary Running Wolf were present at the hearing, as were a half-dozen media cameramen and reporters.

The Cal spokesmen reported that propane cylinders have been seen in the trees. This was identified to the judge today as a public safety hazard. Protestors later asserted - in the hallway - that the cylinders had been removed. As Mogulof spoke about the dangers of fire in the trees, Ayr asserted that, "the whole world is burning" and that Cal was contributing to it.

When asked why the University asked for a court order when they have a generally recognized authority to manage their own property, Mogulof responded that Cal was "leaving no stone unturned," implying that the University was working to take every legal action available to it to bring the situation under control "peacefully."

Video clips of the post-hearing comments are available here. Sections of the post-hearing events where questions were off-topic have been deleted.

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