Appeals court says woman
should have left riot area

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Star-Bulletin staff

LIHUE >> The state Intermediate Court of Appeals has upheld the misdemeanor conviction of a woman whose son's 21st-birthday party resulted in a riot in which approximately 500 participants pelted Kauai police with rocks and bottles.

The appellate court held that Kauai police had the legal authority to arrest Michelle Lindstedt after she refused an order to leave the area. She was convicted and ordered to pay a $200 fine. In her appeal, she claimed the arrest was unconstitutional.

In upholding her conviction, Judge Daniel Foley wrote, "To prevent the substantial harm or inconvenience, annoyance or alarm to the public, it is reasonably necessary for law enforcement to order those participating in disorderly conduct and those in the immediate area to disperse until the disorderly conduct comes to and end."

One officer received a minor injury in the melee in the early morning hours of Jan. 23, 2000, on the beach adjacent to the Wailua County Golf Course.