I feel safer with these guys protecting us...
BTW, does anybody else just feel there is something wrong with the fact that the prosecutes can make an agreement that they will drop will only drop these charges if you don't sue us. Regardless of context that just doesn't sit right with me. If the prosecution thinks that they may get sued, they probably should just drop the charges. Also, for my understanding of the law, state officials enjoy "qualified immunity" i.e. you can sue them as an individual, as opposed to them in their official capacity, if they violated "clearly established law". Is it clearly established that you can fly over a powerplant?
There is something clearly wrong with our laws if an official can arrest and prosecute you for violating as ambiguous of a law as "breach of peace".
It seems to be fairly clearly established that only the FAA (and NORTHCOM/NORAD/Customs air/etc in extreme cases) have authority over aviation (federal preemption and all that).
Breach of peace, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction, etc. are all fairly wide offenses that can be used to arrest someone for being generally irritating/bad, however because of that they can be misused in cases like this. The prosecutors can certainly not drop the charges and continue to a not guilty verdict/the charges get thrown out; they may lose a few points on the office standings, but the person charged faces possible loss of job, massive legal defense costs, bail costs, etc as the trial winds its way through the courts. Plus, they now have to disclose the charges if asked on job/background check applications so - even if they explain it - some organizations will bypass them in favor of the person with no record. For another angle, imagine if it were any of us in the military in that situation - even if you're acquitted, a vengeful/TRA CO might still take administrative action against you, maybe your security clearance was suspended, you got charged AWOL for the time you spent in jail, etc. or you just had unlucky timing and the arrest happens when your FITREP closes out. Depending on the pilot's situation, he may have feared the risks of going to trial over the ability to sue.
