Federal Judge To Hear Whether Police Violated Protest Order

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge is set to hear arguments over whether Denver's police chief should be held in contempt of court after officers seized protesters' property.

The hearing Tuesday before U.S. District Judge William Martinez is the latest in a dispute over protests outside a Denver courthouse, where two men were charged with jury tampering for handing out jury nullification literature. The two men sued.

Martinez in August issued an injunction allowing activists to continue distributing the literature outside the courthouse as long as they don't trample the landscaping. The next day, officers confiscated protesters' tent, chairs, signs and other items.

Civil rights attorney David Lane says officers violated the injunction. Chief Robert White is named in the lawsuit but he's not required to appear in court.