But what's unclear is how many will have to perform 50 hours of community service in order to get the charges dropped.
Of the 190 people arrested during demonstrations against the Group of 20 economic summit, 51 were Pitt students. Most of the arrests occurred in Oakland the nights of Sept. 24 and 25.
"The majority of the cases will be resolved by community service, which will be handled through the universities," Zappala said.
A Carnegie Mellon University spokesman has said seven CMU students were arrested during the G-20.
Zappala asked Pitt police Chief Tim Delaney last month to review the cases against Pitt students and make recommendations about them to his office.
Delaney did not returns calls yesterday, but he told The Pitt News that he was recommending that charges should be dropped against all Pitt students charged with disorderly conduct and failure to disperse.
Pitt spokesman John Fedele declined to say how many cases Delaney reviewed, but in a story in the University Times, Pitt's faculty newspaper, Delaney said he had reviewed 33 as of last week.
"I cannot guarantee they'll get off. What I'm doing is recommending to the DA that these individuals have special consideration," the paper quoted Delaney.
Zappala said anyone arrested during a G-20 protest and charged with nonviolent offenses, which include no property damage offenses, will be eligible to have charges withdrawn upon completion of 50 hours of community service.
Those arrested more than once during the G-20 don't qualify. The defendants also have an option to plead guilty to summary offenses if they want to avoid community service, Zappala said.
Zappala said his office is still reviewing each case to determine whether charges should be withdrawn outright. He didn't recall how many cases Delaney advised be dropped but said the chief didn't give "a lot of reasons."
In the case of two reporters for The Pitt News who said they were arrested doing their jobs, Zappala said charges likely will be dropped if they can prove they were working as journalists.
Their attorney, Cris Hoel, said the two had official media credentials.
"I'm becoming optimistic that the authorities will recognize the circumstances of a working journalist on assignment," Hoel said.
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