A federal jury on March 6 returned a verdict in favor of a police officer in the first of several similar cases brought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of citizens who were arrested after photographing or observing police behavior.

Following a two-day trial, the jury deliberated for about an hour before finding in favor of Philadelphia police officer George Gaspar on claims for unlawful arrest and malicious prosecution.

“The trial was short. The incident was short,” said Susan Lin, the Kairys, Rudovsky, Messing & Feinberg lawyer who is working with the ACLU to represent the student, Coulter Loeb, to the jury during closings March 6. “Please make no mistake,” she said, “the dispute and the fundamental rights that are at issue here are serious.”