NEVADA — Featuring alleged abuses of Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights, a dispute over the legality of police testimony, and a newspaper’s photograph showing the student pushing a flaming Dumpster across a street, a hearing in the case against ISU student Justin Larson ended Wednesday with Larson hugging his tearful mother.

The hearing at the Story County Courthouse ended with the state dismissing its charges of reckless use of fire or explosives and disorderly conduct due to a lack of evidence.

The decision by Assistant Story County Attorney Timothy Meals came after the presiding judge, Steve Van Marel, ruled that, without testimony from Iowa State Daily photographer David Osterhaus, the photo of Larson, sophomore in pre-business, pushing the fiery Dumpster would likely be seen as inadmissible hearsay.

The photo, taken by Osterhaus during an April 18 riot in Campustown, originally appeared on the front page of the April 19 Daily.

Meals said he dismissed charges because the state’s case hinged primarily on the photograph and transcripts of a conversation between the defendant and an Ames Police officer — the legality of which was also disputed by Larson’s attorney.

Larson’s attorney, William Talbot, said the photograph was the linchpin of the state’s case, without which the trial could not proceed.

“It was absolutely critical to the state’s case because they couldn’t find anybody to testify that Justin did anything wrong,” he said.

Larson’s trial was scheduled for Thursday, but Talbot filed several motions intended to punch holes in the state’s case, among them a motion to suppress the evidence of the photograph and the testimony of Ames police officer Tom Shelton, who, Talbot contended, continued to question Larson after he’d asked for an attorney.

Before Wednesday’s ruling, Talbot said he had talked to Meals, and both decided that the issue of the photograph’s admissibility was key to the case and felt it should be addressed first.

Talbot said he and Larson maintain that Larson committed no crime and that it was only through circumstance that Larson had been in the riot area in the first place.

Larson was taken into custody April 23 as the Ames police received phone calls revealing his identity. Police had been scouring pictures and camera footage to pinpoint offenders in the riot.

The testimony Talbot questioned, said Ames Police Cmdr. Jim Robinson, had taken place before any arrest had been made, as Shelton approached Larson at his dorm room to speak informally on the matter. Robinson said Larson had made mention of being unsure about talking to police without an attorney present.

Sheldon then told Larson it was his choice, but the two continued to converse. It was at this point, Robinson said, Larson admitted to having been near the Dumpster in the photo.

Due to the informal nature of the conversation, Robinson said, it was not necessary for the officer to read Larson his Miranda rights, who was taken into custody later after turning himself in.

The bulk of the conversation took place, Robinson said, as Shelton was giving Larson a ride to class.

Talbot said this violated Larson’s Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights. Those articles grant protection against self-incrimination and the right to legal counsel.

Although others have been arrested based on photographic evidence related to the riot, Talbot said he didn’t believe that Larson’s victory would set any kind of precedent in these future trials.

Lucas Grundmeier, Daily editor in chief, said the Daily’s policy of remaining neutral on legal proceedings precluded Osterhaus, freshman in liberal arts and sciences-open option, from testifying. Osterhaus is spending the summer in his hometown of Grapevine, Texas.

“Our job at the Daily is to report news, and that’s what our staff did during the riot of April 18,” Grundmeier said.

“Our job is not to contribute to the prosecution or defense of a charge. We believe in the privilege of our reporters, in this case a photographer, to report on newsworthy happenings without the knowledge that they might be called in to testify or register an opinion on it.”