District Judge Linda Luke has denied motions to dismiss cases against six Occupy Honolulu members who were arrested in November for being at Thomas Square beyond park hours.

Luke said the city has a right to impose time restrictions at parks for safety and maintenance reasons.

The protesters are arguing that their constitutional rights to free speech are being violated because the city has not offered reasonable alternatives for them to express themselves.

They pointed out that 16 of 74 parks in the Honolulu area are open 24 hours a day, none of which are in highly visible areas.