Another one of the Frederick Four defendants had a hearing last week, which ultimately turned out to be a bench trial. The upshot, according to the support crew, was as follows:
"Jayla had her court date on the 20th, and there’s a lot to report after this one. Despite heavy pressure from her (panel appointed) lawyer, Jayla rejected a plea deal and had her first trial, with Judge Schafer presiding. The prosecutor dropped the riot charge before the trial even began, and the judge dismissed one of the charges, but found her guilty on two counts of disorderly conduct. He sentenced her to 18 months probation and 32 hours community service. Jayla has announced her intention to appeal, and to find a new lawyer. We’ll talk a little more about her and Andromeda’s experiences with their panel appointed attorneys in a little bit."
The outcome was, as they say later on, "a manageable sentence," but it's still pretty harsh for the "crime" committed. So she's appealing. Her lawyer was pretty much out to lunch, the cops were (surprise!) dishonest, and the judge actually handed down a harsher sentence than the prosecutor asked for.
The entire text is worth reading, especially if you haven't dealt with protest-related arrests much before.
In the meantime, you can also kick in to the defense fund at the link, if you've got a few bucks to spare.
https://chuffed.org/project/131988-legal-funds-for-the-frederick-four?section=updates
