Buehler Trial Continues Wednesday Morning
Class C misdemeanor case currently mired by dropped juror
By Chase Hoffberger, 1:00PM, Mon. Oct. 27, 2014
Expectations that we’d go into lunch with a verdict in the trial of Antonio Buehler received a swift kick in the rear Monday morning when attendees to the hearing learned that a juror had been relieved of responsibilities. Judge Mitch Solomon indicated prior to proceedings Monday that the juror was dismissed because he feared retribution for his verdict.
Solomon didn’t detail the dismissed juror’s concerns beyond that, saying only that he needed two days to determine whether or not the trial could go on with five jurors. State prosecutor Matt McCabe spent Monday morning trying to push for a mistrial – he’s arguing that failure to reach a verdict essentially doubles as a hung juror – while Buehler’s attorney Millie Thompson chose to bide her time referencing past decisions in which the absence of a juror hasn’t affected trial proceedings. Solomon, who’s been most patient throughout this seemingly eternal class C misdemeanor trial (which carries a maximum fine of $500 should Buehler lose it), expressed concerns about Buehler’s ability to claim double jeopardy should he be retried.
It’s the latest in a long line of surprising and unusual turns that this trial’s taken since beginning Thursday morning. Buehler stands in defense of charges from a grand jury that he disobeyed a lawful order on the evening of Jan. 1, 2012; a night that’s proved so pivotal to his life that it helped spawn local cop-watch activist crew the Peaceful Streets Project. As such, the question of whether he disobeyed a lawful order – in this case, an order from police officer Patrick Oborski to put his hands behind his back – has become about so much more than a $500 fine and class C misdemeanor mark on his permanent record. Rather, it would validate his assertions and provide momentum moving through – eventually through a civil trial that’s currently set for March 2015.
Thompson has tried to paint the situation in question– the fallout from a NYE traffic stop of a third party detailed in full via prior coverage – as a lawless one in which police officers were violating civil rights from the beginning and thus their orders shouldn’t have been considered lawful whatsoever. She’s called six different witnesses to the stand (including Buehler), and recalled two of the prosecution’s three witnesses – Officer Oborski and Officer Robert Snider, on the scene for the altercation – for cross-examining.
Debate’s been waged over the fine print that defines reasonable suspicion, probable cause, the 4th Amendment, and Terry stops, the term used since a 1968 court ruling to describe temporary detentions in instances just short of standard probable cause. It’s featured shouting, physical demonstrations, a series of surveillance, dashcam, and handheld camera videos, and two witnesses (one from each side) tasked with answering nothing but hypothetical questions about general, nameless cases.
A final decision on all this is expected Wednesday morning at 9:30am, though that decision may be “mistrial, everybody back to the beginning” if the chips don’t fall in Buehler’s favor.
For a full recap of the proceedings, be sure to read coverage in the Chronicle's Oct. 31 issue later this week.
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Chase Hoffberger, Feb. 23, 2015
Chase Hoffberger, Feb. 19, 2015
Nov. 16, 2018
Antonio Buehler, Millie Thompson, Matt McCabe, Robert Snider, Patrick Oborski, Mitch Solomon