It was wonderful to see so many concerned folks at the courthouse this morning. As all of you who were there know, the case was continued to a different day. Please don't think anything underhanded is going on. It is normal procedure. The defendant is charged with two different classes of offenses. In regards to the 20 counts of improper disposal, they are classified as Class 4 misdemeanors. No jail time can be imposed on those charges, the maximum penalty is a fine. As such, there is no right to counsel in those charges. They could have been heard today. The 10 counts of animal cruelty are Class 1 misdemeanors. Those charges do carry the possibility of jail, and as such, the defendant is entitled to a lawyer, either retained or court appointed. On those charges, the defendant is also entitled to a "1st call" which determines attorney status. The case is then scheduled for trial. That is what happened today. Theoretically, as the defendant already had an attorney, it could have been tried today but the court cannot force that. It is up to the defendant. It is part of the due process guarantees in the Constitution. So, in effort at efficiency, the 20 class 4 misdemeanors were continued to the trial date of the class 1 misdemeanors so there only has to be one trial instead of two. All very normal proceedings.
IMHO, it would be good for all concerned with this (excepting the defendant and her attorney) to make every effort to show up in force on the date of the trial as you all so wonderfully did today.
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