Indicted -- Guilty

Hi, I promised to let you know when I heard anything about my case. Today I received an email from my attorney Brent Horst that said, I was indicted by the last term of the grand jury.

 

Sorry to hear that. Do you know what the charges are yet?

 

Likely a minor count so don't despair. A grand jury indictment is far from a conviction.

Please repost the address of your legal defense fund.

 

Yes, Andrea, please re-post. There are many people who would like to donate to your Legal Defense Fund, as we did with Yukari Mihamae.

 

That's a disappointment, Andrea, but as Fisher said, don't get too down about it. I'm going to guess that they probably heard only from the TSA screeners and perhaps a police officer so the "facts" they have are totally biased.

 

If your case ever makes it to trial I don't think any jury would find fault in what you did. Don't settle for having a judge rule on the case insist on a full jury.

 

We are going to trial and I will have a full jury.

 

I am now charged with 3 counts of disorderly conduct.

 

Not bad. Not even drunk and disorderly so my guess is 40 hours community service at maximum. But more likely PBJ with a year unsupervised probation.

 

I still believe one jury person will not vote against andrea.

 

Andrea, that's awful news. I'm sorry to hear it.

And I second Lisa's request for info on where we can donate to your legal fund.

 

This is obviously very stressful for Andrea right now and my heart goes out to her, but this has the potential to be a good thing too.

As we've all said, it seems highly unlikely that a jury is going to rule against her for trying to protect her child. Anyone on the jury who is a parent will understand the instinct to not allow harm, physical or otherwise, to come to their kids. I'll obviously defer to Sunny Goth for the specifics, but if she's found Not Guilty, it could set a precedent that people cannot be arrested for recording or resisting attempts to grope them or their children.

Would this perhaps even be able to poke a hole in TSA's high-and-mighty "interfering with the screening process" threat?

Andrea, I wish you the absolute best of fortune in winning this. I hope TSA comes out of this horrifically embarrassed and hurting. They deserve the absolute worst of whatever they get, every time they get it. Here's hoping you give it to 'em.

 

I believe it stated quite a while ago that her attorney is donating his services. However, it would be good to have that affirmed.

 

I agree that she will likely get acquitted before a jury. It could be a watershed verdict and establish case law against TSA overreach. If the tape is used in evidence the fact that she is very calm while the cop and agent are clearly agitated which bodes well for her acquittal.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASgneJEkl7g

 

Yes. Andrea -- there are a lot of people here, myself included, who support you. We'll be with you in spirit in the courtroom.

Putting on my lawyer hat (but being very careful not to give legal advice )..... Morally -- no jury on earth should convict her. In reality, the outcome could be different depending on what the statute says and what the jury instructions are. I hate to be the wet blanket, but that's what the judge will say.

And then there are the facts. I went to this article and to this article (scroll down) to remind myself about what happened. The jury will decide whether or not Andrea was 'disruptive'. If the 'disruptive' charge was levied against her for recording and recording is permissible at checkpoints in TN (I think it is), then it is likely that the jury won't find her guilty of that charge. If charge is based on her 'yelling' and 'lashing out' at the TSA then the jury will have to decide who is telling the truth. Does Andrea have the recording that can back her up? What is the demeanor of any TSA agents and/or law enforcement who show up and testify. What is Andrea's demeanor like? All of these things (as you all know) are taken into account by juries. Who does the jury believe?

It really depends. I buy the 'can't be arrested for recording' part of your argument. I'm not so sure (legally) about the 'resisting attempts to grope them or their children' part -- although on a personal level I wish that could be true.

Now, one way I could that happening (a good ruling on the resisting part) is if Andrea's lawyer brings up the whole administrative search farce, and the court allows it to be litigated in this case. If that happens, then .... all bets are off.

See above.

Me too.

 

It seems to me that an unconscionably long time has passed since the actual incident and the indictment.

 

I think all bets are off for predicting a jury verdict. I'd like to believe that no one in his/her right mind would rule against Andrea, but given the comments I've seen/heard from people -- both friends and strangers -- I wouldn't be surprised if they come down on the side of Anything For Safety. It depresses me to write this, but I think it's possible.

Also, a jury could simply find that that police acted unlawfully, but not the TSA. Right, Sunny? Aren't there separate issues here?

 

It only takes one for a hung jury.

 

....but during jury selection, the prosecution takes great care to make sure that this one person is NOT seated in the jury....