26 people arrested at 2020 Breonna Taylor protest will stand trial together, judge rules
More than two-dozen people facing charges over an arrest two years ago during a protest in Louisville will stand trial together, according to a new court order.
The 26 defendants had been arrested and accused of blocking traffic on the Clark Memorial Bridge during a protest in June 2020 over the police killing of Breonna Taylor.
In the motion to combine the cases, which was approved Tuesday after being filed in Jefferson District Court, assistant county attorneys Becky Schroering and Devan Dannelly argued each case was similar enough to present to one jury under one consolidated case, which would drastically cut the amount of time spent in court. Lawyers for the defendants, meanwhile, had questioned whether their clients would be treated fairly if they weren't standing individually.
Local attorney Ted Shouse, who represents six of the defendants in the case, said he did not know why Jefferson County is moving forward with the prosecution of all 26 protesters at once. He'd previously said he'd "never seen anything like this" in his 23 years of practicing law.
"In light of the United States Department of Justice's action last week, I don't know why the county is proceeding on these prosecutions," he said, a reference to federal charges recently filed against four police officials who'd played a role in the warrant that led to the raid at Taylor's apartment. "But, we will be ready for trial."
Under Kentucky law, Jefferson District Judge Anne Haynie said in the ruling, if two or more offenses were committed through "a common scheme or plan," then those two offenses may be charged in the same indictment.
The case will be back in court on Aug. 15, according to the filing, where a trial date will be established.
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Colyer Law Firm attorney Tony Colyer, who's been representing one of the defendants, said the consolidation would produce "a very difficult case to try."
"You have some 20 attorneys representing clients," Colyer said. "Each attorney should be entitled to make questions of the jury."
Colyer said though he respects the judge's order to consolidate, he and a number of other attorneys, would be prepared to spend as much time in court as necessary to try all 26 defendants separately.
"We're looking forward to our day in court," Colyer said.
Haynie will hear the case in place of Judge Josephine Buckner, who was removed from the case after prosecutors argued her ties to a law firm that represented Taylor's family while it pushed for a $12 million settlement with the city over Taylor's death, and social media posts she'd published in support of arresting Louisville Metro Police officers involved in the case, could bring up questions of impartiality.
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"We were disappointed that the county attorney moved for the recusal of one of the few Black judges here," Colyer added Tuesday. "I think all judges, if you comb their backgrounds, can have some arguments for bias against one side or the other."
Contact Caleb Stultz at cstultz@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Caleb_Stultz.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor protesters who blocked bridge to stand trial together
