Still no protester business at county court by noon

By Sue Lindsay, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 24, 2008 at 1:29 p.m.

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As of noon, no protester arrests had come though the special courts set up to handle them.

"Well, no excitement yet," said Denver County Judge Larry Bohning.

Judges Brian Campbell and Larry Bohning prepared to leave, with new judges taking over the shift beginning at noon. He and judges Brian Campbell were preparing to leave, with new judges taking over the shifts beginning at noon.

Bohning strolled down the empty hallway of the City and County Building eating a banana.

"If I had known you needed material, I would have walked down the hall with my banana a little sooner," he told a reporter.

Campbell, dressed casually in jeans and a polo shirt, said he had a bet with his bailiffs that no more than 50 people will come through his court this week. The bailiffs wagered higher numbers. The winner gets taken to lunch, he said.

Once business picks up, arrested protesters will watch a 13 minute video advising them of their rights and then be taken to court, Bohning said. First the judge will ask if they watched and understood their rights. Their pleas will be taken and bond posted. They'll be due back in court in about six weeks after posting bond.

But no bonds will be posted for anyone giving their names as Jane Doe or John Doe. Persons arrested must give their names before a bond will be set.

The arraignment court at the Denver City Jail also was handling a normal quiet Sunday morning docket of arrests, a number of them people who didn't pay their RTD fares.

One woman charged with shoplifting told Magistrate Phil James that her life was in a mess because she suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome from a sexual assault.

James told her she needed to find a way handle her unfortunate situation without stealing things from stores.

Shereace Juarez, called in on an interference charge, asked the judge to let her out today because she has three children.

"When you're convicted of an offense, it hurts you and the ones around you," the magistrate told her. "That's one reason we don't go out and commit crimes."

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