Fri, Jul 18 2008
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Published August 25, 2006 12:00 am - Jury trial for Riverton students rejected The Joplin Globe By Roger McKinney
rmckinney@joplinglobe.com OSWEGO, Kan. - Juvenile defendants charged with misdemeanors have no right to a jury trial, Labette County District Judge Robert Fleming said Thursday. With that, Fleming denied motions by the attorneys for Riverton High School students Caleb Byrd and Andrew Jaeger for a jury trial on a charge of misdemeanor conspiracy to riot. Byrd, 16; Jaeger, 15; Coy New, 18; James Tillman, 16; and Robby Hunt 17, previously were implicated in an alleged school-shooting plot at Riverton High School that authorities claimed was set to take place on April 20. All five were arrested on that day, the anniversary of the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado. The five initially were charged with felonies by Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline. The attorney general's office recently handed the prosecution back to Cherokee County Attorney Michael Goodrich. Goodrich reduced the two felony charges remaining against each defendant to the single misdemeanor charge. Tillman and Hunt pleaded guilty, and were assessed a year of probation and community service. Fleming was tabbed by the state to hear the cases. New, Byrd and Jaeger pleaded innocent. In his ruling Thursday, Fleming said there is no precedent for jury trials for juveniles charged with misdemeanors, and he cited precedent against it. "I've never heard of a jury trial conducted for a juvenile charged with a misdemeanor," Fleming said. He said that even when a juvenile is charged with a felony, a jury trial is done at the judge's discretion. Instead, Byrd and Jaeger will appear before Fleming in a juvenile adjudication hearing. No date has been set. Byrd's attorney, Eddie Battitori, said after the hearing that he was disappointed in the ruling, but he expected it. He said he wanted a jury chosen from the public to hear the case because authorities and prosecutors had claimed that the defendants were a threat to public safety. "It was my opinion that the public should decide," Battitori said. Jaeger's attorney, JoAnna Derfelt, said she was comfortable with the judge's ruling. Battitori and Derfelt said they will be allowed to present the same evidence before Fleming as they would during a jury trial. "The rules of procedure will apply," Derfelt said. 
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