Okay, continuing with the theme of tempered good news, I think I told you a while back about the case of Desiree Fairooz, a Code Pink protester who made the mistake of letting out a quick laugh during the confirmation hearings of Jeff "I'm not a racist, I swear" Sessions as attorney general. Astonishingly, she was convicted. of Laughing.The Good News is that on July 14, Chief Judge Robert Morin of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia threw out the conviction.
The tempered part is that he did it because the prosecutor had said in closing arguments that the laugh alone was enough for conviction, not any disruption she may have caused as she objected to being dragged out of the visitors' gallery for nothing more than laughing. The judge said the laugh alone was not enough to send the case to the jury.
But instead of dismissing the charge, he ordered a new trial for September 1. So the prosecution has a second chance to achieve what is still the same goal: punish her for laughing, this time with guidance from the court as to the best way to do it.
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