Seven men accused of shutting down the Atlantic City Expressway effectively shut down their trial Thursday. Or at least pushed it off.
Community leader Steve Young and six others were arrested July 4, during a protest against George Floyd's murder.
They were charged with obstructing a highway and refusal to obey a reasonable official request.
But the men insist that they did nothing wrong, pointing out that it was police who closed incoming Atlantic City Expressway traffic during the protest.
A trial was set before Judge Richard Fauntleroy on Thursday in Pleasantville Municipal Court, after it was conflicted out of Atlantic City.
But after a majority of the men said they had not received the evidence in the case, Fauntleroy postponed the trial to a not-yet-determined date.
The seven men — who each opted to represent themselves — did give a glimpse of their testimony, however, as they individually addressed the judge in motions to have the case dismissed.
Fauntleroy repeatedly insisted a trial is required before he can determine each man's guilt or innocence.
That didn't stop them from continuing to defend their actions, saying they were being portrayed as criminals when all they were doing was good for the community.
The group even had permission for the march before it happened, meeting with city officials ahead of the event, Troy Ogelsby Sr. told the judge.
He said they were given two liaisons: an Atlantic City police sergeant and a representative from the Department of Justice.
"They were walking parallel to us through the entire march," he said.
But Ogelsby said those two witnesses were not in court because he didn't realize it was the job of the defendants to subpoena any witnesses.
Fauntleroy said he made that clear to them when they refused public defenders during a pre-trial conference.
"The state's not going to subpoena your defense witnesses," the judge said.
Fauntleroy was going to give Ogelsby a half-hour to see if he could get the witnesses to come to court. At that point, municipal prosecutor Jenna Cook said she would be at a disadvantage, with witnesses she would be forced to cross-examine without prior knowledge.
Fauntleroy said he would give her time to speak with each one on one before resuming trial. Then, the rest of the defendants came up, one by one, and the judge decided enough of them insisted they did not receive discovery, warranting a postponement.
Young and co-defendant Nolan Mitchell said they did not feel comfortable having Fauntleroy as their judge.
Young refused to say what his issues with the judge were.
“Personally, I’ve been in front of you on many, many occasions,” Mitchell told Fauntleroy. “It’s been a long time, but I do not feel comfortable in front of you.”
Fauntleroy said he did not know Mitchell, which Mitchell insisted was not true.
"This is malicious prosecution, starting with the mayor of Atlantic City," Mitchell said. "The sad thing is, the mayor of Atlantic City has a personal vendetta against Steve Young."
“Maybe that’s why it was conflicted out,” Fauntleroy replied.
Some of the men said they wanted a jury trial, but Fauntleroy said there are no juries in municipal matters.
Michael Scott Jr. said he didn't even know why he was arrested.
“I was walking with the police and several other community leaders," he said. "I didn’t know what was going on. I was walking with them and someone said, 'Get him.'"
"Not one man I was with was doing anything wrong," said Levar Davis, the youngest by far at 23. "We were out there for a cause."
Fauntleroy stopped him saying that each man needed to stop saying what did or didn't happen, since the trial had not started.
"You're all putting the cart before the horse," he said. "I don't know what happened. That's why we have trials."
Defendants Taiwa Ukawabutu and Alex Kettles also addressed the judge.
A new court date was not set.
