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JUDGE CONSOLIDATES GORDON LEE COUNTS, CBLDF PROCEEDS TO TRIAL
by Newsarama
Last week, Judge Larry Salmon issued a decision on motions argued in defense of Georgia retailer Gordon Lee, further consolidating the number of charges Lee will face at trial from three to two. Judge Salmon's decision requires the State to elect between prosecuting count 3 or 4, noting that they are "materially indistinguishable." The judge also ruled that count 5 can proceed to trial. Finally, the judge dismissed counts 1 and 2, the felony counts, and counts 6 and 7, the John Doe misdemeanor counts, with prejudice.
"As counsel for Gordon, I obviously would have preferred a complete dismissal of the remaining counts; however, I am happy that the charges have been further reduced to only two remaining misdemeanor counts," said defense attorney Paul Cadle. "As we have maintained all along, Gordon was overcharged in the beginning of this prosecution, and the results of our motion hearings have clearly proven that fact. We are now left with only two misdemeanor counts to contest at trial, rather than two felonies and five misdemeanor counts, and this is a significant positive result from our standpoint. At this point, we are moving forward with the final preparation stages for Gordon's upcoming jury trial."
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Executive Director Charles Brownstein said, "Overall, we're very pleased with the progress that Mr. Begner and Mr. Cadle have made defending Gordon Lee. From the start we were convinced of his innocence in this matter. The outright dismissal of four counts, and the reduction of the remaining counts from three to two vindicates our position that his is a case that's worth the fight. Moving ahead, we will maintain our aggressive defense posture, and hope to take this case to victory when we go to trial."
To date the CBLDF has spent over $40,000 in defense of Lee. The group is presently working to shore up funds for the upcoming trial, which is expected to begin in the Spring.
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