A federal judge Thursday dropped one of three criminal charges against Marcus Mumford, Ammon Bundy’s lawyer, and said he will decide — not a jury — on the other two charges.
U.S District Judge John C. Coughenour dismissed a charge that accused Mumford of creating a disturbance by impeding the official duties of government officers because it encompassed the same conduct alleged in the second count, failing to comply with official signs that prohibit the disruption of federal officers’ official work.
Coughenour declined to grant Mumford a jury trial, as requested, or his motion to dismiss all the charges.
Document: U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour’s ruling
Mumford’s lawyer Michael Levine has argued that the deputy U.S. marshals engaged in “outrageous” government misconduct and lacked authority to wrestle Mumford to the ground and stun him with a Taser gun while he was arguing on behalf of Bundy in a federal courtroom last fall. The scuffle occurred after Bundy was acquitted of all charges on Oct. 27, 2016, at the end of a five-week trial stemming from the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
“Here, the transcript and video footage do not support such a finding,” the judge wrote. “The U.S. marshals’ conduct does not rise to a level that ‘shocks the conscience.’ ”
Marcus Mumford’s shirt was torn during the courtroom scuffle and his arrest on Oct. 27, 2016. Courtesy of Mumford
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Ohms this week defended the charges, contending Mumford was blocking marshals from taking Bundy back into custody at the end of trial. When Mumford resisted arrest, he was stunned with the Taser, Ohms said.
Coughenour said in his ruling: “It appears from the transcript and the courtroom video that defendant interfered with the marshals taking his client into custody.”
He referred to Mumford’s argument to U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown at the conclusion of the trial that Bundy is “free, Your Honor.”
Coughenour also denied a request by Mumford’s lawyer to hold an evidentiary hearing before trial. The judge said the record as it stands is sufficient.
The judge wasn’t swayed by Levine’s arguments that the marshals didn’t have authority to act against Mumford while he was advocating for his client in court or that the charges against him are vague.
Coughenour held that Congress authorized the Department of Homeland Security to establish regulations with criminal penalties relating to the protection of federal property similar to powers it has granted to the National Park Service, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management.
“Defendant was not charged with violating the regulations for making arguments in the courtroom,” the judge wrote. “At the heart of the allegations is that defendant interfered with the U.S. marshals taking custody of his client. A person of ordinary intelligence would understand that interfering with a U.S. marshal removing a defendant who was in their custody following the completion of court constitutes a disruption of the performance of a marshal’s duties.”
A trial is set for April 13 on the two remaining misdemeanor charges: failing to comply with courthouse signs that prohibit the disruption of federal officers’ duties and failing to comply with a federal officer’s direction to stop kicking and resisting and to place his hands behind his back.
On the dismissal of one charge, Levine said Thursday afternoon, “Hey, one out of three ain’t bad.”
“The judge has ruled. I respect his ruling, and we’ll go on to trial,” Levine added.
In additional rulings, Coughenour ordered prosecutors to turn over to Mumford’s lawyer any text messages between marshals, federal protective service officers or court security on their government-issued cellphones that “reveal hostility” toward Mumford “or in any way casts doubt on their credibility.” The government also must turn over information that casts doubt on a witness’ credibility, as required by law, the judge noted.
He declined to order prosecutors to produce any records from a meeting Brown had with jurors after the trial of Bundy and six co-defendants, finding those materials are in the possession of a district judge and out of the scope of criminal procedure.
Mumford’s lawyer had sought that material, noting that the judge described the events leading to Mumford’s arrest to jurors, who had filed out of the courtroom just before the skirmish.
Coughenour, a judge from the federal Western District of Washington, has been assigned to preside over the case. Brown and local prosecutors were recused from it. Brown, her courtroom deputy, law clerk and court reporter could be called as witnesses at trial, Levine said.
— Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian
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