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18 counties back commissioner’s appeal over Recapture Canyon ride

Posted at 3:38 PM, May 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-31 17:38:18-04

SALT LAKE CITY — Eighteen counties in Utah have signed on to a “friend of the court” brief supporting an appeal by a San Juan County Commissioner convicted for his role in the Recapture Canyon protest ride.

In a filing with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, the counties expressed concerns about how Phil Lyman’s trial was handled, and the level of fine he was ordered to pay.

“The Court should reverse the trial court judgment below, and enter a judgment of acquittal or order a new trial as the Court may deem best advised,” they wrote.

Most of the counties participating in the amicus brief are rural, who have had long-running battles with the federal government over roads.

Lyman is appealing his conviction on a misdemeanor charge for the 2014 protest ride through an area closed off by the federal government. He is acting as his own lawyer at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Read the filing here: