Noland was bumped in the bathroom of a crowded, public area, in close quarters. Thinking nothing of it, he went to the sink to wash his hands. That’s when he realized the man who had bumped into him was angrily staring him down. Telling him in so many words to buzz off, he tried to go about his business, at which point he was confronted by the man and his friend, who followed, and interrogated our client. In an effort to stand up for himself during a scary encounter, he made a statement that the prosecutors argued was a threat to the man’s safety. The prosecutor also charged Noland with assault for the encounter in the bathroom.
We argued that the bump in the bathroom was accidental and the State had failed to show the act was intentional; we then argued that the man that pursued Noland was not in reasonable fear of him at all. If anything, the victim was Noland!
The jury agreed. After a 40 minute deliberation, we got a not guilty verdict on both counts.
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