Posted on Thu, Aug. 07, 2003
Strict faith is no defense
Breast-feeding driver loses bid to have husband be her substitute in trial
By Ed Meyer Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - At best, the misdemeanor trial of 29-year-old Catherine Nicole Donkers is likely to go down in history as a little out of the ordinary.
It began in a packed courtroom Wednesday morning when Portage County Municipal Judge Donald H. Martell ruled that the woman's husband, Brad L. Barnhill, 46, cannot act as her lawyer or substitute for her as the defendant in the case.
Donkers, who was arrested May 8 after she admitted breast-feeding her infant daughter while driving on the Ohio Turnpike, had cited the couple's religious beliefs in trying to convince the judge that only her husband could answer for her public acts.
But Martell put a quick end to that, telling Donkers: ``You're representing your interests, and if you're found guilty of any charges... it will be you that will be subject to the punishment of the court, not your husband.''
And with that, the daylong proceedings began in a case that has drawn attention from radio and television talk shows and newspapers throughout the United States and Canada.
Donkers, with Barnhill whispering instructions to her from the first row of the gallery as Martell entered the courtroom, was charged with misdemeanor counts of child endangering, driving without a license, failure to comply with the order of a police officer and other driving infractions.
She will stand trial before the judge alone, defending herself, and it could drag on for the rest of the week, Martell said.
After Donkers refused to accept a court-appointed public defender as her defense counsel, trying to introduce an edition of the Jerusalem Bible as her first piece of evidence, Assistant Portage County Prosecutor Sean P. Scahill opened the state's case by announcing his list of witnesses.
Donkers countered by announcing her own witnesses, one of which, she argued, should be the state of Ohio.
``I'm not sure we have room in the hallway,'' the judge replied, citing the need to keep witnesses outside the courtroom until they are called to testify.
The judge asked Barnhill to leave the courtroom, reminding him that he was also on his wife's potential witness list.
It was that kind of day, a day in which the prosecutor made it through only two witnesses.
The judge allowed public defender John P. Laczko to stay at the defense table, although Donkers refused his help. Laczko said little, though, and mostly shook his head at what he heard.
Trucker testifies
Truck driver George W. Barrett of Syracuse, N.Y., who called 911 to report the incident, testified that he just happened to look out the window of his truck when he saw Donkers driving with a child in her lap.
``I could not believe what I saw,'' Barrett said.
As Barrett began to follow Donkers, he said he made contact with another truck driver on his citizens band radio -- and ``he couldn't believe it either.''
According to testimony, State Highway Patrol trooper Adam M. Doles then followed Donkers' maroon Chrysler Sebring convertible for three miles before she finally pulled into a toll area.
Before that, Doles said, he had clocked Donkers at 68 mph on his radar unit, 3 mph over the interstate limit.
Audio and videotapes from the trooper's patrol car, played in their entirety and lasting nearly two hours, showed that the entire incident could have been over in minutes if Donkers had simply stopped.
Doles said he used his overhead lights, turned on his siren at least three times and even ordered Donkers to stop over his car loudspeaker, but she drove on before finally stopping in front of a toll booth.
Trooper on tape
When Doles approached the Sebring, according to the tapes, he told Donkers she would have been free to leave after simply accepting a ticket for violating the state's child-restraint law.
But Donkers refused to turn over her driver's license or even turn off the car, Doles said, so he had no choice but to call his supervisor to the scene.
More than an hour later, Donkers and her baby daughter were finally in the back of the trooper's car on the way to the patrol post in Hiram.
She was later held at the Portage County Jail, according to testimony, while her husband drove from Pittsburgh to pick up the baby.
Donkers, meanwhile, argues in court papers that she is a resident of Michigan, which has an exception to its child-restraint law if the baby is being nursed.
Barnhill has filed reams of court documents in the case, citing the family's membership in The First Christian Fellowship for Eternal Sovereignty, which opposes many federal laws and government agencies. He has threatened to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The second day of testimony is scheduled to begin at 9 this morning.
If convicted of the highest misdemeanor charge of child endangering, Donkers could face a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Strict faith is no defense
Breast-feeding driver loses bid to have husband be her substitute in trial
By Ed Meyer Beacon Journal staff writer
RAVENNA - At best, the misdemeanor trial of 29-year-old Catherine Nicole Donkers is likely to go down in history as a little out of the ordinary.
It began in a packed courtroom Wednesday morning when Portage County Municipal Judge Donald H. Martell ruled that the woman's husband, Brad L. Barnhill, 46, cannot act as her lawyer or substitute for her as the defendant in the case.
Donkers, who was arrested May 8 after she admitted breast-feeding her infant daughter while driving on the Ohio Turnpike, had cited the couple's religious beliefs in trying to convince the judge that only her husband could answer for her public acts.
But Martell put a quick end to that, telling Donkers: ``You're representing your interests, and if you're found guilty of any charges... it will be you that will be subject to the punishment of the court, not your husband.''
And with that, the daylong proceedings began in a case that has drawn attention from radio and television talk shows and newspapers throughout the United States and Canada.
Donkers, with Barnhill whispering instructions to her from the first row of the gallery as Martell entered the courtroom, was charged with misdemeanor counts of child endangering, driving without a license, failure to comply with the order of a police officer and other driving infractions.
She will stand trial before the judge alone, defending herself, and it could drag on for the rest of the week, Martell said.
After Donkers refused to accept a court-appointed public defender as her defense counsel, trying to introduce an edition of the Jerusalem Bible as her first piece of evidence, Assistant Portage County Prosecutor Sean P. Scahill opened the state's case by announcing his list of witnesses.
Donkers countered by announcing her own witnesses, one of which, she argued, should be the state of Ohio.
``I'm not sure we have room in the hallway,'' the judge replied, citing the need to keep witnesses outside the courtroom until they are called to testify.
The judge asked Barnhill to leave the courtroom, reminding him that he was also on his wife's potential witness list.
It was that kind of day, a day in which the prosecutor made it through only two witnesses.
The judge allowed public defender John P. Laczko to stay at the defense table, although Donkers refused his help. Laczko said little, though, and mostly shook his head at what he heard.
Trucker testifies
Truck driver George W. Barrett of Syracuse, N.Y., who called 911 to report the incident, testified that he just happened to look out the window of his truck when he saw Donkers driving with a child in her lap.
``I could not believe what I saw,'' Barrett said.
As Barrett began to follow Donkers, he said he made contact with another truck driver on his citizens band radio -- and ``he couldn't believe it either.''
According to testimony, State Highway Patrol trooper Adam M. Doles then followed Donkers' maroon Chrysler Sebring convertible for three miles before she finally pulled into a toll area.
Before that, Doles said, he had clocked Donkers at 68 mph on his radar unit, 3 mph over the interstate limit.
Audio and videotapes from the trooper's patrol car, played in their entirety and lasting nearly two hours, showed that the entire incident could have been over in minutes if Donkers had simply stopped.
Doles said he used his overhead lights, turned on his siren at least three times and even ordered Donkers to stop over his car loudspeaker, but she drove on before finally stopping in front of a toll booth.
Trooper on tape
When Doles approached the Sebring, according to the tapes, he told Donkers she would have been free to leave after simply accepting a ticket for violating the state's child-restraint law.
But Donkers refused to turn over her driver's license or even turn off the car, Doles said, so he had no choice but to call his supervisor to the scene.
More than an hour later, Donkers and her baby daughter were finally in the back of the trooper's car on the way to the patrol post in Hiram.
She was later held at the Portage County Jail, according to testimony, while her husband drove from Pittsburgh to pick up the baby.
Donkers, meanwhile, argues in court papers that she is a resident of Michigan, which has an exception to its child-restraint law if the baby is being nursed.
Barnhill has filed reams of court documents in the case, citing the family's membership in The First Christian Fellowship for Eternal Sovereignty, which opposes many federal laws and government agencies. He has threatened to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The second day of testimony is scheduled to begin at 9 this morning.
If convicted of the highest misdemeanor charge of child endangering, Donkers could face a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
: freaks.
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