Judge Throws Out Conviction Of Woman Who Laughed At Jeff Sessions

Enlarge this image toggle caption Jose Luis Magana/AP Jose Luis Magana/AP

Instead of sentencing a woman to jail time for laughing during Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearing, a D.C. judge threw out the woman's conviction and called for a new trial.

Desiree Fairooz says her laughter during the attorney general's confirmation hearing in January was involuntary. (She was reacting to an assertion that Sessions treats all Americans equally.) Fairooz, who is an activist with the Code Pink organization, then protested as she was physically removed from the hearing. In May, she was convicted by a jury of disorderly, disruptive conduct and obstructing passage on U.S. Capitol grounds.

The charges carried up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000. Two other protesters at Sessions' hearing faced similar charges.

But on Friday, the D.C. Superior Court judge overseeing Fairooz's sentencing called for a new trial instead.

Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post reports that Chief Judge Robert Morin decided that the government improperly argued that Fairooz's laugh alone — not her reaction to being removed from the courtroom — would be enough to find her guilty. Reilly reports:

"Morin said it was 'disconcerting' that the government made the case in closing arguments that the laughter in and of itself was sufficient. " 'The court is concerned about the government's theory,' Morin said. He said the laughter 'would not be sufficient' to submit the case to the jury, and said the government hadn't made clear before the trial that it intended to make that argument."

According to D.C. court records, a hearing date has been set for Sept. 1.

Back in May, member station WAMU reported on the Jan. 10 exchange that led to the charges against Fairooz: