FARMINGTON — A New Sharon woman, convicted on a contempt of court charge on Nov. 16 for violating a 2010 order banning her from having animals, had her sentencing hearing continued Tuesday to Friday.
Carol Murphy, 72, told Justice William Stokes, again, that the first case in 2004, which ended in 2005 with a jury finding her guilty of cruelty to animals, was void because there was no search warrant. It led to a chain of void cases, she said, that included a conviction of cruelty to animals in 2010 and a contempt of court conviction on Nov. 16.
Murphy has already appealed the recent conviction to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court. Once sentenced, Stokes said, he would give her a stay of execution until the appeal is decided.
Juries in all three trials rendered guilty verdicts against Murphy in 30 minutes.
Neighbors complained to Maine Animal Welfare agents in 2014 that Murphy had animals. She was charged with a contempt of court violation after Maine Animal Welfare agents and state and county law enforcement executed a warrant and seized 14 animals from her property on Oct. 1, 2014. The contempt conviction carries a penalty of up to 364 days in jail.
Attorney Margot Joly, who assisted Murphy in her contempt case, told Stokes on Tuesday that Murphy has a transcript from her 2005 jury trial presided over by Justice Joseph Jabar that started a chain of events.
Murphy said there was no warrant in the case that began in 2004 when the doors of her home were broken down, and a $10,000 horse was killed and dozens of animals seized from her home.
She said it violated the Constitution.
“They can’t do it, but they did,” she said.
“Carol Murphy has a very passionate argument of what has happened over time,” Joly said.
Stokes said he would read the transcripts from both the 2004-05 and 2009-10 cases. The latter case was presided over by Justice Michaela Murphy.
Stokes said he wanted to make sure Carol Murphy has adequate time to present her case.
“I know the state is not pleased about this, but I want to give (Murphy) ample opportunity,” Justice Stokes told Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins.
Sentencing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 2, at Franklin County Superior Court.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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