SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge has rejected a request for a new trial and an acquittal for San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman, convicted of his role in organizing a protest ride over closed roads in Recapture Canyon.
In an order issued Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer rejected Lyman and co-defendant Monte Wells’ claims that new evidence was discovered that the federal government failed to disclose. Nuffer said the evidence would not be admissible.
The judge also rejected a request for a new trial based on Utah’s notice that it intended to sue over road claims in rural areas. Again, Judge Nuffer ruled it inadmissible.
Read the judge’s ruling here:
In a separate order, the judge rejected Lyman’s motion for an acquittal.
Lyman and Wells were convicted for their roles in last year’s protest ride in Recapture Canyon, where a number of demonstrators on ATVs road through an area to call attention to federal road closures. Lyman faces sentencing on Dec. 18.
