Nope, he's sequestered as a witness, which means he's riding a bench outside the courtroom until he's called. She did forget to sequester the state of Ohio.
Woman on trial for breast-feeding while driving won't act without husband's consent
By KRISTEN GELINEAU
The Associated Press
8/6/03 6:48 PM
RAVENNA, Ohio (AP) -- A woman pulled over for breast-feeding her baby while driving on the Ohio Turnpike was shown on videotape at her trial Wednesday refusing to cooperate with troopers until she called her husband for permission.
Catherine Nicole Donkers, 29, also would not stand or speak as she defended herself in Portage County Municipal Court until her husband gave her permission from the first row of the audience.
The first day ended with Donkers finishing her questioning of the trooper. The trial was expected to continue Thursday.
Judge Donald Martell dismissed a request earlier Wednesday by Donkers' husband, Brad Lee Barnhill, to stand in for her at the trial.
"I don't see why I'm not in there," Barnhill said during a break. "I directed her to do everything she did that day ... Under our faith, she obeys me."
Barnhill requested that he be prosecuted on several misdemeanor charges because his religious belief is that he is the only one who can punish his wife.
Donkers cried as she watched the two-hour police cruiser video of Trooper Adam Doles following her for several miles with siren and lights going before she stopped at a toll booth.
Donkers said she did not pull over right away because she was looking for a safe place to stop. The tape showed Doles saying to Donkers, "You've got a baby in your lap. You know how unsafe that is?"
Donkers, still clutching her 7-month-old girl, refused to hand over her driver's license and get out of her car until calling her husband. Once he gave the OK, she turned over a homemade identification card.
The couple belongs to the First Christian Fellowship for Eternal Sovereignty, a religious group that has a history of challenging state laws.
The organization was founded in Henderson, Nev., in the 1990s. It pledges allegiance to Jesus Christ and at times takes a dim view of the federal government. Barnhill says he is a minister in the fellowship with 650 followers.
The judge appeared frustrated then amused by Donkers, who refused her appointed public defender. Donkers read a list of witnesses she planned to call, including Barnhill and her mother. Later she said she left a key witness off the list: the state of Ohio.
"I'm not sure we have room in the hallway," Martell said with a laugh.
The prosecution's first witness, truck driver George Barrett of Syracuse, N.Y., said he called 911 on May 8 to report seeing a woman driving with a baby on her lap.
"I could not believe what I saw," Barrett said.
Over repeated objections by prosecutors, Donkers suggested while questioning Barrett that he had broken the law by reporting her because he didn't know the details of Ohio's seat belt laws.
Donkers also questioned Barrett's memory, saying his testimony about the make of her car and license plate number were incorrect.
During a recess, Barrett said he was watching out for the baby.
"I've seen too many body bags. I've seen too many white sheets," he said.
Donkers is charged with misdemeanor counts of child endangering, failure to comply with the order of a police officer, driving without a license and several other driving infractions. She acknowledges breast-feeding while driving and says she did nothing wrong.
In court filings, the couple says neither has a Social Security number, they think it's wrong to be required to have driver's licenses and they do not have a marriage license, although they say they are husband and wife.
Barnhill said the couple was living temporarily in Pittsburgh for work, but Donkers was a resident of Michigan when arrested.
Michigan and Ohio require children under age 4 to be in child-restraint systems while traveling in cars, but Michigan excludes children being nursed.
Barnhill said Michigan's exclusion should mean Donkers was stopped improperly.
A conviction for misdemeanor child endangering carries maximum penalties of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.