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Eye On Boise

Judge: ‘I respect your courage in doing what you did’

Former state Sen. Nicole LeFavour, Idaho's first openly gay lawmaker, addresses District Judge Michael Oths in the Ada County Courthouse during sentencing for her Add the 4 Words Idaho protest arrest earlier this year, on Monday, July 21, 2014. LeFavour and 22 other defendants pled guilty and were given community service and a fine. (AP/Idaho Statesman / Kyle Green)
Former state Sen. Nicole LeFavour, Idaho's first openly gay lawmaker, addresses District Judge Michael Oths in the Ada County Courthouse during sentencing for her Add the 4 Words Idaho protest arrest earlier this year, on Monday, July 21, 2014. LeFavour and 22 other defendants pled guilty and were given community service and a fine. (AP/Idaho Statesman / Kyle Green)

The “Add the 4 Words” sentencing hearing has finally wrapped up at nearly 5:45 p.m. Boise time. Judge Michael Oths thanked all those involved – the lawyers, the defendants, the clerks, the marshals, “everybody.” He said, “Everybody’s been respectful of one another today,” adding to titters, “which really is all you’re asking for in the first place. And so I appreciate that.”

He thanked the defendants for sharing their stories. “I respect your courage in doing what you did,” the judge said. “It does take some guts to stand up in civil disobedience and take the penalty, and I respect that.” You can read my full story here at spokesman.com.



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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