McNiel appeals conviction
BENTONVILLE — A Pea Ridge man may get the jury trial he wants in his misdemeanor case.
Boyd McNiel was found guilty Jan. 28 of expired vehicle license and failure to appear in Pea Ridge Municipal Court. McNiel wanted a jury trial, but juries are not used in city courts.
“I’d like a jury trial,” McNiel said after being found guilty by Judge Ray Bunch.
McNiel was fined $55 for failure to register, $75 for court costs, for a total of $130, which he could have paid without going to court according to Jennifer Carney, deputy court clerk for Pea Ridge. He was also charged a warrant fee of $50 for the failure to appear warrant and a fine of $255 and court costs of $100, for a total of $405 for the failure to appear because McNiel did not appear for his original court date of Nov. 12.
“Sir, be quiet,” the judge told
McNiel at his original trial. “You’re not going to get a jury trial. You’re not entitled to a jury trial.”
McNiel appealed his case on Feb. 25 in Benton County Circuit Court.
“I Boyd McNiel respectfully request a jury of 12 members of my peers to appeal my wrongful conviction of my traffic violation,” McNeil wrote on his hand-written appeal turned in to Brenda DeShields, Benton County circuit clerk, along with a $150 check for the filing fee. The application included a copy of the traffic ticket and court paperwork from Pea Ridge Court.
The appeal was assigned to Circuit Judge Robin Green.
McNiel’s first circuit court appearance is set for 8 a.m. April 24.
The judge has not yet scheduled a date for McNiel’s first court appearance. McNiel can have a jury trial in circuit court for the appeal.
During his original trial in Pea Ridge, McNiel, prefaced most of his statements and interruptions with “With all due respect,” and admitted he was guilty of the traffic violation, but contested the charge because the officer mistakenly checked the wrong box on the ticket for the violation.
McNiel ran for mayor in 2010, receiving 76 votes, and City Council in 2006, receiving 146 votes.