There were so many cliffhangers in the recent open rescue trial in Utah. The mistrial that was nearly declared on the first day, due to the court’s failure to provide us information about jurors. The decision to close our case, despite not calling all of our witnesses, because of a strategic error I had made in failing to prep one of our witnesses. And the gamble to move forward with submitting the trial to a jury, even when the court agreed that there was a fundamental miscarraige of justice – the state’s efforts to paint Smithfield in a rosy light, while denying us the ability to show evidence of animal cruelty – on the last day.

Jeremy Beckham, a long-time activist who has sued the government around a dozen times – and won every case – is the perfect person to break it down with me. The trial, which was described by the judge as the greatest in the history of St. George, had so many wrinkles to it that those who were watching from Zoom just would not pick up. Thankfully, Jeremy was sitting in the gallery, one of the small number of people allowed into the courtroom, all the way through trial. There are a lot of lessons we can learn from the trial about social change, the law, and even human psychology. This conversation will help us start to draw them out.

The New York Times - Animal Rights Activists Are Acquitted in Smithfield Piglet Case

The Intercept - ACTIVISTS ACQUITTED IN TRIAL FOR TAKING PIGLETS FROM SMITHFIELD FOODS

The Salt Lake Tribune - Animal rights activists found not guilty on all charges after two piglets were taken from Circle Four Farms in Utah

Jeremy Beckahm’s animal rights organization - Utah Animal Rights Coalition (UARC)