This is how the Trial went

Charlottesville Circuit Court

This is how the Trial went is an account from two CWCki Forums users, Cyan and Indigo, on what happened during the 10 July 2012 arraignment of Chris and Barb in regards to the 28 October 2011 charges. The text presented here is as it was posted on the CWCki Forums on 10 July, with slight modifications for wiki styling and linking.

Some of Cyan and Indigo's commentary regarding legal terminology is inaccurate. A trial did not occur as Chris and Barb had made plea bargains which the court accepted. Chris did not technically plead guilty - he made an Alford plea, a type of guilty plea in which a defendant simultaneously claims innocence but acknowledges that the evidence may result in a conviction.

Cyan's account

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Indigo's account

As Cyan writes the master post, I will type this out: my account of what occurred. We felt that both of us should describe it, as we both noticed different details just as we noticed the same ones. When put together, both of our stories should give you a fairly clear image of the trial. Initial Observations Our dear CWC looked absolutely miserable to be there, his face set in an almost cartoonish pout. He was only sporting some of his now-signature Tomgirl look: the hair and make-up (restricted to light lipstick and eyeshadow) were present, but the clothes he sported were slacks and an unremarkable flannel shirt. I would probably be right in guessing that his subdued physical appearance was at the insistence of his lawyer. Barbara looked as though she had lost significant weight, and another older woman was with them. ((It's been confirmed that she's Rocky.)) The Pleas This may surprise you, but Barbara and Chris did the smart thing for once and pleaded guilty . . . ah, but that's not quite all. Their lawyer explained that while they were choosing this course of action, they maintain that their version of events (their TRUE and HONEST account of what occurred between themselves and Mr. Snyder) is the accurate story. In other words: "we're guilty but not really lol." The judge has the option of denying this type of plea-bargaining based on what occurs next. Keep this in mind. Barbara's Turn This portion was mostly unworthy of note, aside from Barbara nearly getting uppity at the start. She calmed down pretty quickly, though, and conducted herself rather politely through the judge's questions. Meanwhile, Chris was busy completely disassociating himself from the situation. He fiddled around with his sunglasses (making a few noises when they collided with the table every now and then), played with his ring, and didn't seem like he was paying much attention to dialogue he probably ought to be listening to. Chris's Turn Before Chris had his turn to speak, their lawyer stepped in to provide context to Chris's situation. It's all stuff we've heard before, though there were a couple of quotes worth noting: He used "high-functioning autistic" to describe Chris, most likely at Chris's request. This is no longer used as any sort of technical term, so it sounded rather silly coming from a professional lawyer. Not long afterward, he goes on to describe Chris as an "adult autistic child." This drew a notable reaction out of Chris. He went so far as to change his facial expression from severe pouting to as close to outrage as he dared show; he nearly interrupted his lawyer, but must have thought better of it and quieted whatever he was going to say into an intelligible mumble. Finally, it was Chris's turn to answer the routine questions given by the clerk and the judge. Chris, due to not paying attention earlier, asked if his lawyer could answer on his behalf. He was met with a reminder that no, in fact, you have to answer these questions all by yourself. Perish the thought. After the clerk finished her segment, Chris had the gall to interrupt the judge just as he was getting started with his round of questioning. Despite the rough start, Chris got the hint and kept his responses to "yes" and "no" and did fairly well answering them quickly . . . that is, until he was asked if he had pled guilty completely of his own free will. There was a LONG pause before he finally remembered that the "correct" answer was yes. Looks like he needed more rehearsal time to me. Oh, and that's not all! Things got interesting when Mr. Snyder was brought up . . . Chris was asked something along the lines of, "do you understand that, by pleading guilty, you MUST pay the agreed amount to Mr. Snyder in damages?" Chris confirmed that he understood . . . and then went on to say that, in HIS opinion, "that thieving liar doesn't deserve a red cent!" Oh, yes, folks, I kid you not: our beloved Mayor of CWCville committed public slander in a COURT OF LAW. I expected a harsh reprimand for such egregiously bad behavior (or, perhaps, even for his plea bargain to be denied) but alas, the judge pretty much let it go and continued on. Welp, another free pass for Chris, brought to you by The Autism Card! The Aftermath The rest is pretty straight forward: the prosecutor, defense lawyer, and judge discuss the conditions that Barbara and Chris must comply with, whilst Chris gives an exaggerated, disapproving shake of his head whenever Mr. Snyder is brought up. At one point, the lawyer suggests that Chris could start giving back to the community in an effort to reintegrate himself into society. The look on Chris's face is priceless. ((That's pretty much it. We couldn't obtain transcripts, as they don't provide them on the day of a trial if the trial in question is not a major trial or an appeal. If you want to obtain your own copies, you'll have to send in a request to the Circuit Court of Charlottesville and pay a fee.)) Chris's confirmation On a 11 July 2012 Facebook note, Chris confirmed their account: Wednesday July 11, 2012 Yep, the trolls know most of what went on in the court room yesterday; it is confirmed that two of them were in there, going by the online names of "Cyan" and "Indigo". Rob recognized them both, and informed them that their trolling stupid presence is noted and known. I have also found their transcribed, personal reports on the Cwcki Forum, and they have a 23 second video on YouTube of them driving by the courthouse and holding up the day's "New York Times" paper, titled "CyanIndigo", same as their account name. And they quoted me in calling Snyder "thieving and lying"; I had actually said "Bribing and lying". Anyway, we ALL know of them, and they will be brought in regardless of currently being in Or outside of Virginia or even the United States of America. While Cyan and Indigo confirmed that Bell did indeed confront them during the course of the trial, it should be noted that their only actions were to attend a court session that was open to the public and then report on the proceedings, neither of which are illegal. Footnotes As thanks for Rob's defense succeeding in keeping both him and his mother out of jail (which could have been devastating consequences for Chris in the long run), Chris called him a "wuss" on Facebook, either out of his anger for being called an "adult autistic child" in court (keep in mind that earlier on, Chris committed public slander), or for not entertaining Chris's bullshit when the latter demanded that the trolls who attended his court case be found and locked up.