NEW SCOTLAND — A jury trial here is scheduled in July for Marcia Pangburn, arrested in Berne last summer for resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

As she sat in the gallery with her mother, awaiting her turn before Judge David Wukitsch in New Scotland Town Court on May 7, Pangburn expressed frustration with how long she had made court appearances, almost monthly, since she was arrested in July of 2014. (Her mother, Lora Ricketts, volunteers a weekly column for The Enterprise on Thompsons Lake.)

Until now, the case had been heard in Berne Town Court, where a hearing was held on the evidence. It was transferred to New Scotland by Albany County Court Judge Peter Lynch after the judges in Berne recused themselves although Pangburn’s attorney protested that she wouldn’t have a jury of her peers.

Judge Alan Zuk wanted to avoid the appearance of impropriety, having heard from community members about the case, and Judge Albert Raymond wanted to “insure the appearance of fairness,” according to Lynch’s written decision.

Pangburn’s trial is set for July 7 and 8. The assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, Brittany Grome, plans to have two witnesses, Renée Merges, the assistant district attorney in New Scotland’s court, reported to the judge.

Pangburn was arrested in the Thompsons Lake Rural Cemetery, where she had been crying next to the graves of her relatives early in the morning. Two Albany County Sheriff’s deputies were on hand as Pangburn was taken through field sobriety tests. Eventually, she tried to walk home, a short distance away, and they arrested her for two misdemeanors.

She had been offered a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, and, at one point, to have the case adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, but denied them, saying she did nothing wrong. She told The Enterprise she paid for her attorney on a loan and said before her appearance in New Scotland that she was between jobs as an X-ray technician.

— Marcello Iaia