In August 2009, District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Harold Cushenberry Jr. acquitted Mary Carrick of a single charge of simple assault.
One week after the acquittal, the case was back before Cushenberry. The man who had accused Carrick of assault, Michael Snow, wanted the judge to declare a mistrial. In a twist, the request hadn’t been filed by the prosecuting attorney. Snow’s private attorney, Washington solo practitioner Stephen Yelverton, was leading the charge, arguing that he had new evidence against Carrick.