https://archive.triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/judge-denies-witness-chance-to-view-eclipse/
Judge denies witness chance to view eclipse
Ashley Ann Sander, left, and Alexandra Dowling hawk solar eclipse glasses for $10 a pair on the side of the road to tourists approaching Clayton, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Clayton is in the path of totality in North Georgia.
TAMPA, Fla. — A federal judge in Florida ruled a trial couldn't be postponed just because one of the key witnesses — a federal agent — had travel plans to see the solar eclipse.
In a three-page ruling issued Friday, Judge Steven Merryday denied the motion filed by an assistant U.S. attorney.
Prosecutors wanted Monday's trial postponed because an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent had booked a trip to see the eclipse on a day when defendant Joseph Bishop was to stand trial for unlawfully transporting firearms.
Merryday called it a “cruel fate” that allowed the trial and the eclipse to happen on the same day.
He quoted from singer Carly Simon's “You're So Vain,” which contains a line about flying to witness an eclipse.
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