Recapture protest sentencing delayed again after attorneys question the impartiality of judge

Sentencing may be delayed yet again for two San Juan County residents convicted of organizing and participating in the Recapture Canyon protest in 2014.
Attorneys representing San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman filed a motion in federal court on July 20 stating that “a reasonable person might reasonably question the court’s impartiality.”
They ask that Federal Judge Robert J Shelby, who oversaw the jury trial and is scheduled to sentence the men on September 15, be removed from the case.
On July 21, Judge Shelby requested that Chief Judge Nuffer refer the motion to another district judge for resolution. All other matters in the case are stayed until the motion is resolved.
Commissioner Lyman and Monticello resident Monte Wells were convicted of two federal misdemeanor counts of organizing and participating in the May 10, 2014 protest. The protest was held to oppose the ongoing closure of portions of Recapture Canyon to motorized vehicles. The closure was instituted in 2007 by the Bureau of Land Management and continues to be in effect.
Lyman and Wells were convicted on May 1, 2015 after a four-day trial. Sentencing was originally scheduled for July 15, 2015. After Lyman secured new legal counsel, the sentencing was delayed until September 15.
Both men face up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine for each count. According to the motion, Lyman may also face damage penalties of $172,302.70.
In a separate case regarding road issues in Kane County, which was held after the May, 2015 trial of Lyman and Monticello resident Monte Wells, Shelby disclosed that he and his wife have a personal friendship with Steve Bloch, the head legal counsel for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA).
At the time, Judge Shelby said he will not hear any cases in which Bloch appears but has not recused himself from matters involving SUWA in general.
The prosecution of Lyman and Wells was handled as a criminal matter by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. SUWA was not a party in the prosecution. However, according to the motion, Bloch and others at SUWA have been “actively involved in the prosecution.”
Bloch attended the trial and SUWA has filed letters to the court advocating a stiff sentence for Lyman.