Cole was arraigned in General District Court Wednesday Morning.
A trial date of July 1 has been set for Spotsylvania School Board Vice Chair Nicole Cole, who is accused of misdemeanor assault and battery by fellow School Board member Lisa Phelps.
Cole was in Spotsylvania General District Court Wednesday morning for the arraignment. She is being represented by attorney Charlie King, who was also present Wednesday.
King’s costs are being covered by the School Board’s insurance company. Cole said the division’s interim superintendent Kelly Guempel supported filing for the insurance coverage.
King told Judge Richard McGrath on Wednesday that he expects to call about six witnesses for Cole, including School Board member Carol Medawar and division counsel Micah Schwartz.
Phelps was not present in court on Wednesday. A lawyer from the Commonwealth Attorney’s office told McGrath that the Commonwealth would not be involved in her case.
The alleged assault occurred during a closed session at the May 20, 2024, School Board meeting.
All seven board members were present at the meeting and attended the closed session.
McGrath initially suggested a trial date of August 1, and the case would have been heard by a visiting judge. But the August 1 date did not work for at least one witness, King said.
McGrath was the presiding judge at the April 23 hearing on assault charges brought by former Riverbend High School principal Xavier Downs against Cory Ellis, the parent of a student on the varsity swim team.
The judge dismissed that case, calling it “ridiculous” and chastising both parties for being unable to have “civil discourse.”
“We ought to be able to forgive each other,” he said.
At least one person who was present at the hearing filed a judicial complaint against McGrath.
At the hearing, McGrath asked the witness called for Ellis to be sworn in and state his name, but he did not make the same requirement of the witness called for Downs.
That witness was identified by other swim parents in attendance as the parent who was upset over a new coaching model introduced by the swim team coaches that precipitated the December 20, 2023, meeting at Riverbend High School that led to Downs being placed on administrative leave and at which Downs claimed, one month later, that Ellis had assaulted him.
