Doctor A. W. Benton of Chenango County, whom Joseph Knight called a "catspaw" of a group of vagabonds, brought charges against Joseph as a disorderly person. On June 28, he was carried off to court in South Bainbridge by constable Ebenezar Hatch, trailed by a mob of community, and he was often spoken of as a young man of intelligence, and good morals." . . . The hearing dragged on until night, when Justice Chamberlain, whom Reed considered a man of "discernment," acquitted Joseph.