Shorewood Attorney Convicted After Teen Spat On At 2020 Protest

MILWAUKEE, WI — The Shorewood attorney who was arrested twice after a 2020 protest where police said she spat on a Black teen was convicted Wednesday of a misdemeanor, according to court records.

Stephanie Rapkin, 67, had pleaded not guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct in July 2020. Still, after a three-day trial that began Monday, a jury found her guilty, according to online court records. Rapkin had earlier faced a hate crime modifier on the disorderly conduct charge, but the judge removed it in July 2021, records said.

The two charges came in the summer of 2020. Then 64, Rapkin was arrested twice within 24 hours in early June, police said at the time; the first time after video captured her spitting on a Black teen at a protest on Oakland Avenue, and the other after police said she kneed an officer.

At trial, Rapkin's attorneys argued for self-defense, while Assistant District Attorney Jim Griffin argued she had other options like walking somewhere else or to not spit altogether, according to a report by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Shorewood High School student who was spat on, Eric Lucas, told reporters in the aftermath he was disappointed, "mentally and physically shaken." Court records show an ongoing civil case from Lucas against Rapkin.

When a defense attorney asked Lucas about seeking damages against Rapkin in his pending civil suit, Lucas in-part replied, "If she was terrified, she wouldn't be walking towards us," according to a report by FOX6 Now.

Rapkin told the court at trial she was driving home when she encountered the march, and she tried to get her car out carefully amid yelling, but "freaked out," got out of the car, and felt unsafe immediately, according to the FOX6 report.

Rapkin is expected back in court in May for a sentencing hearing. Later on this year, she is also scheduled to face a jury trial in connection with a felony charge of battery or threat to an officer, court records said.

See also:

Judge Denies Change of Venue For Shorewood Spitter Trial

Shorewood Attorney Charged With Hate Crime Tried To Change Name

Attorney Spits In Black Protester's Face; Arrested Twice: Cops

Shorewood Teen Speaks Out Following Spitting Incident

Stephanie Rapkin Wants Hate Crime Charge Dropped

Shorewood Attorney Accused Of Spitting On Teen Wants To Apologize