A bovine controversy in Niagara County that made national headlines will have its day in court, but not without major restrictions.

Back in July 2022, Asha’s Farm Sanctuary owner Tracy Murphy says two cows wandered onto her farm.

Neighbor Scott Gregson, a farmer and New York state trooper, had two similar cows go missing.

Murphy says Gregson asked her to return them, but she says he did not prove ownership and refused.

The cows were then seized by law enforcement and Murphy was charged with third-degree grand larceny, which has been downgraded to misdemeanor petit larceny. It carries up to one year in jail.

At a pre-trial hearing, the judge ruled the prosecution could not mention the cows in witness testimony or picture evidence. 

When the cows were seized, the warrant said they should be taken to the court as evidence. Instead, they were returned to Gregson and allegedly sold a month later. The defense never got to inspect them for issues regarding ownership.

They also brought up concerns about a supervisor in the case being Gregson’s brother-in-law, and deleted texts between Gregson and an SPCA officer.

Both the defense and prosecution were asked by the judge not to talk to media after the hearing Wednesday, but Spectrum News 1 spoke to Tracey’s lawyer ahead of the hearing about their mindset going in to trial.

“This is somebody who's facing criminal charges who feels very strongly that everything they did was correct and right, and we're proceeding that way,” said Louis Mussari, Murphy’s attorney. “This is in no attempt to use the court system to do anything unsavory or anything like that. This is somebody who wants to assert their defense and have their day in court."

Jury selection is scheduled to start Thursday.