A judge has thrown out one of the two charges against the first black student tried for beating up a white student at Jena High School, saying juveniles cannot be charged with conspiracy in adult court.

But Judge J.P. Mauffray Jr. rejected arguments that, for the same reason, he should throw out the aggravated second-degree battery charge on which Mychal Bell also was convicted. The judge’s decision means Bell will face at most 15 years in prison rather than 22 1/2 when he is sentenced Sept. 20. Bell, the first of the students known as the “Jena Six” to go on trial, was 16 when he was charged with attempted murder of the white student, Justin Barker.
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