Journalist Diane Bukowski, who was convicted in May of two felonies related to police obstruction, got one step closer to getting a her conviction overturned this morning when a judge granted her a new hearing of her case.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Michael Hathaway at first said he wasn’t sure if he could decide on the motion filed by the defense that asked for a new hearing because the prosecution had yet not responded.

But after speaking with Bukowski’s attorneys, Hathaway set Dec. 23 as the date for a preliminary hearing that may lead to overturn the journalist’s conviction.

“This is very significant in terms of the judge granting an evidentiary hearing,” Bukowski’s co-counsel John Royal told Michigan Messenger after the judge Hathaway made his decision.

Bukowski also seemed optimistic Friday morning. “The fact that he granted a motion without hearing from the prosecution is a good sign. He could’ve said ‘we’re gonna adjourn everything until the prosecution has an answer,’” she told Michigan Messenger.

Bukowski is a reporter for the progressive newspaper Michigan Citizen. She was arrested last year when she entered a crime scene secured by State troopers and began taking photos.

Last week former broadcast journalist and City Council President-elect Charles Pugh defended Bukowski by writing an affidavit on her behalf stating that it is common for journalists to cross police lines at crimes scenes. In the document Pugh admits that he has crossed police lines himself without prior permission at some of the 1,500 crime scenes he’s reported from.

Bukowski and her supporters believe the arrest is payback for her history of reporting police brutality and justice issues in Detroit and Wayne County that shed light on flaws and misconduct within the local law enforcement system.