Transfer hearing delayed yet again
A District Court judge has again rescheduled the hearing to determine whether an Evergreen teenager charged with the death of a mother and son in a highway crash will be tried as a juvenile or adult.
During a hearing Friday afternoon, prosecution and defense squared off to determine which evidence was essential for a transfer hearing to be held. It had been scheduled for Monday.
Prosecutors allege Justine Ellen Winter, who was 16 at the time, drove her car into oncoming U.S. 93 traffic in an apparent suicide attempt. She has been charged with two counts of deliberate homicide for the deaths of Erin Julie Thompson, 35, of Columbia Falls, and her son, Caden Vincent Odell, who were killed in the March 2009 crash.
Winter, a student at Glacier High School, has yet to be arraigned on the charges and has been under house arrest.
Flathead County District Court Judge Katherine Curtis rescheduled the transfer hearing for June 29 to allow more time for additional evidence to be examined. The hearing was originally set for Oct. 2, 2009.
“It is the court’s belief that the requirement to examine the nature of the offense as a component of where this case should be tried does involve, in fact, an examination of more than the nature of the offense charged,” ruled District Judge Katherine Curtis, adding, “I disagree with you, Mr. Corrigan, that none of these things are relevant to the transfer hearing. And so for that reason, I don’t feel I have any choice but to reschedule the transfer hearing.”
She was referring to additional evidence such as interviews, unofficial photos from the crime scene taken by emergency services personnel, video footage from patrol cars, e-mail correspondence between the Flathead County Attorney’s Office and potential expert witnesses, and Thompson’s blood sample and specific contents of her car, including her cell phone; an examination of which was deemed necessary by the defense before the hearing could take place.
Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan argued that the matter may not be transferred to Youth Court unless it is determined that a Youth Court proceeding will protect the community, the nature of the offense doesn’t warrant prosecution in District Court and that it would be in Winter’s best interests if she were prosecuted in Youth Court.
“The discovery that Mr. Battle is asking for has no relevance to those issues,” he said. “In my opinion, what they are doing is building their defense.” He said he imagines discovery will continue both before and after the transfer hearing as the case moves forward, and said that a number of items requested by the defense weren’t even available to the prosecution, or that the prosecution had only just received them.
Corrigan said turning over the requested items shouldn’t be a problem and that they were “striving to live up to expectations” with regards to discovery.
Defense attorney Max Battle argued the defense was “being deprived of the opportunity to attack [the prosecution’s] probable cause” by not turning over the evidence.
Curtis ruled that the evidence Battle listed should be turned over to the defense by the prosecution within the next seven calendar days and that any motions regarding the matter should be submitted by June 22 at 5 p.m.
If the case were prosecuted in youth court, Winter would face a maximum penalty of eight years, as opposed to the life sentence she could receive if tried as an adult.