Trial delay decision expected today
Wednesday was to mark the final hearing before a Monday, Nov. 8, trial for an Evergreen teenager charged with two counts of deliberate homicide.
Instead, attorneys for 17-year-old Justine Winter asked District Judge Katherine Curtis for a continuance that would postpone the start of the trial.
Flathead County Deputy Attorney Lori Adams said prosecutors would agree to the delay, assuming Winter waives her right to a speedy trial.
If approved by Curtis, the continuance would mark the second delay for the trial, which originally was slated to begin the first week in September.
Winter was charged with two counts of homicide after a March 19, 2009, collision that killed pregnant Columbia Falls woman Erin Thompson and her 13-year-old son Caden Vincent Odell.
Prosecutors allege that Winter, who was 16 at the time, intentionally crossed the centerline in a construction zone on U.S. 93 in an attempt to commit suicide. According to court documents, Winter was engaged just before the collision in a text-message argument with her boyfriend that referred to suicide and crashing her car.
Citing the testimony of forensic linguists asked to examine the text messages, Winter’s attorneys David Stufft and Maxwell Battle claim she was not suicidal at the time.
Battle said Wednesday that he and Stufft need additional time to interview potential witnesses in the case, including forensic linguist Dr. Lorna Fadden. Originally retained by prosecutors, Fadden concluded in her report dated Oct. 8 that “the text messages are not consistent with generally accepted characteristics of suicide notes.”
Fadden’s determination was similar to that of fellow forensic linguist Robert Leonard, who was retained by Winter and testified in a July transfer hearing that the messages were not indicative of someone who wished to commit suicide.
Battle indicated Wednesday that he would like to interview Fadden in her home province of British Columbia.
“I fear that in trying to push this case through to start next week, we are trampling all over justice,” Battle said.
Curtis said she finds it hard to believe that Winter’s attorneys could not complete needed depositions in time for jury selection on Monday, and she said many of the interviews could be conducted during the trial but prior the testimony of the witnesses in question.
Battle said Winter’s legal team would need time to interview several first responders and medical witnesses, transcribe the interviews and analyze them.
Battle said Winter would have been ready for trial in September, but prosecutors have produced new evidence and possible testimony since then.
“I’m not trying to be difficult and I’m not asking for a delay for the sake of asking for a delay,” Battle said.
Curtis is likely to rule quickly on the request. She asked Battle to submit a proposed order by 5 p.m. Wednesday, and indicated she would make a decision today.
If a continuance is granted, Curtis said she would be unable to predict when the trial would take place due to the difficulty of finding a two-week period during which the trial could be held in District Court.
On Monday, Curtis made an initial ruling against a request by Stufft to move the trial out of Northwest Montana due to negative publicity. She decided that the trial will stay in Flathead County if a jury can be seated.
Curtis hasn’t ruled on a separate request to move the trial to Flathead County Youth Court.
Winter faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of deliberate homicide.
Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.