Winter seeking new trial

An attorney for Justine Winter is asking that a new trial be held for the Evergreen teen convicted of two counts of deliberate homicide for a 2009 car crash that killed a Columbia Falls woman and her son.

David Stufft submitted his request March 4 alleging that Winter’s rights of due process were violated, that prosecutors improperly changed their theory of events during trial and that District Judge Katherine Curtis treated Winter’s defense attorneys differently than she did prosecutors.

The Kalispell attorney also claims that a juror had improper contact with a member of Winter’s family during the trial, that a new witness has come forward and that the jury was not properly instructed before delivering its Feb. 3 verdict.

“As a result of the irregularities in the proceedings by the court, the state and the jury, in the interest of justice the court should find Justine Winter not guilty or in the alternative grant [her] a new trial,” Stufft wrote in the filing.

Curtis has scheduled a hearing April 6 during which Winter’s attorneys and Flathead County Attorney’s Office prosecutors will be given a chance to provide arguments and evidence relative to Stufft’s request.

Winter, now 18, was 16 when she crossed the center of U.S. 93 north of Kalispell at a speed of about 85 miles per hour and collided with an oncoming vehicle driven by 35-year-old Erin Thompson on March 19, 2009.

Thompson, who was pregnant, died along with her 13-year-old son Caden Vincent Odell.

After a nine-day trial, a jury ultimately sided with prosecutors who alleged that Winter intentionally caused the collision after threatening to crash her car and commit suicide during a text-message exchange with her former boyfriend.

Stufft’s six-page request for a new trial accuses prosecutors of changing their theory of how the crash occurred between the time the charges were filed in 2009 and when the case went to trial in 2011.

County Attorney Ed Corrigan and Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams had characterized the crash as a botched suicide attempt. At trial, though, forensic linguist Lorna Fadden, called by prosecutors, said it was her opinion that the text messages were not suicidal in nature.

Stufft wrote that “Such a change by the state in its theory of the case is in violation of [Winter’s] federal and state constitutional rights of due process.”

“Ed Corrigan’s judicial admission during his closing argument that the defendant, Justine Ellen Winter, drove her car into the other lane with no thought to the consequences is inconsistent with a deliberate homicide conviction requiring a defendant to have the intent to cause harm to a victim and not just merely an intent to crash her car,” Stufft wrote.

Referring to Curtis’ demeanor as she presided over the trial, Stufft said she treated prosecutors and defense attorneys differently, seemingly favoring the Flathead County Attorney’s Office.

He wrote that she did so “both verbally, by telling defense counsel ‘speak’ as in talking to a dog, visually by shaking her head ‘no’ in a disapproving manner, while being polite and nice to the prosecution throughout the two-week trial.”

Stufft’s request also includes continued complaints directed at the testimony of Richard Poeppel, a Whitefish man who testified that he was among the first people at the scene of the crash.

Winter’s defense attorneys had sought to play a recording of Poeppel’s testimony to highlight a perceived contradiction of facts, but were barred from doing so, according to the filing.

Stufft also claims that a new eyewitness to the crash has come forward and was interviewed March 2. The new witness, Stufft wrote, discredits Poeppel testimony. Poeppel testified that Thompson had slowed and that Winter crossed into her lane.

In addition, Stufft also made the following claims: that jurors were not informed on the term ‘knowingly’ and should have been informed of the possible maximum and minimum sentences for deliberate homicide; that the defense was allowed one expert witness and prosecutors had several; that the prosecution called two expert witnesses out of order; that defense witnesses were questioned inappropriately; and that prosecutors discredited defense accident reconstructionist Scott Curry based on his past employment history while defense attorneys were barred from questioning Montana Highway Patrol troopers on past disciplinary measures.

In a supplementary motion filed March 7, Stufft alleged that Joe Golliher, who testified that information collected through Winter’s Pontiac Grand Am’s diagnostic unit was correct, has committed a misdemeanor by presenting himself as a licensed engineer.

The Flathead County Attorney’s Office has until Friday to respond to Stufft’s request.

Montana Code Annotated allows for a new trial if it is “required in the interest of justice.” Curtis will have the option of denying the request, granting a new trial, declaring Winter innocent or finding her guilty of a lesser charge.

Winter is scheduled to be sentenced April 12.

Each conviction carries a minimum penalty of 10 years  and a maximum of 100 years in Montana State Prison.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.