WOODLAND, CA – A jury trial in Yolo County Superior Court has been delayed for three years because, claims the defense, of the failure of the prosecution and police department to provide key witness details, raising concerns about due process and the accused’s right to a fair trial.
The accused is charged with multiple serious felonies, all of which appear to be involved in a child homicide case.
He has been in custody for three years awaiting trial, which is scheduled to take place in the middle of March, but the defense notes the prolonged delay has raised concerns about the right to a speedy trial.
Deputy Public Defenders Courtney Leavitt and Jose Gonzalez filed two motions to compel discovery, specifically a motion to compel discovery of the identity of a key exculpatory witness.
But, according to Deputy District Attorney Aimee McLeod, the prosecution does not have this information.
Despite taking a statement from the witness, the West Sacramento Police Department never recorded their name in the report, leaving the defense without crucial information that could impact the trial, explained the prosecution.
DDA McLeod told the court the only place to locate the name of this witness is the Juvenile Court in Sacramento, since the name is protected under the foster care system.
Judge Samuel McAdam offered to make a “procedural” call to a Juvenile Judge in Sacramento, in hopes of expediting a hearing to obtain the name of this witness.
The second motion to compel discovery regarded the list of witnesses from the prosecution, but DDA McLeod denied the request, stating the statute the deputy public defenders cited for this motion only required her to provide the contact list of the witnesses and added she had already provided this extensive list.
PD’s Leavitt and Gonzalez maintained the necessity of this list, and the speedy provision of the list in order to move the trial forward. Both the defense and judge agreed the case needed to proceed forward.
Judge McAdam then offered a staggered set of hearings to present the witness contact list from both the defense and prosecution. DDA McLeod objected to this, and Judge McAdam overruled.
McAdam decided to deny the motion to compel discovery without prejudice, and set the hearings for the contact lists to occur this week.
Matters were set for trial readiness conference/motion on March 5, and a five-week jury trial to commence on March 10, with the accused to remain in jail custody with no bail.
