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Monday, January 05, 2009

Ind. Courts - "Could 2009 bring a third Camm trial?"

That question is asked by Chris Morris of the New Albany/Jeffersonville News & Tribune in a story Jan. 3rd:

David Camm is still waiting for the Indiana Supreme Court to decide his fate, again. Quietly, Floyd County leaders worry about what could happen.

Camm — who has been convicted twice of murdering his wife and two children in their Georgetown home in 2000 — hopes to get a new trial after his attorney argued to the court in May that his second trial contained many errors. * * *

Camm’s two trials have already cost Floyd County more than $2 million. And each month, the county is responsible for paying Camm’s public defender tab.

“It would kill us,” County Council President Larry McAllister said of a third Camm trial. “I don’t know what we would do or where we would get the money.”

Former State Rep. Bill Cochran introduced House Bill 1692 in 2007, and the bill is still in committee. The bill requires the state to reimburse a county if the Indiana Court of Appeals or Indiana Supreme Court remands the case for a new trial. If the bill passes, it would offset the costs to the county if the Supreme Court orders a new trial.

Actually, some language did pass in 2007 to address the problem. Find it at IC 35-38-4-7. However, it appears to be limited to $50,000 "for all proceedings and all offenses arising out of the same facts."

For more on trial costs, see these two ILB entries and the associated links.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 5, 2009 01:07 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts