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Thursday, May 06, 2010

Ind. Courts - "Prosecutors object to motion to move Camm trial"

Charles Gazaway reported yesterday at WAVE 3:

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - In 2009, the Indiana Supreme Court overturned David Camm's second conviction for the murders of his wife Kim, and children, Brad and Jill Camm. Halfway through this year, we don't even know where Camm's third trial will be held.

This week, prosecutors filed an objection to a request by Camm's lawyers to have the trial moved out of Warrick County, the location of his second trial.

The defense claims half of the people in Warrick County think Camm is guilty. Prosecutors say they are reading the data wrong and 75% of Warrick County residents don't know much about the case at all.

There has been no word from the judge on when he will rule on this first fight in Camm's new trial.

A story April 15th by Matt Thacker in the New Albany News & Tribune reported:
FLOYD COUNTY — The results are in from a survey sent in late February to 200 Warrick County residents to determine if David Camm can receive a fair third trial in the county, and after reading more than half of the responses, an attorney for Camm said the answer is clearly no.

“Based on a quick overview, I would say that around 50 percent believe that he’s guilty,” Stacy Uliana, one of two attorneys appointed to represent Camm, said on Thursday. “(The surveys) show the community has been infected with prejudice after being exposed to eight weeks of an unfair trial.”

According to a court clerk, the questionnaires had all been returned by last week. Copies were mailed to counsel on April 9 for review. Uliana said the results were about what the defense team expected.

Camm’s lawyers filed a motion to have the case moved from Warrick County, where the second trial was held, to Northern Indiana where media coverage of the case has not been so intense. Floyd County Prosecutor Keith Henderson has objected to changing the venue.

When the two sides could not compromise, Warrick County Superior Court No. 2 Judge Robert Aylsworth ordered the surveys be mailed to randomly selected people from the 2010 jury pool. * * *

If the prosecution and defense still do not agree whether to change venue, a hearing will likely be scheduled.

Uliana points out that coverage of a third trial has not even begun, and so the jury pool would likely become even more tainted as the trial date nears.

“There was a substantial number who do not remember anything about the case. Many of those were too young or not living in Warrick County, but there’s a community sentiment that he’s been convicted twice and is guilty,” Uliana said. “That’s just not a fair way to start a trial.”

For more on the survey, start with this ILB entry from March 25, 2010.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on May 6, 2010 03:47 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts