Prosecutors Desk 8-25-10
Posted by Tim Rasmussen on August 25th, 2010 | Categorized as Stevens County Prosecutor Desk
On Tuesday, August 17, Judge Nielson heard a motion which had been filed in the Cosby case. Mr. Mike Clay, representing Craig Cosby, made a motion to withdraw from representing Mr. Cosby. He cited a breakdown in communication that made him unable to represent Mr. Cosby effectively. The court granted his motion and signed an order allowing him to withdraw. The court then appointed Mr. Wasson to represent Mr. Cosby. The case was scheduled to be tried in October, but the court recognized that now the trial would most likely be continued to a later date to allow Mr. Wasson to prepare. Mr. Cosby remains charged with First Degree Murder in the death of his wife Susan, nearly one year ago.
On Wednesday, August 18, there was another suppression hearing in the case of the State vs. Daniel Berry and Nicholas Lawson. These two men are charged with being involved in a burglary and robbery in May of this year. These cases have been joined for trial which is scheduled to begin on Monday, August 23, at 9:00am. This was the third hearing in this case on legal issues that set the boundary for the evidence which will be presented to the jury. A suppression motion is usually made by the defendant in an attempt to have the court exclude some evidence from the trial on legal grounds. After hearing the motion, the court ruled that there was no legal basis to suppress the evidence. This cleared the way for the trial to get underway. Bob Simone and Paul Wasson represent the defendants and Deputy Prosecutor Matt Enzler represents the state. It is expected the trial will take about 3 days from start to finish, but that cannot be predicted with any accuracy.
It is important to remember that a person is presumed innocent unless and until they are proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt or they have entered a plea of guilty.
