Potter trial delay remains a mystery
The reason the trial of District Attorney General Dale Potter was delayed will likely remain a mystery as both sides have refused to comment.
The prosecution and defense reportedly reached an agreement which was announced during a short hearing Thursday before Special Judge Steve Daniel, clearing the way for Potter’s case to go to trial without further delays on Sept. 16.
Following the hearing, defense counsel Bill Ramsey said only that the delay had to do with matters of evidence. The motion was made orally and was settled by a “gentleman’s agreement” so there are no documents indicating what prompted the postponement. Special prosecutor Hal Hardin also did not comment.
Potter was set to stand trial Wednesday on charges of extortion and official misconduct for his handling of the child support case of Samantha Salamone. Salamone reportedly taped incriminating conversations with Potter regarding her case.
Salamone sought and was granted indictments against Potter by the Warren County grand jury in early 2000. Potter stands to lose office, his law license and perhaps go to jail if convicted on the felony charges. He would also be barred from holding elected office for 10 years.
Since the indictments, several legal and scheduling hurdles have delayed the case five times.
With both sides saying they are intent on trying the case Sept. 16, a ripple effect will likely be felt by the local judicial system. Specifically, the current jury pool will likely be shelved in all criminal matters since the court wants to have a fresh jury to hear the Potter case.
The jury was selected last week from a pool of about 200 people on the premise its first criminal case would be the Potter trial. The court does not want the pool to be exposed to prejudice by hearing any criminal case prior to the Potter trial, since such prosecution would be conducted by Potter’s office thereby familiarizing Potter with the jurors who will later sit in judgment of him.
Hardin said the court will request no criminal trials be held before the jury in Warren County until after Potter’s trial. A freeze means a further backlog of cases will accumulate. The court is already reporting a major backlog in all areas, including criminal cases.
Civil trials will proceed as normal and other criminal matters, which do not require jury trials, will also go forward without change.
The court has set an Aug. 6 date to hear any other pre-trial motions, which may include hearings on Shield Law matters invoked by members of the press who are subpoenaed to testify.