Kim Smith trial put off until March

The games continue.

Yesterday Judge Prather allowed a continuance and re-scheduling of Kimberly Smith's trial to March 11, 2013; the trial was scheduled to start yesterday. Smith and her husband, Timothy Smith, were charged in May 2011, after Kurt Milliman was fatally shot in the Smith's home by Timothy Smith. Her case is No. 11CF000521.

A year ago, in December 2011, Public Defender Kim Messer told a judge that no further court dates were needed in Timothy Smith's case, and his case was scheduled for trial in May 2012. Did it happen?

Of course not. Now it (11CF000520) is scheduled for February 25, 2012.

Why was Kimberly's case put off? According to this morning's article in the Northwest Herald, her attorney, Mark Facchini of Donahue & Walsh, "... is still awaiting additional documents and recordings. These include recordings of Smith and her husband, Timothy A. Smith, as well as crime scene photography and video."

What have they been doing for a year and a half?

My opinion is that both defendants are playing the "Not me first" game. They have adversarial interests, even though they are husband and wife. Each attorney has to be deciding how to best represent his client. Is it "make the spouse go first"?

And the State's Attorney ought to be evaluating which one it wants to try first? Will it be better to prosecute Timothy, who pulled the trigger, first? Or prosecute Kimberly first? Can one spouse testify against the other? Will one try to save his (her?) own neck by turning on the other? Are there circumstances where one spouse cannot testify against the other?

This is not a simple prosecution. It will not be a one-day trial for Timothy Smith. This is a murder case. Smith is charged with murder. This prosecution cannot be "not that complicated."