In a murder case, shouldn't every detail be covered with care? Every "t" crossed? Every "i" dotted? Could a few skipped points come back to haunt a prosecutor or a judge in the future?
On May 28 Timothy S. Smith, 26, allegedly shot Kurt Milliman, who died only a few hours later.
At Smith's court appearance on June 3 the judge asked Smith if he had a lawyer. He didn't. So the judge appointed a Public Defender. It sounded to me like an interim and temporary appointment, during which Smith would be arranging for his own lawyer. No financial affidavit was required prior to the appointment.
It would seem that by now, if Smith was not going to hire his own lawyer, the Court would have required a financial affidavit to ascertain whether Smith was entitled to have a public defender. Requiring an affidavit would also uncover any assets that Smith has and possibly raise questions about the source of such assets.
On June 24 a Court Order set a court date for July 1. Somehow that one got scrapped on June 27, when a July 21 court date was set for 9:00AM. This was a "no order" scheduling; i.e., done without a written Order prepared for and signed by the judge.
What's up with the shortcuts here? This is a capital murder case, not theft of a package of cigarettes.
Timothy's wife, Kimberly, wanted any money that Timothy had, which probably helped her with bail money, and the Court ordered that his money should be released to Kimberly's sister. That court order is part of Kimberly's case, and with Timothy's permission.
Kimberly's $600 cash that she affirmed having in her own affidavit for a public defender was to be released to her sister, but the Court stayed that order. Is that $600 still in the Sheriff's custody, or did it get out the door before someone came across the stay, which was issued on the same day as the order? Couldn't that cash be possible evidence?
Everything in this case should be done "by the book." No exceptions. No shortcuts. Why are some matters so loose right at the beginning of the case?
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