TS - August trial begins with a bang

August trial begins with a bang
Stoen asks for gag order, says trial could take two months
By Kimberly Wear The Times-Standard
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - 6:12:21 AM PST

EUREKA -- One judge was challenged, another nearly recused himself and an assisting counsel withdrew altogether from the Debi August case on Monday.

And that was just the first day of the conflict-of-interest trial, in which officials had just enough time to settle into a courtroom and take care of a few housekeeping matters in the case against the Fortuna councilwoman.

On Monday, Deputy District Attorney Tim Stoen filed a motion asking Judge John H. Feeney to place a gag order on attorneys due to media coverage, and attorneys disagreed over how long they think the trial will last.

"Sounds like we have some varying times," Feeney said after Stoen gave a maximum "safe side" estimate of two months while August's attorney, William Bragg, put the length around two weeks.

August, a real estate broker, was present for the morning's events dressed in a bright pink leather jacket.

The trial is part of an accusation proceeding -- which lands somewhere between a civil and criminal case. August faces removal from office for allegedly having a conflict of interest when she advocated for a subdivision before the Fortuna Planning Commission on behalf of a friend. Her term ends in April 2006.

Feeney, who recently dismissed three other counts against August, will be presiding over the trial after Stoen challenged the original assignment of Judge Christopher G. Wilson. State law allows each side of the case one opportunity to remove a judge.

The trial nearly landed in front of a third judge when Feeney said he felt it was necessary to recuse himself after Steve Schectman, an Arcata lawyer with a private practice who is also a special deputy district attorney on a civil lawsuit against Pacific Lumber Co., appeared in court with Stoen.

Around four years ago, Schectman had challenged Feeney in another case, citing bias. While Schectman said he felt comfortable appearing before Feeney, the judge said that in the interest of justice he would have to step down.

So, Schectman -- who was making his first appearance in the case -- withdrew as an attorney of record. The judge received assurances from Stoen that it would not impede his job.

"I can handle the case myself," Stoen said, adding he had brought Schectman on to help with the preparation of jury questionnaires and other issues.

Bragg objected to Stoen's move for a written jury questionnaire, but Feeney said he thought two would be necessary; one to discuss juror hardship because of the potential length of the trial and the second with more detail questions due to the amount of media coverage.

Bragg said he had some concerns about Stoen's time estimate.

"We could lose a lot of good jurors that way," he said.

The case resumes today with attorneys and the judge discussing questions for jurors, the 30 potential witnesses, the gag order and the trial's timeline.