TS - August trial sideswiped

August trial sideswiped
By Kimberly Wear The Times-Standard
Wednesday, June 08, 2005 - 6:14:48 AM PST

EUREKA -- The judge overseeing Debi August's conflict of interest trial appointed a public defender Tuesday to represent the current grand jury forewoman following recent allegations that she told a former member to destroy e-mails and other documents related to the case.

Darlene Marlow responded "Yes, please, I would like you to appoint public defender Mr. (Jim) Steinberg" when Judge John Feeney asked if she wanted an attorney to represent her interests. Marlow has not been formally accused of any wrongdoing.

The previous grand jury forewoman, Judith Schmidt, has alleged that Marlow requested she destroy August-related documents earlier this year. Instead, Schmidt kept the documents she had at home and turned over two large accordion files of materials to her attorney Allison Jackson last week.

This latest development has sidetracked the grand jury accusation case against August, who faces removal from her Fortuna City Council seat if a jury finds she had a conflict of interest when she advocated on behalf of a friend's subdivision.

Jury selection, scheduled to be completed this week, has been suspended.

Feeney previously ruled that hundreds of pages of grand jury transcripts, e-mails and other materials were to be turned over to the defense with redactions and other restrictions.

Schmidt's files were given to the judge for review and he said most of the items appeared to be duplicates of information reviewed during discovery, but some were new. It's not clear whether those documents, mostly e-mails, contain any information pertinent to the August case.

August's defense attorneys, Greg Rael and William Bragg, Deputy District Attorney Tim Stoen, who is prosecuting the August case, and Steinberg were expected to gain access to some of the papers late Tuesday afternoon.

They spent most of the morning reviewing with the judge a series of hearings between January and March when Marlow was present during in-chamber inspections or discussions about grand jury documents.

Marlow was recording secretary of the 2003-2204 grand jury, which brought the accusation case against August, and custodian of the records. She also sought legal advice after the District Attorney's Office requested she disclose all August-related items in the custody of the grand jury.

August's attorneys have filed a general motion asking for sanctions resulting from due process and discovery violations. No one specific is named.

Included with the motion was a letter to the judge, saying it had recently come to the defense's attention that some grand jury members, including Schmidt, worked from home and kept records there.

"Unfortunately, we can no longer assume that we have received all of the 2003-2004 grand jury records nor do we know if Ms. Marlow suggested other grand jurors destroy records," Rael wrote.

Steinberg said he may need some time to familiarize himself with the case and any information needed to advise his client.

"If this whole issue has to be resolved before the trial can resume ... I'm going to suggest we're going to need a lengthy delay," he told the judge.