What happened today?
A recap of the pretrial hearing and a prediction or two.
January 4, 2021
Time to talk about speedy trials and court scheduling.
Lori Vallow had a pretrial conference today, and the trial on her Madison County charges was set out until August.
For those of you who are frustrated, let me just repeat, THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE TURN SLOWLY. And that's the way you want it. In some countries, a defendant is arrested, tried, and executed within days, with no chance to investigate or mount a proper defense. In the U.S., we honor due process. We protect it for others because we will want it if we're ever accused of a crime.
Many are frustrated that more severe charges have not been filed. Again, let's remember that the prosecutor only gets ONE SHOT at a conviction. Suppose the charges are brought too quickly, or the investigation isn't thorough, and the jury finds a defendant not guilty. In that case, the prosecutor can't try that person again for the same crime, even if overwhelming new evidence of their guilt later surfaces. In his conversation with Lori's sister Summer Shiflett, Rob Wood said himself that because Chad and Lori were in custody, he had the luxury of taking his time.
When we layer on the COVID-19 pandemic, it's no wonder this case is taking extra time. In general, if a person is in custody, they must receive a trial within 60 days. If they do not, the court may be required to release them on bail. There are exceptions to the rules, and one of those exceptions is extenuating circumstances, including public health. The Idaho Supreme Court has ordered that there be no trials because of the pandemic.
Defendants can, and regularly do, waive their right to a speedy trial. They do so because they want their lawyers to have time to prepare their cases.
Here is the lineup at this point:
1/6/2021 – Hearing on disqualifying Rob Wood
1/6/2021 – Hearing on change of venue – was replaced by the hearing on Wood. Expect this to be rescheduled on 1/6/2021 for sometime soon.
6/2/2021 Pretrial conference – the judge will ask if they are ready for trial and do any last-minute motions scheduling.
7/12 -8/6 – joint trial for Chad and Lori on the felony charges out of Fremont county.
8/30/2021 – 9/3/2021 – Lori's trial on Madison county misdemeanor charges.
Here are my predictions:
Wood will not be disqualified.
Venue will be changed.
None of the presently scheduled trials will happen because Wood will file Conspiracy to Commit Murder and/or murder charges for the children's deaths. All the current charges will be wrapped into that case or dismissed (they were placeholders to keep both in jail). Whether he seeks the death penalty for either or both will depend on whether one will turn on the other. If neither flip, I think he will ask for the death penalty on both. At least Chad and perhaps Lori will be charged with murder/conspiracy for Tammy's death. At least Lori and maybe Chad will be charged with conspiracy to commit murder in AZ for Charles' death.
Both will be appointed new attorneys who are qualified to handle capital cases.
Lori will turn on Chad to escape the death penalty.
Let's see if I'm right.
I will be following the hearing on Wednesday, January 6, 2021. The hearing is scheduled to decide the defense motion to disqualify prosecutor Rob Wood. I'll be following Awen Rees' Livestream and responding to questions as the hearing happens. You can tune in with Awen on Youtube. She does a great job of presenting information in a fair, well-reasoned way.
