NORTH COAST THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2015 Lawyers want it no earlier than summer 2016 By KYLE SPURR By The Daily Astorian The defense attorneys for Jessica Smith, the mother accused of drug- ging and murdering her 2-year-old daughter and attempting to kill her 13-year-old daughter in a Cannon Beach hotel last summer, are re- questing a trail no earlier than the summer of 2016. A trial date has initially been set for July 7. Smith’s defense attorneys Wil- a written response this week to the state’s motion for a “date certain” for the trail. The response claims the possi- bility of the death penalty requires additional time to prepare Smith’s defense. Smith, 40, of Goldendale, Wash., pleaded not guilty Aug. 12 to aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder. Smith is accused of drowning her 2-year-old daughter Isabella Smith and cutting the throat of Alana Smith in room 3302 at the Surfsand Resort. “Defending a capital case is a time-consuming and intensive un- dertaking,’’ Falls and Morgan wrote. “In addition to a thorough investiga- tion of the fact issues presented by the charged offenses, effective cap- ital defense counsel must conduct a thorough and complete investigation of a client’s background, character, life experiences and mental health to prepare for what are, in essence, two separate trials — one to deter- mine guilt, and one to determine the appropriate penalty.’’ Clatsop County District Attorney response to the defense’s response 3A Morgan is scheduled to begin jury selection Sept. 15 in the fourth resentencing trial of serial killer Dayton Leroy Rogers in Clackamas County. Falls is scheduled to begin jury selection Oct. 26 in the trial of Hus- sein Ali Haidar in Multnomah Coun- reiterating his request for the trial date to remain set, especially since the case involves a surviving child, Alana Smith. The dispute over the trial date will come up again at the next sched- uled hearing at 2 p.m. Thursday in Clatsop County Circuit Court before Judge Cindee Matyas. Attached to the defense’s re- sponse was a 429-page law journal from Hofstra Law School that argues defense attorneys are allowed more time in cases involving the death penalty. Marquis said he has not decided if he will pursue the death penalty. In addition to needing more time for a death penalty case, Falls and Morgan said in their written re- sponse, that they are both already scheduled for trial this year in two aggravated murder cases. that is expected to take at least six weeks to try. “We do not request a trial date in the summer of 2016 as a ‘luxury’ or the ‘convenience of the lawyers,’ but rather for the time necessary to provide Ms. Smith with the ef- fective assistance of counsel and a constitutionally adequate defense,” Falls and Morgan wrote in their re- sponse. Smith’s defense attorneys said in the response they do not yet know who they intend to call as witnesses and what other evidence they intend to introduce in trial because they are in the very beginning of preparing By EDWARD STRATTON The Daily Astorian and some whose status changes were not reported timely. If the U.S. Department of Education recently gave Clatsop Community Col- for a few years, said Wright, they won- der whether the auditors are doing their job. But there aren’t many variances from previous years of audits, she added. - lege’s website at http://bit.ly/1yrxhGH In other news from the Tuesday meeting: • The college board voted 6-0-1 to accept the anticipated distribution of United Way funds from the organi- zation’s 2015-16 campaign — board member Esther Moberg, also on the United Way board of directors, ab- stained. The United Way money goes to support the Lives in Transition support services program, headed by Margaret Frimoth. Frimoth said that while she usually asks for $10,000, she often gets just over $8,000. • David Oser, a representative from the CCC Foundation, said it will soon authorize distribution of scholarship funds for next year. “The scholarships are really what drives us … to serve on the foundation board,” said Oser, add- ing that Margaret Chopping, widow of former Astoria Mayor Robert Chop- ping, set up a $5,000 annual scholar- ship called the Chopping Scholarship Fund. The scholarship goes to a busi- ness graduate from CCC going on to a university program. • Donna Larson, vice president of academic and student affairs, read a proclamation issued Dec. 16 proclaim- ing January School Board Recognition Month. President Lawrence Galizio, who was not at the meeting, bought books as presents for each of the board members. audit. too, as its board of directors voted unani- mously Tuesday night to use the auditing “We need an auditor comfortable with New Market Tax Credit, something important to us,” said JoAnn Zahn, the National Park Service Historian and storyteller Karen Haas demonstrates mid-19th century weaving techniques during an annual Weaving Weekend on the San Juan Island. Civil War women come alive in vignettes The Daily Astorian The In Their Footsteps series, hosted by Lewis and Clark National Historical Park and Fort Clat- sop, continues with a free talk, “I Am Always on the Women’s Side – Vignettes of the Civil War,” by Karen Haas at 1 p.m. Sunday. Hass is a storyteller, music teacher, curator, tour guide and living history performer. Her talk will cover researched diaries, letters and songs written by women impacted by the Civil War. Hass’ presentation will introduce six historic wom- en from all sides and walks of life at that time. The audience will meet these women striving to survive in a time of violence, turmoil and societal change. The monthly Sunday In Their Footsteps forums are sponsored by the Lewis & Clark National Park Association and the park. These programs are held in the Netul River Room of Fort Clatsop’s visitor center and are free. For more information, call the park at (503) 861- 2471, visit http://1.usa.gov/155aYeH Seaside Scholarships has two more weeks to raise $5,000 Seaside Scholarships Inc. is conducting a fundraising drive. Its goal is to make a variety of postsecondary options more affordable for a variety of Sea- side High School graduates. Through scholarships, the group wants to invest in meri- torious, needy, passionate and promising graduates. An anonymous local donor gave $50,000, raising awareness about the drive and challenging Seaside Scholarships to match. In less than two months of fund- raising, Seaside Scholarships has raised $45,000 toward the match. Donations ranging from What ’ s Fresh O ysters (W illa pa B a y) $5 to $20,000 have been re- ceived from 89 donors. With only $5,000 from its goal, it has extended the cam- paign to the end of January. To donate or for up-to-date infor- mation, visit seasidescholar- ships.com or the group’s Face- book page. ⁄ 2 P R IC E D AY Every Monday! (O regon C oa st - Loca l) R a z or C la m s (Sea side - Loca l) D ungeness C ra b (Loca l) Monday - Fri day • Open dai ly at 11am running from July 1 to June 30. - lated to the National Student Loan Data - es for students receiving federal loans. It found 12 that some didn’t have the correct effective date of status changes, some with incorrect enrollment statuses Three-yea r-old Bla ck M outh Cur. A hunting breed a bounding in cha rm a nd intelligence — roya lty a t your service. Petra le Sole 5 D aily S o u p & Lu n c h S p ec ials The college’s auditor from Clifton- LarsonAllen, Carolyn Wright, reported to its board of directors in early Decem- ber, giving the college an almost entire- ly clean bill of health. “We gave a clean opinion,” said Wright in December, adding that it’s the result agencies hope for in their audits, which must be performed within six Prince (W illa pa B a y) C h ec k o u t o u r $ CliftonLarsonAllen has provided CCC since it was issued the U.S. Trea- sury’s New Market Tax Credits in Sep- tember 2008. The college used $2.5 million worth of the tax credits, estab- lished by Congress in 2000 to spur new or increased investments in low-income communities, to help with the Jerome Campus Redevelopment Project. DEL’S O.K. VOLUN T E E R PICK OF THE WEE K Stea m er C la m s 1 this case for trial. The discovery, or evidence, dead- line is Jan. 30. Marquis has provided almost 3,500 pages of police reports, 34 separate CDs and DVDs and detailed copies of the defendant’s statements to investigators. Marquis maintains that the trial needs to occur as soon as possible to best accommodate the defendant and the 13-year-old victim Alana Smith, who would prefer a trial date this summer or no later than winter. The defense’s proposed trial date of 2016 would be more than two years after the incident. “For a 13-year-old child in which her natural mother is accused of kill- ing her sister and then attempting to cut her throat, delays are nothing short of torture,” Marquis wrote in his motion. “A year’s delay for a 13-year-old child means much more than a similar delay to someone who is 60 years of age.” Sponsored by Bayshore Animal Hospital YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR TIRES • CUSTOM WHEELS • • AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES • Hours: Mon-Fri 8-6 Sat- 8-4 503-325-2861 For emergencies 503-325-0233 35359 Business Hwy 101 (miles crossing) Astoria, OR CLATSOP COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER 1315 SE 19th St., Warrenton • 861- PETS www.dogsncats.org Noon to 4pm, Tues-Sat T he Cannery Pier Hotel & Spa is a luxury boutique hotel built on the former site of a historic cannery 600 feet out into the Mighty Columbia River in Astoria, Oregon. 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