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About Cannon Beach gazette. (Cannon Beach, Or.) 1977-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 2015)
October 9, 2015 | Cannon Beach Gazette | cannonbeachgazette.com • 3A Judge OKs mental health check for accused killer Smith Attorneys spar over timelines in alleged killer’s case By Dani Palmer Cannon Beach Gazette Clatsop County Circuit Court Judge Cindee Matyas gave the District Attorney’s 2I¿ce the goahead Ior a mental health evaluation with alleged killer Jessica Smith on Friday, Oct. 2. Smith, 41, of Goldendale, Washington, appeared in court shackled and in a blue jumpsuit. She is accused of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated mur der for allegedly drugging and murdering her daugh ter, Isabella Smith, 2, and attempting to kill her older daughter, Alana Smith, 13, in a Cannon Beach hotel in July 2014. Smith’s attorney William Falls and his cocounsel plan to use a diminished capaci ty defense, and on Aug. 28, opposed the state’s chosen evaluator, Dr. Paul Guast adisegni, because Falls claimed the Portlandbased psychologist lacked the proper credentials to do such an examination under new state standards. “Frankly, this is sandbag ging,” District Attorney Josh Marquis said. He said he sent Guasta disegni’s background to Falls and cocounsel /ynne Mor gan in July, six weeks before the status hearing in August. JOSHUA BESSEX/THE DAILY ASTORIAN ABOVE: Jessica Smith, left, appears for a status hearing at the Clatsop County Courthouse. LEFT: District At- torney Josh Marquis speaks during a sta- tus hearing for Jessica Smith at the Clatsop County Courthouse. JOSHUA BESSEX/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Falls didn’t oppose the pro posed evaluator until the morning of that court date. In response, Marquis said the state took extra steps as a precaution, ensuring Guasta disegni has been temporarily and conditionally certi¿ed to do the evaluation. “The state is entitled to its examination,” Matyas told Falls, adding she believes Guastadisegni is appropriate. She ordered that the state’s evaluation take place Oct. 13 and 14, as previously set. Falls countered he’d rather wait until Morgan is available, prompting Matyas to ask why he’d agreed to the date in the ¿rst place, if Guastadisegni end ed up certi¿ed for the job. Falls said he plans to ¿le notice of when Mor gan is available, adding it is Smith’s constitutional right to have all counsel present during such an evaluation. Matyas noted the dates could change if there was mutual agreement between the defense and prosecu tion. “These are timeconsum ing evaluations,” she said. “The exchange of informa tion is critical for both sides.” She also granted Falls permission to video the evaluation after discussion, as long as an unedited copy is made for the District At torney’s Of¿ce. Marquis expressed con cern in that neither he nor his deputy attorneys will be there for that evaluation while the defense has already stated it’s not going to allow Smith to answer questions that may incriminate her. If Falls objects to ques tions about Smith’s marriage or her upbringing, he added, then there’s no point in doing an evaluation. “This is not an elaborate chess game,” Marquis said. “We’re trying to expedite discovery in a complicated case.” Matyas said the parame ters the state sets forth should be enough, and that she’s not going to “micromanage” the evaluation. Deputy District Attorney Dawn Buzzard brought up TH( 1ATIO1A/ AWARDWI11I1G Publisher Steve Forrester Editor R.J. Marx Reporter Dani Palmer Advertising Manager Betty Smith JOSHUA BESSEX/THE DAILY ASTORIAN Jessica Smith is led into a status hearing at the Clatsop County Courthouse. Production Manager John D. Bruijn Circulation Manager Heather Ramsdell Advertising Sales /aura .aim Wendy Richardson CANNON BEACH GAZETTE The Cannon Beach Gazette is published every other week by EO Media Group. 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, Oregon 97138 503-738-5561 • Fax 503-738-9285 www.cannonbeachgazette.com • email: editor@cannonbeachgazette.com SUBSCRIPTION RATES: Annually: $40.50 in county, $58.00 in and out of county. Postage Paid at: Cannon Beach, OR 97110 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cannon Beach Gazette, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 Copyright 2015 © Cannon Beach Gazette. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. defensehired Dr. Beth How ell, who’s visited Smith in jail half a dozen times since July, according to jail re cords. Falls objected and called the information irrelevant as the defense has not ¿led her as an expert witness. He add ed the state cannot force the defense to “¿le evidence of a particular nature” until he receives a report and decides to use it. The district attorney’s of ¿ce ¿led a motion to compel discovery Oct. 1. “This case is going slow er than the state and, I think, court want,” Marquis said. He noted Howell worked with the defense on the Adrien Wallace case in 2014, in which the state didn’t re ceive discovery until the trial began, delaying the case. Wallace, of /ake Os wego, was convicted of murdering his 1yearold mother and teenage neph ew in 2012, and sentenced to life in jail, according to court records. Marquis added he doesn’t want his of¿ce to be put in the same situation if the de fense decides to put Howell on the stand. Matyas said she’ll con sider the compel motion, but needs to give Falls a chance to respond ¿rst. “Today, I don’t believe, would be the day,” she said. The trial is set for June 2016. Support your local firefighters at ham dinner Cannon Beach 9olunteer Fire¿ghters will hold their 68th Annual Bene¿t Ham Dinner, Saturday, Oct. 10, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. The dinner will be held at the Cannon Beach Conference Center, 3rd and Spruce streets. Admis sion is $10 for adults, $5 for children under 12. Tickets are available at the door. All funds will be used to purchase ¿re¿ghting, medical and rescue equipment. Experience is our strong You name it, we’ve banked it. suit. We’ve been the bank of choice for every kind of business from tech to timber, and everything in between. Our bankers know your business, and nothing will come between you and the service you deserve. 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