Court hearing held for Aaron Dean, charged in Atatiana Jefferson's death
FORT WORTH, Texas - A former Fort Worth police officer charged in the 2019 shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson has a court date as his murder trial approaches.
Aaron Dean's trial was supposed to start in January, but was pushed back until June. Lawyers requested the delay because Dean's lead attorney was sick
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Friday's hearing was about Dean’s defense team’s motion to resolve a trial scheduling conflict.
The judge was not persuaded to alter the current trial date set for later this month.
Dean sat quietly while his attorneys cited what they called legal rules supporting their desire for an additional trial delay.
Dean shot through a window, killing Jefferson while she was at her mother’s home, after responding to a non-emergency welfare call.
As it stands, jury selection is set to begin June 21, with testimony starting June 23.
Dean’s attorneys pointed to another trial they have scheduled to begin that same week, a child abuse case, that they said takes precedence over the Dean case.
They also noted Dean’s trial, as scheduled, could overlap planned vacations they submitted to the court over a year ago.
The judge, who appeared annoyed, told attorneys Bob Gil and Miles Brissette that he has already addressed their concerns.
They said the judge did not allow them to take up the additional matters before granting the last continuance.
On Friday, they again argued expert witnesses are unavailable.
"The court didn’t take into consideration that expert witnesses already have commitments in other counties. The court didn’t explore that on the record or give us an opportunity to be heard on it," Gil said.
"Wait a minute, I grant you your continuance and now you’re complaining about me granting your motion for continuance?" the judge said.
"Not complaining about you continuing the case, but setting it for a point where expert witnesses are not available for trial," Gil responded.
"Well, that’s not alleged here today, and it’s not alleged in this motion. Do you have anything pertaining to this motion to resolve scheduling conflict?" the judge said.
"Not at this time," Gil said.
In addition to scheduling matters, the defense asked the judge to hold attorney Lee Merritt in contempt of court and have him taken into custody for violating the court’s gag order after he gave an interview.
The judge did not grant that request, but ordered Merritt, who represents Jefferson’s siblings in a civil case, to give his contact information on the record for a subpoena, noting he will consider the allegation of Merritt being in contempt on June 13.
Prosecutors did weigh in on the defense team’s motion involving scheduling. They pointed out that if Dean’s attorneys get their way, the case would never go to trial because there will always be an older case to consider, and that Jefferson’s family and the community deserve to have this case go to trial.
For now, jury selection remains set for June 21, with testimony to follow June 23.