Attorneys, judge argue over schedule conflicts in ex-Fort Worth officer’s murder trial
A Tarrant County judge heard a motion Friday to resolve scheduling conflicts in the murder trial of the former Fort Worth police officer who shot and killed Atatiana Jefferson in her home in 2019.
Attorneys for former officer Aaron Dean filed a motion May 16 seeking to resolve scheduling conflicts they said they have. The murder case previously has seen multiple delays and rescheduling. The trial is scheduled to begin June 23 after jury selection, which is set to start June 21.
Dean’s attorneys, Robert Gill and Miles Brissette, argued with Judge David Hagerman at Friday’s hearing. Hagerman said there was no official motion for a continuance for him to rule on.
In the May 16 motion, Dean’s attorneys said they had hearings in other cases that conflict with the Dean trial. But Hagerman said Gill has pointed out “alleged potential conflicts” and does not have “an alleged actual conflict.”
Jim Lane, Dean’s lead attorney in the case, has been seriously ill, prompting the trial to be moved from May to June. On Friday, Gill said Lane was in the hospital but was on the mend, and will hopefully “be able to join us in the future.”
“If he’s not available on June 23, you’re going to have to go to trial without him,” Hagerman said.
Gill also said because he filed for vacation time from June 29 to July 1, the current schedule will violate local rules that allow him to take that vacation time.
“The court is expecting you to be ready for jury selection on the 21st,” Hagerman replied.
“What’s going to happen on June 29 when I am supposed to be on vacation?” Gill asked.
“That’s not before the court today,” Hagerman said.
Gill said the defense would be filing an official motion for continuance and had several other motions that needed a court response. In response, Hagerman set another hearing for June 13 at 2 p.m.
Brissette also asked Hagerman for the court to take action against Lee Merritt, the Dallas-based attorney representing Jefferson’s family in a civil suit. Merritt spoke with reporters outside a hearing in May, which Dean’s attorneys argue violates the court’s gag order on the case.
Brissette said Merritt was ordered by the court to share his contact information with Dean’s attorneys but had not done so, and said Merritt has “thumbed his nose at the court repeatedly.”
Brissette requested that Merritt — who was at the hearing Friday — be placed into custody for a show cause hearing to determine if Merritt is in contempt of court. Hagerman said the show cause hearing would be scheduled and asked Merritt to comply with court orders and give his contact information to Dean’s attorneys.
Merritt approached the judge and read out his contact information for the attorneys. He was not taken into custody.
A grand jury indicted Dean on a murder charge after he fatally shot Jefferson, a 28-year-old Black woman, through a window. Jefferson’s neighbor had called the police and asked for a welfare check on his neighbor’s house because the front door was open. Police parked around the corner from the home and went into the back yard. Inside, Jefferson was playing video games with her 8-year-old nephew when she thought she heard a prowler in the yard. she grabbed a handgun from her purse and pointed it toward the window, according to an arrest warrant affidavit supporting Dean’s arrest.
Dean, 37, did not identify himself as a police officer and shot Jefferson within seconds of seeing her through the window, according to body-worn camera video. He resigned from the police department the same day he was arrested, two days after the shooting. The department said he would have been fired if he had not resigned.
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 3:07 PM.
