Weitzel judge may now respond
Prosecutors accuse him of being biased during first trial
Wed, Oct 10, 2001
By NESREEN KHASHAN
Standard-Examiner Davis Bureau
LAYTON -- Second District Court Judge Thomas L. Kay, who presided
over the first trial of psychiatrist Dr. Robert Weitzel, may now get
the opportunity to respond to accusations made against him by
families whose relatives died while under the defendant's care.
On Tuesday, 2nd District Judge Brent West sent a questionnaire to
Kay asking him to respond to the accusations. West, based in Ogden,
has been assigned the task of determining whether Kay should be
removed from the Weitzel case, an issue put forth first by
prosecutors.
Previously, West had ruled that Kay did not exhibit bias in the
first Weitzel trial. That ruling was overturned by a higher court
last month. The higher court then remanded the case and ordered West
to apply a stricter legal standard of whether Kay's conduct during
the first trial pointed to the appearance of bias.
The questionnaire asks Kay if he would like to respond to comments
he allegedly made during that trial that the families found
insensitive. The families accuse Kay of telling a prosecutor not
related to the case that the defense had a witness that would "blow
the state's case out of the water," among other alleged statements.
The family"s accusations in January culminated in a complaint they
filed to the Judicial Conduct Commission, the state body that
polices judges. Because of the pending complaint, Kay has up until
now been barred from responding to any of the accusations.
West has ordered Kay to answer the questionnaire within 14 days in
the form of an affidavit.
Weitzel is charged with negligent homicide and manslaughter in the
deaths of five elderly patients under his care at Davis Hospital and
Medical Center. He was convicted of those charges last year, but a
new trial has been ordered after Kay threw out the first conviction
on grounds that the state had withheld an expert witness.
Copyright ©2001, Ogden Publishing Corporation
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