Judge Considers Tossing Out Jayson Williams Charges

[Walter Cronkite]

Jayson Williams is charged with recklessly handling a gun.

A state judge on Monday heard testimony from a prosecution weapons expert during a hearing to determine whether manslaughter charges should be dismissed against retired NBA star Jayson Williams.

The hearing, which took place in the jury's absence, centered on whether the prosecution intentionally withheld notes and photographs the expert took when he examined the shotgun that Williams was handling when it fired, killing a hired driver two years ago.

Testimony from Larry Nelson, a vice president of Browning Arms Co., of Mountain Green, Utah, continued into the early afternoon. Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman did not indicate when he would rule.

The trial, stemming from the fatal shooting of driver Costas Christofi at William's mansion, began Feb. 10 but was suspended April 1 after the lead prosecutor admitted he failed to give evidence to the defense that should have been delivered last year.

Coleman had halted the proceedings as closing arguments approached to give defense lawyers time to review the material and determine what relief they want.

The defense sought dismissal of all charges and no retrial, because of "intentional and egregious prosecutorial misconduct that is part of a greater continuing pattern of deception."

First Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven C. Lember said the evidence matter was an inadvertent mistake that happened while his office was providing 6,000 pages of material to the defense.

Nelson was called to the stand Monday by the defense in an effort to show that Lember intentionally withheld the notes and photos.

The defense was given that material April 1 by Lember, who said he realized his mistake the night before while preparing Nelson to testify as a rebuttal witness.

Nelson testified that he typically attaches his notes and photographs to his report, but that as a trial date neared last summer, Lember told him to send the report and that they would take care of the notes and photos later. That trial date was eventually delayed.

The dismissal motion renewed charges that Lember gave improper presentations to the grand juries that indicted Williams. The judge has already rejected those objections.

The defense said Lember demonstrated a "continuing pattern of a win-at-all-cost mentality," and reiterated the contention that prosecution investigators were inept, mishandling evidence and paperwork.

The defense has maintained that Williams' shotgun, a 1993 Browning Citori 12-gauge, misfired when Williams snapped it shut while showing friends his mansion, killing Christofi, 55.

Nelson took the notes and 25 photographs when he partially disassembled the shotgun on Feb. 5, 2003. The examination took place with no defense representative present.

In its filing, the defense said evidence may have been altered or lost in the examination. The defense in August got Nelson's report, which mentioned the examination but did not say he had removed the stock and barrel.

The defense's weapons expert, Richard N. Ernest, had done the same three months earlier, and noted that wood chips fell out.

In June 2003, apparently unaware that Nelson had opened the gun, Ernest conducted a microscopic examination of the gun's inner workings. He has testified that Williams' shotgun was worn and fouled. Ernest said it could misfire when snapped shut, a claim disputed by a state police expert.

Williams, 36, is charged with recklessly handling the gun, and then trying to make the Feb. 14, 2002, shooting look like a suicide and persuading others to lie that Christofi shot himself. The shooting happened in Williams' bedroom at his Alexandria Township estate.

Williams faces eight charges, the most serious of which is aggravated manslaughter. Collectively, they carry up to 55 years in prison. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison, but would likely result in probation.

Williams had gone with some friends to see a Harlem Globetrotters game in Bethlehem, Pa. Christofi had driven four Globetrotters from the game to a restaurant near the Williams estate for dinner with the retired star and most of the group. They then went to the estate in rural western New Jersey.

Williams retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA, unable to overcome a broken leg suffered a year earlier in a collision with a teammate. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.

Source: AP

[Walter Cronkite]

Update: Judge Rules Williams Trial Will Continue

A judge ruled Thursday the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial will continue, turning aside a defense request to dismiss all charges against the retired NBA star.

State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman rejected the defense argument that evidence withheld by the prosecution made it impossible for Williams to get a fair trial.

The prosecution maintained it unintentionally forgot to turn over notes and photographs from a weapons expert before the trial started, but the defense suffered no harm.

Coleman called the error ''negligent'' but said it did not damage the defense, noting defense experts did not change their opinions based on the new material. The judge also found there was no intentional concealment of evidence, and the situation can be corrected.

''The defendant has had this cloud of an indictment hanging over his head for two years,'' Coleman said. ''He has a right to have this case decided by a fair-minded jury.''

Coleman said both sides agreed a fair jury was assembled. ''Let the jury decide based on the facts, the evidence,'' he said.

Both sides are now expected to discuss how the trial will proceed and which witnesses will be called. Testimony most likely will resume Monday.

Williams was not in court Thursday, following the birth of his second daughter on Tuesday.

After the judge's ruling, the defense asked that prosecutor Steven Lember be prohibited from participating in the trial, contending his actions were unethical. The judge called the request ''unusual,'' and said he would study the issue before ruling.

Source: AP