Strohmeyer defense gets delay

Citing a fairness issue, the Nevada Supreme Court late Wednesday ordered a two-week delay in the Jeremy Strohmeyer murder trial.

This victory for the defense, however, is a far cry from winning the war.

"Victories are hard fought in this war," said defense attorney Richard Wright.

The trial, originally scheduled to begin Monday, would begin Aug. 31 give Wednesday's Supreme Court order. But Chief District Judge Myron Leavitt is expected today to give the defense a bonus by further delaying the trial until Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day.

The high court ordered the postponement so that Strohmeyer's attorneys would have a chance to prepare a defense against potentially devastating information gleaned by police from the teenager's computer.

The battle over whether the computer's contents should be allowed as evidence will continue despite a high-court ruling allowing it. Defense attorneys continue to claim that the computer was illegally seized by police.

The Supreme Court in a 3-2 decision this past Friday summarily dismissed that contention -- in the process overturning a ruling by the original trial judge that the computer and its contents were inadmissible.

In Wednesday's decision, the justices stated they were "not persuaded the court overlooked or misapprehended any material matters nor does it appear rehearing would promote substantial justice."

But the defense did win an order from the Supreme Court that Strohmeyer's computer -- which has been in the hands of police and the FBI for the past 14 months -- be turned over to defense experts for testing.

District Attorney Stewart Bell, who is personally prosecuting the case, had only offered defense analysts an opportunity to work on the computer in the confines of the police evidence room.

Wright savored the victories, saying Wednesday's high-court ruling avoided an all-out battle he was planning for today's pre-trial hearing to win an identical postponement from Chief District Judge Myron Leavitt.

Leavitt had rejected identical requests at a hearing Tuesday but the Supreme Court concluded on the emergency appeal filed Wednesday that its last-minute addition of the computer evidence warranted the 11th-hour delay in the trial.

"I hated having to go to the Supreme Court to get it," Wright said. "There is no doubt we needed time to get ready."

Defense attorneys say they hope to elicit evidence from the computer's memory that can benefit the Long Beach, Calif., teenager's case. Specifically, the lawyers say they believe that computer tracks will show that Strohmeyer wasn't around when child pornography was downloaded and chat-room conversations were held about sex with young girls.

Strohmeyer is charged with violently raping 7-year-old Sherrice Iverson before strangling her in a women's restroom at a Primm casino, 45-miles southwest of Las Vegas, on May 25, 1997.

Deputy District Attorney Bill Koot stated in court on Tuesday that the once outlawed computer evidence can prove that Strohmeyer planned and premeditated the attack.

Defense attorneys, however, are expected to present testimony from mental-health experts that Strohmeyer, a former Long Beach High School honor roll student, was incapable of forming the legally required intent to commit the crimes.

If a jury agrees but decides that Strohmeyer killed Iverson, a second-degree murder conviction could result. That crime carries a penalty of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years.

The murder charge, however, isn't Strohmeyer's only problem as he is also charged with two counts of sexual assault and a charge of kidnapping -- each carrying the possibility of life prison terms if there are convictions.

Strohmeyer and his friend, David Cash Jr., were captured by security video cameras outside the restroom at the Primm Valley hotel-casino where Iverson was killed. Strohmeyer confessed to police on three occasions and to friends that he committed the murder. Those friends and Cash testified against Strohmeyer before the grand jury that indicted him.

Wright said the delay in the trial won't affect any defense witnesses, but he said he isn't sure of its impact on the 400 prospective jurors from which 12 jurors and six alternates will be picked.

Those prospective jurors already have filled out questionnaires and have been ordered by the judge not to watch any television reports or read newspaper articles about the case.

"We'll figure out during (the jury selection process) whether they followed the admonishment," Wright said.

He noted that nearly all of the 400 indicated on their questionnaires that they had some knowledge of the case.

Knowledge alone does not preclude selection unless the panelists state that because of the information they have, they can't be fair and impartial.

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