BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A judge has ruled that delays in bringing an Upper Midwest murder case to trial don’t violate the defendant’s right to a speedy trial, though he also moved the trial date up by more than a month.
Joshua Clark has pleaded not guilty to a murder conspiracy charge in the May 2013 death of John Swain, 18, who had recently moved from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Bismarck, North Dakota. Trials in the case had been scheduled for January, March and May but were moved, due to defense team needs or court delays.
Clark sought to have his case dismissed because of the delays. Defense attorney Kent Morrow argued that long delays are presumed to be prejudicial to a defendant, The Bismarck Tribune reported (https://bit.ly/RYGC6J ).
Judge Bruce Haskell on Thursday denied the request after Burleigh County Assistant State’s Attorney Pam Nesvig pointed out that prosecutors did not cause any of the delays. She also said part of the problem has been that the complicated case will require a longer trial, which is more difficult to schedule.
Authorities allege that Clark and co-defendant Theo Crowe lured Swain into a Bismarck home, hit him with a hammer, cut off his legs and hid his body. Swain’s body was found in June 2013 at the home of Crowe’s grandmother in Poplar, Montana.
Crowe pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy in October and is a serving life in prison with the possibility of parole. He said last fall that he went along with a plan hatched by Clark to kill someone because he didn’t think Clark was serious.
Clark is now scheduled for trial in early July rather than late August.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, https://www.bismarcktribune.com
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