Michael Jayne, facing allegations of striking and fatally injuring Santaquin Sgt. Bill Hooser while operating a semi-truck, made a court appearance on Wednesday, expressing worries regarding his legal representation.
In a significant development during the hearing, Judge Thomas Low has given the green light for the inclusion of an additional attorney to bolster Jayne’s defense team, collaborating alongside the current attorney, Rudy Bautista. Bautista revealed that a “breakdown” occurred between Jayne and her former attorney, who has decided to step away from the case as co-counsel.
“This is a relatively complex case; the stakes, of course, are very high with death on the table, and Mr. Jayne is entitled to two attorneys,” said Chad Grunander, a member of the prosecution. “At this late hour, it does give me some reason to pause and I think ask the question, my preference would be also a record from Mr. Jayne himself indicating he’s prepared to move forward, that he thinks the defense can be prepared to represent him at the preliminary hearing.”
During the hearing, Jayne expressed his frustrations with his counsel and voiced “serious concerns.”
“I’m concerned that the prosecution is not entitled to hear issues that I have concerning my defense. I have stated in previous motions things that have been going on, but I’m reluctant to speak with the prosecution listening to what I have to say about concerns about my defense, your honor,” Jayne said. “My life is at stake, I’m fighting for my life, and I have some serious concerns about my defense, and I don’t want to continue to come back to the court or file motions to air out those concerns. I believe there is attorney-client privilege.”
“You have that right to be heard,” Judge Low said. “Everything you’ve done thus far has been done in a public filing. I’d like to ask you to confer with Mr. Bautista, and your request has been granted, so there is nothing else to discuss today. If you something else that you believe needs to be addressed and if you’d like it to maintain confidentiality, I’d ask that you approach your attorneys.”
“I’m really having a difficult time communicating with my attorney, your honor,” Jayne said. “And I will say for the record it’s very difficult to communicate with my attorneys.”
“As this is a public hearing and I saw that the news media announced that they had a hearing today and asked for media coverage, I would remind Mr. Jayne that this would not be the appropriate time to discuss things,” said Rudy Bautista, who’s representing Michael Jayne.
Jayne had previously submitted several motions on a “ex parte” basis, which were included in the court discussions. The judge announced that the motions, which remain confidential, were addressed during the hearing on Wednesday.
“I don’t think my attorney’s going to file something if I’m complaining about my attorney, and I would like to make a record of an in-camera with you, your honor,” Jayne said.
Jayne has sought a private hearing with the judge and her legal team in attendance. He expresses worry about the prosecution’s awareness of publicly discussed information and seeks to voice his concerns exclusively to the judge and his legal team.
“Judge, I suppose I just renew my reservations in moving forward in a critical stage of this case, which is the preliminary hearing, when we have some apparent unresolved conflicts and issues here,” Grunander said. “We want to make sure everything is done appropriately, every T is crossed, every I is dotted, Mr. Jayne is afforded his rights; is this all appropriate?”
Jayne’s preliminary hearing is set to take place on June 30 and July 1. A fresh hearing has been set to address Jayne’s “in-camera” request and to determine whether the preliminary hearing can proceed as planned. The hearing is set to take place on June 11.
