Civil Case Delayed
November 9th,2004.
The case for the civil trial in the wrongful death suit the Smarts are pursuing against Paul Flores has once again been delayed by Judge Picquet. The new date has been pushed way up until July.
Here is what is at stake:
In order for the civil case to proceed, the Smart's attorney, James Murphy, must present enough evidence to the judge to convince him they case is worth proceeding. To make the case as strong as possible, the Smart's attorney has requested the files now in possession of the San Luis Obispo sheriff's office.The Sheriff's office refuses to turn their files over ostensibly to protect their criminal investigation. So - in this long unfolding nightmare - we have a case where the Smart's attorney and the Sheriff's office are actually at odds with one another.Last summer - when this case first went before the judge - it was stated in open court the sheriff's office is spending 2-3 hours per month on the case. The judge was not amused and continued the case till October 20th where the judge will then personally review the sheriff's work before he makes his decision was the first delay.October 20th came and went with no results because the judge went on vacation. The case once again was delayed until November 9th.November 9th, 2004
As I mentioned above, the case has again been rescheduled for July 1st - a full 7 months away. This is very frustrating but this is our legal system.
The judge invited SLO Sheriff's detective Dave Kenny into his chambers and asked him for an update on what was going on in the case. This conversation took place in private - w/o the Smart's attorney being invited.
Whatever Det.Kenny told the judge obviously worked because the judge came back and announced that he was very pleased with progress in the case and he felt it was proper to delay this hearing once again until next September.
Below is an article that appeared on KSBY TV's Website.
Judge makes ruling in Kristin Smart case
By: Andrew Masuda
The investigation continues into the disappearance of Kristin Smart, who was last seen on the Cal Poly campus eight years ago.
On Tuesday, Smart family attorney Tana Coates appeared before Judge Roger Picquet, requesting the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office release information concerning its investigation into Smart's 1996 disappearance. Coates says family wants the information to pursue litigation filed against Paul Flores-- the last person seen with Smart.
"We wanted these records so that we could oppose a summary judgment motion that had been filed by the Flores defense team," says Coates. "And without those records, we felt that we would have a difficult time opposing that motion."
After hearing sworn testimony, Judge Picquet ruled not to disclose the records, saying he had good cause to believe the sheriff's department is still actively investigating, and that the case could end in the near future.
"The court is encouraged that this investigation has not grown cold, we're also encouraged by that," says Coates. "But by the same token, it's been quite a few years now and if it's just a back burner investigation, then we do need those records."
Kristin Smart's mother, Denise Smart, says she wants to believe authorities are actively investigating her daughter's disappearance, and that the most important thing to the family is bringing Kristin home, not their lawsuit against Flores.
The Flores family was in court as well on Tuesday and declined to comment. A follow up hearing is scheduled for July 1, 2005.
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