PORT TOWNSEND — Although a continuance for the Michael J. Pierce double-murder retrial surprised the trial judge, he allowed the change to stand after a hearing Thursday.
Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Keith Harper was on medical leave last week when Commissioner Stephen Gillard granted a delay of the Pierce retrial, originally set May 20, to July 1.
Harper called Thursday’s hearing to determine the reason for the delay.
When court convened, Harper threatened to overturn the continuance because there was no reason listed for the action but was told the delay was something agreed to by both sides.
Harper said Gillard “did nothing wrong” but did not have the background on the trial and how many times it had been delayed.
“I just hope there aren’t anymore delays,” Harper said.
“While this may be a justifiable continuance, there is a point where we should draw a line in the sand and determine that everyone is ready to go forward.”
Both Deputy Prosecutor Chris Ashcraft and defense attorney Richard Davies said they will be ready to go forward July 1 and did not anticipate anymore postponements.
This is the second trial for Pierce, who was convicted in 2010 of the first-degree murders of Pat and Janice Yarr on March 18, 2009, in their farmhouse near Lake Leland.
The state Court of Appeals on July 17 unanimously reversed Pierce’s 2010 conviction — for which Pierce was serving a life sentence at Walla Walla State Penitentiary — and sent the case back to Jefferson County for a new trial.
It is also the second continuance for Pierce. In February, the trial was postponed to May 20 from the original date of March 4, an action granted by Harper.
In court Thursday, Ashcraft said his office opposed the original continuance but worked with Davies to approve the second delay.
“The new date is in the best interests of the court,” Ashcraft said.
“As scheduled, the trial falls at the time when prosecutors had plans we could not reschedule.”
Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans said the delay was approved by the Yarrs’ family, as one of the Yarr grandchildren is scheduled to graduate from high school in June.
“A lot of family and friends are scheduled to come to town during that time, and the family doesn’t want to have a big celebration in the middle of a double-homicide trial,” Rosekrans said.
Davies said Thursday that he favored the delay because it will allow him to secure an expert witness, whom he did not identify.
Davies said it would have been “difficult” for Harper to rescind Gillard’s ruling.
“I think he wanted to keep a tight rein on how the case proceeds,” Davies said.
“I expected that we might have gotten a tongue-lashing. It was a fair airing of the court’s concerns.”
Ashcraft said both sides have been “wrangling” with the trial dates for several weeks and decided to file the joint motion.
The trial is expected to take one month and end Aug. 1.
Ashcraft said he expected to call about 50 witnesses and a that monthlong trial would be able to accommodate overlapping vacation schedules.
Superior Court Clerk Ruth Gordon said she is prepared to send out qualification forms for prospective jurors in anticipation of assembling a larger-than-average jury pool.
Gordon declined to say how many forms will be made and said she has not yet decided how many summons will be issued.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
