PORT ORCHARD — The fourth double-murder trial of Michael J. Pierce has wrapped up its first week of testimony, with the prosecution making it halfway through its presentation of the Quilcene man’s case.
“The case is moving along,” said Jefferson County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Chris Ashcraft.
“We are doing it all again, and nothing new or exciting has come up.”
Proceedings for the week in the trial of Pierce, 39, concluded Thursday.
Pierce is accused of the 2009 murders of Quilcene residents Pat and Janice Yarr.
“We are happy with the jury that was picked and happy about being in Kitsap County,” said Richard Davies, Pierce’s defense attorney.
“We are looking forward to presenting our case.”
Twelve prosecution witnesses have already testified, with at least that many remaining, Ashcraft said.
The trial is scheduled for 3½ days per week, which stretches its duration, he said.
Election timing
As a result, the prosecution’s case will finish around Nov. 3 or 4, which is Election Day.
At that time, voters will decide whether to retain Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans for a second term or elect his opponent, Port Townsend attorney Michael Haas.
“We aren’t thinking about politics,” Ashcraft said, echoing previous statements by Rosekrans. Both men are prosecuting the case.
“We are more concerned about getting a conviction than with the results of the election.
“We are hoping that the jury will do the right thing and convict.”
Following the prosecution’s arguments, the defense case will take two or three days, Davies said.
Pierce is accused of two counts of first-degree murder and one count each of first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, first-degree arson, theft of a firearm, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree theft.
2010 conviction
Pierce was convicted in the 2010 trial by a Jefferson County jury and was serving a life sentence in prison when the state Court of Appeals overturned the verdict in 2012.
The court ruled that Pierce’s constitutional rights were denied after his arrest and that Rosekrans’ closing argument represented prosecutorial misconduct.
The Washington State Bar Association later said it could not find that Rosekrans had committed an ethical violation for speculating during closing arguments what the Yarrs and Pierce were thinking during the night of the murders.
The next two retrials, in Jefferson County in July 2013 and Kitsap County this past March, ended in mistrials.
The first mistrial was called because a juror recalled seeing someone who might have been Pierce on the night of the murders.
The second was after Pierce was not given his anti-psychotic medication while he was in custody in the Kitsap County jail.
Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Sally Olsen denied in September a motion from Davies to dismiss all charges primarily based on Kitsap County’s failure to provide medication.
Should a conviction occur in the current trial, the medication failure will be a grounds for appeal, Davies has said.
The fourth trial initially got underway with jury selection Oct. 6, but Olsen ordered the selection process to begin anew after a juror’s question regarding the death penalty and Olsen’s response raised the possibility of error in the proceedings.
On Oct. 8, one juror asked if the death penalty was being sought in the case, and Olsen replied that it was not.
This prompted Davies to point out case law against such an interaction during a sidebar and in a motion for mistrial, leading to Olsen’s decision to start jury selection over.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
