FAMU Hazing Death Trial Postponed
ORLANDO (CBSMiami/AP) - The four remaining defendants in the hazing death case of a Florida A&M University student have had their trial postponed until October.
State Attorney Jeff Ashton and defense attorneys agreed on Tuesday to reschedule the start of the trial to Oct. 27, which they believe will last less than two weeks.
The trial had originally been set for later this month, but attorneys had scheduling conflicts. Circuit Judge Renee Roche was also under the impression that trial was supposed to start in early October.
Defense attorneys plan to file motions limiting certain evidence, challenging the constitutionality of Florida's hazing law and requesting that the cases be dismissed, said Craig Brown, an attorney for defendant Aaron Golson.
All four defendants will be tried simultaneously.
"We're all in it together at this point," Brown said. "We're ready."
Defense Attorney Michael Dicembre said trying all four defendants at the same time adds to the trial's length but doesn't necessarily make it more complicated.
"You have witnesses on the stand that the state is going to put on and you're going to have four separate attorneys cross-examining those witnesses, and vice versa with defense witnesses," said Dicembre, who is representing defendant Benjamin McNamee. "It makes everything take longer than it should."
Fifteen former band members were charged with manslaughter and hazing in the November 2011 death of drum major Robert Champion. Eight accepted plea deals of community service and probation for what prosecutors called minor roles. The state dropped charges against one former defendant, and another has pleaded but has not yet been sentenced.
Jessie Baskin pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was sentenced to a year in jail in March.
Ashton, who is trying the cases personally, said he expects to call as witnesses some of those former defendants.
"We're ready to go," said Ashton, who gained international attention as one of the prosecutors in the Casey Anthony trial.
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