01-19-2013, 02:08 PM
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput (prosecutor) will tackle the Little Falls, Minn., homicide case in which Byron Smith is accused of murdering two teens who broke into his home Thanksgiving Day.
Orput said he was called by the Minnesota County Attorneys Association on behalf of the Morrison County attorney's office to try the case. He said the president of the association told him the case would be contentious because of the gun issue. "If that's a challenge, I want it," Orput said Monday, Dec. 31.
Orput, the Washington County attorney since 2011, formerly worked in the Hennepin County attorney's office and for the Minnesota attorney general. He said he's "reviewed and prosecuted cases that involve the concept of defense of dwelling" and thinks the Smith case is a good one to present to a jury. He said Smith, who has been released on bail, has an omnibus hearing Jan. 22.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_2...ounty.html
===========================================
Wasn't sure what an omnibus criminal hearing entailed; here's the definition.
According to the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, at an omnibus hearing the court determines: (1) the constitutional admissibility of evidence derived from searches, seizures, interrogations and identification procedures; (2) whether probable cause to proceed to trial exists (whether it is probable that the defendant committed the crimes charged in the complaint); and (3) other constitutional, evidentiary, or procedural issues capable of disposition prior to trial. Due to the size of their caseloads, however, various Twin Cities metropolitan counties have modified omnibus hearings into simply probable cause determinations with all other issues reserved for determination immediately before trial.
http://www.thebasslawfirm.com/A-Guide-to...ures.shtml
Orput said he was called by the Minnesota County Attorneys Association on behalf of the Morrison County attorney's office to try the case. He said the president of the association told him the case would be contentious because of the gun issue. "If that's a challenge, I want it," Orput said Monday, Dec. 31.
Orput, the Washington County attorney since 2011, formerly worked in the Hennepin County attorney's office and for the Minnesota attorney general. He said he's "reviewed and prosecuted cases that involve the concept of defense of dwelling" and thinks the Smith case is a good one to present to a jury. He said Smith, who has been released on bail, has an omnibus hearing Jan. 22.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_2...ounty.html
===========================================
Wasn't sure what an omnibus criminal hearing entailed; here's the definition.
According to the Minnesota Rules of Criminal Procedure, at an omnibus hearing the court determines: (1) the constitutional admissibility of evidence derived from searches, seizures, interrogations and identification procedures; (2) whether probable cause to proceed to trial exists (whether it is probable that the defendant committed the crimes charged in the complaint); and (3) other constitutional, evidentiary, or procedural issues capable of disposition prior to trial. Due to the size of their caseloads, however, various Twin Cities metropolitan counties have modified omnibus hearings into simply probable cause determinations with all other issues reserved for determination immediately before trial.
http://www.thebasslawfirm.com/A-Guide-to...ures.shtml