I managed to attend the latest pretrial hearing for Officer Jeffrey Gort, the Woodbury, MN policeman who experienced a negligent discharge in a St. Cloud, MN hotel room on August 2, 2006.
The latest in this long, weary march to justice?
I talked to the prosecutor in the case, and Officer Gort apparently had been offered a plea bargain in order to put an end to this whole thing. Gort has turned it down (which is his right, after all, no argument there), and now the case is going to a full trial on February 6, 2008.
Me? I don't quite understand what his defense is going to be, especially since he admits to firing the shot in the police report, but again, it's his call on how far he wants to take this.
An apology - I had previously written on this blog about how I suspected some sort of shenanigans being played at the last hearing I attended in the case. After talking to the prosecutor, I learned that there was indeed a conflict of interest with the previous judge, and that his recusal was valid, although the prosecutor agreed that it should have taken place in open court. I hereby offer my heartfelt public apology to the judicial and court staff of Stearns County, as they seem to be running this case completely by the numbers, and I am very impressed that they are not playing favorites in this case, as evidenced by Gort's and his attorney's rising frustration levels.
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