Attorneys aim for 2019 in library shooting trial

CLOVIS - Some wept in the courtroom audience Friday afternoon at the sight of accused library shooter Nathaniel Jouett, appearing in custody during a short status conference in Curry County.

Jouett, 16, is charged as the sole suspect in the Aug. 28 shooting at Clovis-Carver Public Library that killed two and hospitalized four others, including a 10-year old boy. Some of those injured attended the hearing this week, during which lawyers discussed a timeline for bringing Jouett's case to a month-long trial by spring of 2019.

Fifth Judicial District Court Judge James Hudson agreed to extend the time frame of his three proposed phases of case preparation by more than six months after District Attorney Andrea Reeb and defense attorney Stephen Taylor agreed they had more work to do.

Reeb said she intended to add about 15 additional witnesses to the state's list, bringing the total well over 100. That tally is likely "to go way down" in the coming months, but Taylor has his own list of possible witnesses still to supply.

"We haven't even put together our list, so it's hard to comment on where exactly that will go," he said Friday, noting the defense team intended to interview as many people as possible in Jouett's life during their preparation.

Hudson requested last month that lawyers take until March next year for their first phase of proceedings, but Reeb said Friday it would take "right around six months" for discovery alone.

Taylor said Friday he also intended to file a motion concerning Jouett's status as a youthful offender, but would not yet specify a time frame for that effort. Currently, if Jouett is convicted of first-degree murder he will have no option but to be sentenced as an adult. If Taylor's motion is successful, Jouett could have an amenability hearing after trial to determine if he could receive treatment as a juvenile.

Taylor said he has filed similar motions in the past on the grounds of equal protection and cruel and unusual punishment.

"This small class of adolescents -15, 16 and 17 year olds - do not get an amenability hearing (in New Mexico) if convicted of first-degree murder, whereas a 14 year old so-convicted does," he said Friday. "But based on what we know of psychological research of adolescent brain development, there's not a rational basis for drawing a line between those age groups."

Reeb stated previously she would seek first-degree murder convictions and adult sanctions for Jouett, who told investigators he used handguns from his father's safe and had been thinking "bad things" for some time.

Taylor said the extended time frame for preparation and the anticipated 30-day duration of the trial was not uncommon for cases like Jouett's.

"When you're dealing with a case that involves a mass shooting like this, a mass tragedy like this, we're going to be looking at a lot of witnesses and victims to try the case," he said.

Reeb attended the hearing Friday with Deputy District Attorney Brian Stover. Taylor attended with Laura Hanish, a social worker with the capital crimes unit of the state's public defender's office.

Attorneys resolved to aim for a trial in March or April of 2019.

The hearing ended with scheduling of another status conference for Feb. 9.