The conviction of James Lee Curtis for attempted murder in the second degree was reversed and remanded by the Minnesota Court of Appeals on September 15, 2009, giving Curtis the opportunity to seek a new trial. Curtis was imprisoned at the Minnesota Correction Facility of Faribault at that time. He was released on December 15, 2009 as his attorney Thomas Skare and prosecutor Cook County Attorney Tim Scannell attempt to reach an agreement on when, where, and even whether Curtis will again go to trial.
In January 2008, Curtis was sentenced to 153 months at the Minnesota State correctional facility in St. Cloud. The charges and conviction stemmed from an incident on April 9, 2007 during which an apparently intoxicated Curtis discharged a .45 caliber handgun over his wife’s head.
The Court of Appeals opinion documentation noted that at trial, defendant Curtis’ primary defense was that he had not intended to harm his wife. During crossexamination, Curtis further testified that he had never harmed his children or touched them except for disciplinary spankings. The prosecution called one of Curtis’ adult children to testify as rebuttal witness, disputing his statement.
However, the Court of Appeals found the testimony to be more prejudicial than probative [supplying proof or evidence] and based on the admission of that evidence, reversed the district court decision and remanded the case back to the district court for further proceedings.
County Attorney Scannell said the Curtis case is in “pre-trial status” so a new trial date has not been scheduled. Before that happens, Scannell said he must respond to “a series of issues” raised by the defense counsel. One motion by Skare is a request for change of venue, because Skare believes there is widespread knowledge of the case throughout Cook County. If a change of venue were granted, future trial proceedings would be held in another court within the 6th District, most likely in Duluth.
Scannell has until the end of January to respond to the defendant’s motion.
Judge Kenneth Sandvik then has 90 days to decide on the motions and whether the case will proceed to trial. Scannell said if the trial proceeds the original charges will be pursued: Second degree attempted murder, second degree assault with a dangerous weapon, discharge of a firearm within a municipality, and an act of domestic assault with intent to cause fear of immediate bodily harm or death.
Curtis is now residing in Grand Portage.
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