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Infant-death trial will speed up, Judge Krichbaum promises
The baby suffered a deadly beating on his first birthday in April 2006.
YOUNGSTOWN — The newly selected judge who will preside over the death-penalty murder trial of Terrance Tate, who is accused in an infant’s death, wants to put the 2-year-old case on the fast track.
“This is outrageous that we’re waiting this long to get this case done,” said Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. “It’s not going to go for another two years,” he vowed in a Wednesday pretrial hearing — his first since receiving the case.
Judge Krichbaum was randomly selected to preside over the case after Judge John M. Durkin removed himself from it, saying he received new information indicating he might have to be a witness in a future proceeding.
Judge Durkin declined to elaborate on the information or type of proceeding he was referring to. He also declined Wednesday to respond to Judge Krichbaum’s remark about the slowness with which the case has been moving so far.
Tate is charged with aggravated murder with a death penalty specification in the fatal beating of Javonte Covington on his first birthday in April 2006.
Judge Krichbaum set a 9 a.m. Sept. 11 hearing on defense motions challenging the constitutionality of Ohio’s lethal injection method of execution and calling for dismissal of the case against Tate.
The judge also set a tentative trial date of Nov. 3, with an Oct. 31 orientation for potential jurors.
Judge Krichbaum noted that the case can’t be resolved before the Ohio Supreme Court decides on the prosecution’s appeal of Judge Durkin’s suppression of Tate’s confession to police. But Judge Krichbaum said the case will proceed to resolution as soon as the high court makes its decision.
The 7th District Court of Appeals upheld Judge Durkin’s exclusion of the confession from evidence in Tate’s trial because city police failed to warn Tate of his right to remain silent before questioning him about the baby’s injuries while he was in police custody.
The Ohio Supreme Court will likely decide in November or December whether to review the case, said Tate’s lead defense lawyer, John B. Juhasz. If it accepts the case for review, the high court would likely decide the fate of Tate’s confession about six months later, Juhasz said.
Judge Krichbaum also commented about the letters Tate wrote to Judge Durkin in 2006 and 2007.
“I don’t know why a criminal defendant would write letters to the judge. ... It’s stupid for a criminal defendant to do that,” Judge Krichbaum said.
If he receives any letters from Tate, Judge Krichbaum said he will note that he received them, but he will neither open nor read them. The judge said he will send them to the defense lawyers and make the prosecution aware of them.
If such letters are potentially admissible as evidence, their contents will be disclosed to the prosecution, he said.
Martin P. Desmond, assistant county prosecutor, complained to Judge Durkin last month that defense lawyers had copies of the letters Tate had sent to Judge Durkin, but the prosecution did not receive them in a timely manner.
In one of the letters, Tate wrote that he falsely told police he hit the boy in order to keep the boy’s mother from going to jail.
Dawn Cantalamessa, assistant county prosecutor, said the prosecution could have used the letters to impeach Tate’s truthfulness during Judge Durkin’s hearing on whether to suppress the confession.
Last month, Cantalamessa asked Judge Durkin to remove himself from the case because he might be called to testify regarding the letters.