Defense asks judge to keep trial date for next week

June 17, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

The attorney for a man accused of murder in the 2013 death of his 15-month-old son asked a judge Tuesday to deny a request by prosecutors to delay the trial, slated to begin Monday.

Joseph Gardner, lawyer for Larry Dawson, 26, of Wesley Avenue, told Judge Shirley Christian of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court that prosecutors had plenty of time to rebut reports by experts he used in defense of his client.

Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer McLaughlin responded that the experts used by Gardner were given information to gather their conclusions by Gardner and his client – information prosecutors had never seen until just a few days ago. It would be unfair to not allow the prosecution to use their own expert to combat the report by Gardner’s experts, she said.

But Gardner said that prosecutors want an extension to get their own expert witness because they know they cannot prove his client caused the child’s death.

“The only reason they want an expert is because they know our experts are right,” Gardner said.

Judge Christian said she will issue a ruling today.

Dawson is charged with murder and two counts of child endangering in the December 2012 death of his 15-month-old son. The baby died of blunt-force trauma to the back of his head, according to an autopsy.

Gardner said that in June 2014, there was a proposal to have the defense and prosecution team up and engage an expert in the case, but prosecutors opted not to. Instead, he went ahead and found his own expert in February, who Gardner said reported that the child’s death could have been caused by a fall down the stairs.

McLaughlin said that Dawson already had signed a waiver of speedy trial in his case and has been held in the Mahoning County jail since his bond was revoked. She said that the experts used by Gardner based their conclusions solely on information he provided them and she should get a chance to have an expert examine those conclusions.

Judge Christian said she wondered why prosecutors did not come to her earlier and say they needed more time. She also said she does not want to fall into the trap of having dueling experts for each side to rebut reports by the previous experts.

McLaughlin said there was no way prosecutors could anticipate the findings by Gardner’s experts, but Gardner said prosecutors have had more than a year to prepare their case.