By CHUCK BARTELS, Associated
Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A
former Little Rock police officer charged with manslaughter in the shooting
death of a 15-year-old boy is asking a judge to throw out the case to avoid
having a third trial of the case.
The latest trial is scheduled
to begin May 5 as prosecutors make another attempt to convince a jury that Josh
Hastings was reckless when he fatally shot Bobby Moore III in 2012. Two
previous juries couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. Hastings' most recent trial
ended in September.
Attorney Bill James argues in
court documents that Hastings should not have to endure a third trial, citing
constitutional grounds of due process and fundamental fairness. Prosecutors
haven't yet filed a response.
Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen
ruled Wednesday that Hastings can't argue to the jury that he was justified in
shooting into a car that approached him as he was investigating car burglaries
at a Little Rock apartment complex.
As he did in the earlier
trials, Griffen said he'd limit what the jury can hear to whether Hastings
acted recklessly or not. Griffen argued that reckless behavior cannot be
justified.
Griffen wrote in his Wednesday
ruling that the manslaughter charge applies when someone is accused of having
"consciously disregard(ed) a substantial and unjustifiable risk."
"If the prosecution fails
to prove that an accused (person) acted recklessly, then the accused cannot be
found guilty of manslaughter," Griffen wrote.
Hastings claims a car driven by
Moore was moving toward him when he fired, but prosecutors say the physical
evidence from the scene didn't match Hastings' version of events.
James and Griffen have tangled
since the first trial in June 2013, with Griffen citing James for contempt and
ultimately fining him $5,000, a sum he reduced from $25,000.
After the first jury could not
reach a verdict, Griffen informed James of the 10 contempt counts for the way
James characterized two juvenile witnesses who were in the car with the victim
at the time of the shooting.
James has filed a motion asking
Griffen to withdraw from the case, noting that Arkansas law allows a judge to
be recused "if the judge has a personal bias or prejudice concerning a
party or a party's lawyer."
Griffen hasn't ruled on that
motion yet, but turned away a similar request before Hastings' second trial.
The judge also refused to give
ground on rules he established for questioning prospective jurors. Griffen
denied a motion by James that objected to Griffen requiring the sides to submit
questions under seal for his approval before they could be asked of the jury
