Prosecution argues against trial delay for Fairfield’s Miller

FAIRFIELD — The prosecution is resisting a motion to continue the trial of Fairfield teen Willard Noble Chaiden Miller.

Miller is one of two Fairfield teens charged with murdering Fairfield resident Nohema Graber in 2021. His trial is scheduled for March 20 in Council Bluffs, but his defense attorney Christine Branstad filed a motion with the court to delay the trial. Branstad stated that she needed more time to review deposition transcripts, consult expert witnesses, and to accommodate an unusually busy schedule for her which includes seven jury trials and one non-jury trial from early January through early March.

In email correspondence, Branstad suggested continuing the trial to October 2023.

The prosecution, represented by Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding and Iowa Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown, filed a motion to resist Branstad’s motion for a continuance. They argued that “significant arrangements” have already been made in Pottawattamie County to make room for what is expected to be a “lengthy and high-profile case in a courthouse that is extremely congested.”

“A busy schedule is, alone, not a basis for a continuance,” the prosecution argued in its motion, filed Tuesday. “Both prosecutors have extremely busy and full schedules as well.”

The prosecution states that Miller’s trial date was set on Aug. 31, 2022, and question why Branstad would have agreed to the March 20, 2023 trial date if she already had such a full schedule, or why should we have accepted those other cases after agreeing to the March 20 date.

“At some point, [this case] needs to be a priority for all involved — the state, the defendant, and the court,” the prosecution wrote. “The state finds no basis for any claim that this particular case needs to take a ‘back seat’ to other cases and matters that are currently scheduled on the defense calendar.”

The two prosecutors added that, if the case is delayed further, the soonest they could make time for the trial would be August 2023.

Moulding and Brown argued that the court should consider the time and effort necessary to rearrange the lawyers’ and court’s schedules, as well as those of the witnesses and family in attendance.

Judge Shawn Showers will review the arguments for a continuance during a hearing at 1:15 p.m. Friday, Jan. 27 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com