UPDATE: El Paso Matters reports District Court Judge Sam Medrano on Monday has scheduled a new hearing in the Walmart case for 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24. This hearing will focus on prosecution motions from last week seeking to delay the Oct. 31 hearing.
Editor’s note: The following story originally was published on the El Paso Matters website on Friday, Oct. 18
EL PASO, Texas (EL PASO MATTERS) — Prosecutors in the Walmart mass shooting case are asking that a hearing scheduled later this month be delayed so they can explore possibly improper communications between the judge and defense lawyers.
At issue is what is known as ex parte communication, which is communication between a judge and one party in a case without informing the other party. In court filings Friday, the El Paso District Attorney’s Office said recent motions from defense attorneys for capital murder suspect Patrick Crusius made them aware that District Court Judge Medrano had ruled on at least three motions from defense lawyers that were not shared with prosecutors.