No decision was made Monday on setting a trial date for a woman charged in the traffic death of a city police officer or whether the trial should be moved from Hamilton County.
Criminal Court Judge Don Poole said another court date of Feb. 18 for Janet Hinds, 55.
The trial date was not set as defense attorney Ben McGowan told Judge Poole that he had received new discovery and he needed time to go through it.
On the motion for a change of venue, attorney McGowan cited the intensive media coverage of the event in Hamilton County, and the difficulty in finding impartial jurors in the county. He used social media comments and reactions as an example of the publicity the case has gotten locally.
"The people in the immediate area are going to be the ones who are going to be following the situation and commenting on the story potentially," said attorney McGowan, "and some of those people strike me as folks who would easily become stealth jurors. And who would pretend, should they become stealth jurors, to be fair and impartial as to get on this jury to ensure that she rots in hell or get the death penalty or any of the other things they've said."
District Attorney General Neal Pinkston argued to the contrary, saying that while it may seem like everyone has heard of the case, many people only have a passing knowledge of it. He also questioned whether social media was a good barometer of the general public's feelings on the case.
After hearing both sides, Judge Poole made no ruling on the motion for a new venue, saying, "I did want to hear arguments today, and I have reviewed the documents and defense Mr. McGowan filed. The publicity has been great, there is no doubt about that."
To end the motion hearing, Judge Pool reiterated the new court date, and then affirmed the court would attempt to set a trial date at that time.
"We'll be back on the 18th to hear about discovery, and I can hear about additional arguments about that," said Judge Poole, "We will move to setting a trial date at that time."
Ms. Hinds, the former Soddy Daisy postmaster, allegedly ran over and killed Officer Nicholas Galinger while he was inspecting an overflowing manhole on Hamill Road a year ago. The rookie officer was originally from Cincinnati.
There was testimony earlier that Ms. Hinds had had drinks at a restaurant near Ringgold prior to heading home along Hamill Road. She was not taken into custody for several days and briefly went on the TBI's Most Wanted List.