Judge orders sanity review in Afghan massacre case

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2011, file photo, Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System photo, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 1st platoon sergeant, Blackhorse Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division participates in an exercise at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. The U.S. Army says Bales, the soldier accused of killing 16 Afghan villagers during nighttime raids last year, will be arraigned Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013. Staff Sgt. Robert Bales could face the death penalty if convicted in the March 11 massacre. He faces premeditated murder and other charges in the attack on two villages in southern Afghanistan.(AP Photo/DVIDS, Spc. Ryan Hallock, File)

By GENE JOHNSON

Associated Press / January 17, 2013

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‘‘Simply stated, with each day that passes, the government’s right to a fair trial is further jeopardized,’’ they wrote in court filings.

Browne said the prosecutors neglected to mention one thing about the two witnesses who were killed: They were on a list of insurgents, and were actually killed by U.S. forces.

Scanlan said setting a trial this year is unrealistic, given how much time the defense team needs to review more than 30,000 pages of discovery materials, and find and interview witnesses — not to mention getting their own client to open up. The defense has suggested a May 2014 trial date.

‘‘Without adequate time to develop the relationship of trust required for effective representation in a capital case, counsel may never learn or be able to present the most crucial facts about the accused, facts without which any possible understanding of his actions is impossible,’’ she wrote.

The judge did not set a trial date, but did indicate that June was too soon.

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Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle