Opinion ID: 835638
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: defendant's motion for access to law library, legal materials, and other resources

Text: Defendant argues, next, that the trial court erred in denying his Motion for Defendant Access to Police Reports, Law Library, Research Materials and Grievance Procedures, filed on August 4, 2000. The motion asked the trial court to issue an order requiring the Washington County Sheriff's Department to, among other things, allow defendant access to the law library eight hours per day, allow defendant to keep pleadings, research, and other materials relating to his case in his cell without interference by jail personnel, and allow defendant access to a computer and to the internet. Defendant attached to the motion an affidavit by one of his trial lawyers averring that Washington County jail personnel had repeatedly searched and confiscated defendant's trial materials, had never allowed defendant to keep more than a quarter inch of legal paperwork in his cell, and had severely restricted defendant's use of the law library. Defendant did not ask for a hearing on the motion at the time that it was filed. However, defense counsel subpoenaed several employees of the Washington County Jail to appear in court on October 24, 2000, apparently with the intent of arguing defendant's motion for access at that time. The court previously had reserved that date for an omnibus hearing on defendant's various suppression motions. At the October 24, 2000, proceeding, defense counsel began to set out the factual background relating to defendant's access motion. The prosecutor indicated that he objected to proceeding any further with the matter because (1) defense counsel had failed to follow the trial court's previous direction that the motion be set for a separate hearing; (2) the district attorney's office was not responsible for and was not prepared to litigate issues relating to defendant's treatment in jail; and (3) defense counsel had failed to serve a copy of the motion on the jail's proper representative, the County Counsel for Washington County. The trial court then questioned County Counsel (who had moved to quash defendant's subpoenas and had come to the proceeding to argue that motion) about when and how he had learned about defendant's motion and why he had failed to respond to it. Eventually, the trial court threw up its figurative hands, declaring that confusion is rampant. The trial court granted the motion to quash defendant's subpoenas and told defense counsel to schedule a separate hearing on the motion in front of another judge. Defendant's lawyers apparently did not follow through on that instruction, i.e., they did not schedule a hearing on the motion in front of the designated judge. Consequently, the trial court never actually ruled on the motion that defendant has identified. [21] It should be clear from the foregoing summary that the essential factual premise for defendant's claim of errorthat the trial court denied his motion for accessis absent. It follows that the trial court did not and could not have erred in the way that defendant has suggested.