A Fulton County judge denied Claud “Tex” McIver’s request on Tuesday to regain the vehicle in which he shot and killed his wife, asserting it remains a crime scene.
Judge Jaslovelin Lall ruled in favor of prosecutors who said that the Atlanta police want to continue to examine the white 2013 Ford Expedition.
The morning court drama did not concern any high stakes in the case against the 74-year-old attorney, but it made clear the increasingly acrimonious relationship between prosecutors and McIver’s defense team.
Prosecutor Clint Rucker threw a legal curve ball: He had requested a court order from a separate judge the night before, asserting that Atlanta police needed to hold on to the vehicle for further review. Rucker was granted that order by Fulton Judge Robert McBurney, and he handed it to defense attorneys minutes before the proceeding began Tuesday.
The order caught the defense off guard, prompting them to decry the maneuver as foul play. But it worked, and McIver walked out of the court bereft of the SUV.
McIver, a prominent and politically connected attorney, shot his wife in the back as the couple rode in their SUV near Piedmont Park on Sept. 25. He was in the back seat and she in the front. McIver has said he was dozing when he accidentally pulled the trigger on the .38-caliber revolver that was in a plastic bag in his lap.
He was charged in late December with involuntary manslaughter, a felony, and reckless conduct, a misdemeanor. The case has yet to go before a grand jury for consideration of an indictment.
Tuesday's hearing, regarding a single motion before the court, drew attention from the media, some of whom asked McIver how he felt on this Valentine's Day, and why he would even want the vehicle, considering that it had a bullet hole through the front passenger seat. The case has drawn sustained public interest as it explores class, race and money.
McIver’s attorneys said he did not want the car back to drive. He wanted his own forensic work performed on it. He also wanted to dispose of the monthly payments of $582.
McIver attorney William Hill said that authorities have had the Expedition for 135 days and completed their forensic analysis long ago.
“They have no right and no reason” to hold on to it, Hill said. “I don’t know what they’ve been doing. This is Mr. McIver’s property.”
But Rucker, the prosecutor, said the state wanted additional testing from an independent expert. The order pointed to further review for “forensic evidence, trajectory evidence and muzzle to target evidence.”
When Judge McBurney agreed to grant him that order Monday night, he also agreed to seal the accompanying affidavit that explained the reasons.
Hill, McIver’s defense attorney, speaking to the media after the hearing, declared that “a secret hearing and a secret affidavit.”
He added, “I have no idea what’s in the affidavit, so it’s hard to challenge it.”
Hill said he would at least ask the judge to place a date on the order, establishing when the prosecution had to be finished with the vehicle.
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