A Cobb County judge dealt a major blow to Justin Ross Harris' defense team this week, denying a series of motions that would've greatly compromised the case against the former Home Depot web developer accused of intentionally leaving his son inside a hot car to die.
The 39-page order from Superior Court Judge Mary Staley preserves key evidence collected by police against Harris before he was even a suspect, during his interrogation and after his arrest. Harris pleaded not guilty to charges including malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children.
Marietta criminal defense attorney Philip Holloway, who was in the courtroom during motions hearings earlier this winter, said the ruling was a big win for the state.
“The judge ruled that the police didn’t violate his constitutional rights during the process of seizing and collecting evidence,” said Holloway, a former Cobb prosecutor. “In the event of a conviction, all of these issues will be rehashed on appeal. That being said, appellate courts give great deference to findings of fact made by trial courts so it is definitely major setback for Mr. Harris.”
The defense had argued detectives fabricated testimony and conducted illegal searches as they attempted to suppress much of the electronic evidence gathered against their client.
They cited, for example, the prosecution’s claim, that Harris and his wife Leanna “researched” children dying in hot cars prior to their son Cooper’s death.
“The fact of the matter is this is completely bogus,” defense co-counsel T. Bryan Lumpkin argued. “(Ross Harris) said he had watched the news,” which contained a report on the topic. Harris also told police that leaving his child in a car was his greatest fear.
"At best we have reckless disregard for the truth," said Lumpkin, adding that investigators treated the warrant process as a "fishing expedition."
But Staley found investigators had probable cause based on evidence obtained from the initial scene, a Smyrna parking lot Harris had pulled into after discovering his son’s still body in his car seat.
“Defendant’s further admission that he had viewed a video online about deaths in hot cars alone authorized the search and seizure of electronic devices in this case,” she wrote. “Defendant claimed in his interview that he ‘forgot’ his child in a hot car alone authorized police to obtain a search warrant to examine his cell phone for evidence of whether or not he was distracted the day of Cooper Harris’ death.”
Two more rounds of motions hearings are scheduled in February.
“It’s still possible that some evidence could be excluded from the trial based on Georgia’s rules of evidence if, for example, it is not relevant, is hearsay, or the evidentiary value is outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice to the defense,” Holloway said. “The next round of motions will likely address such issues and other housekeeping matters leading into the trial.”
Harris' trial is scheduled to begin April 11. He has been held without bond since June 2014.
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