Detectives fabricated testimony and conducted illegal searches in their investigation of the father in the hot car death case, an attorney representing Justin Ross Harris argued Thursday.
The defense was unsparing in its attempts to persuade Cobb County Superior Court Judge Mary Staley to suppress much of the electronic evidence gathered against the former Home Depot web developer, whose 22-month-old son, Cooper, died in June 2014 after being locked inside Harris’ SUV.
If Staley rules in favor of the defense, the state's case, which relies heavily on evidence obtained from Harris' phone and computers, would effectively crumble. Harris, 34, pleaded not guilty to charges including malice murder, felony murder and cruelty to children in Cooper's death.
Prosecutors conceded nothing Thursday. Cobb Deputy Chief District Attorney Jesse Evans said the material misrepresentation alleged by the defense never happened.
In reality, it's not that black and white. The defense pinpointed the claim, contained in warrant requests, that Harris and his wife Leanna "researched" children dying in hot cars.
"The fact of the matter is this is completely bogus," said defense co-counsel T. Bryan Lumpkin. "(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,” Lumpkin said.
Investigators treated the warrant process as a fishing expedition, Lumpkin said.
Evans dismissed the defense’s argument as “semantics,” saying detectives routinely requested permission to expand the scope of their investigation. He countered the defense’s claim that Harris’ iPhone was searched illegally, saying Harris supplied officers with his pass code.
And some of the warrants were obtained for devices given to Harris by his employer, which agreed to the searches.
Staley said she will rule on the motions to suppress by Jan. 22, the next scheduled pre-trial hearing. The trial is scheduled to begin exactly one month later, a date the judge said she intends to keep.
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