ORLANDO, Fla. — A recent court filing by Dale Smith Jr.’s defense team could hurt his defense strategy, according to one legal analyst.
Rajan Joshi, a member of Smith’s legal team, filed a 20-page “Motion for Arthur” hearing, asking the court to set an evidentiary bond hearing.
Smith was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Michelle Parker, his ex-girlfriend and children’s mother. Parker disappeared in November 2011. Her body was never found.
In the filing, Joshi writes, “Mr. Smith has been held twenty days in custody without bond despite the State’s inability to meet its burden under the Arthur standard for Second-Degree Murder. He is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence in this case.”
“Based on my analogy, I think they’ll be able to get a bond,” said Defense Attorney and Legal Analyst Jose Rivas. “There’s a lot of evidence that has been presented in the affidavit.”
Joshi also referenced the affidavit in his filing. “On November 18, 2011, Mr. Smith allowed police to photograph his lips, elbows, and wrists where he is alleged to have had scratches and scrapes...” Joshi wrote. “The Affidavit expressly states: “There are no records of detectives asking what the above injuries were from.” Thus, the record presented does not contain a contemporaneous explanation… “
Rivas believes Joshi went too far in filing.
“You want to give the state, the judge enough or create enough reasonable doubt for your clients to get bond,” Rivas said. “But you don’t want to get the state all your points of defense. When you have a motion that has 154 paragraphs, you’re kind of giving the state an advancement on what your theory of defense is.”
Smith’s hearing is set for December 7.
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