Spokane murder case delayed, again, after judge skewers and removes two defense attorneys

A Spokane County Superior Court judge sharply criticized two public defenders and eliminated them from a murder case affected by a collection of delays.

Judge Jacquelyn High-Edward ripped into Stephanie Cady and Lindsey Wheat, who each work for Spokane County’s Counsel for Defense, after they selected to take time without work by means of the Family and Medical Leave Act days earlier than the beginning of the first-degree murder trial of Cynthia L. Khaleel, 39, who was charged in 2024 with fatally stabbing and taking pictures her ex-boyfriend, 40-year-old Justin Daniel.

The judge famous that their elimination from the case was mandatory although it’ll additional delay Khaleel’s trial.

High-Edward’s written order eradicating Cady and Wheat “ends one of the most shocking campaigns to frustrate the justice system seen by this Court,” the judge wrote. “It is an ending that was forced by Ms. Cady’s and Ms. Wheat’s flagrant disrespect for their client, the Court, our community, and their profession.”

In a prison trial that has been delayed greater than 10 instances, High-Edward outlined the requests by Cady and Wheat in search of extra time. The judge’s order was a scathing rebuke to their illustration of Khaleel, 39, who was exonerated by a jury in 2018 for a unique killing.

In that case, prosecutors claimed that Khaleel fractured the cranium of his 5-year-old adopted nephew, Gary Blanton III, in 2015. But the jury discovered Khaleel not responsible.

Then two years in the past, Khaleel was charged with the killing of Justin Daniel, who on April 13, 2024, known as police to report that his ex-girlfriend, Khaleel, had come to his residence in violation of a no-contact order.

At the time, the previous couple was engaged in a authorized dispute over the couple’s 3-year-old daughter. A month earlier, Daniel had been granted full custody.

But when deputies arrived at Daniel’s residence in April 2024, they discovered him useless. He suffered 48 stabbing and three gunshot wounds.

Khaleel was later arrested and charged with first-degree aggravated murder, which implies she faces the potential of life in jail with out the potential of parole.

But since that point, the case has suffered a collection of delays regardless of a trial setting for earlier this month.

“Over the past four weeks, defense counsel has filed four motions to continue and two motions to withdraw,” Judge High-Edward wrote. “Both motions were filed on the morning trial was set to start.”

When High-Edward denied these motions, Wheat then left on paid go away “with no notice to Ms. Khaleel,” the judge continued.

Cady went on go away March 29 when the trial had been set to start out on May 4. Wheat then sought extra time earlier than leaving herself earlier than May 18, which is the most recent date the trial was set to start.

“Upon inquiry, Ms. Khaleel, who appeared stunned, confused, and terrified, felt that she had no choice but to request new counsel because she had no idea what was happening,” High-Edward wrote. “The Court now takes the opportunity to explicitly find that Ms. Cady’s and Ms. Wheat’s behavior has been evasive, obstructionist, litigious, and contemptuous since March 27, 2026.”

The judge additionally discovered that the attorneys, who’re public defenders however work for an workplace that handles circumstances when a battle of curiosity from earlier illustration exists, had purposefully made delay requests that had no foundation actually or legislation.

“Although removing Ms. Cady and Ms. Wheat as counsel will significantly delay resolution in the case, the Court is left with no option but to grant Ms. Khaleel’s request due to Ms. Cady’s and Ms. Wheat’s conduct,” High-Edward wrote.

Efforts to succeed in Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Dale Nagy, who’s prosecuting Khaleel, weren’t instantly profitable on Wednesday.

Victoria Blumhorst, who directs the Counsel for Defense, mentioned it was unlucky that the case reached this level.

“It is disheartening when prosecutors and judges with no criminal defense experience believe they can dictate when a defense attorney is or should be ready to proceed to trial especially in cases which with such high stakes as this,” she mentioned.

Julie Humphreys, consultant for the prosecutor’s workplace, famous that prosecutors not often talk about circumstances which might be pending.

The judge’s ruling “means we can now set a realistic trial date and move forward,” Humphreys mentioned.