Murder trial set for July 29

EVERETT — It’s been just a month since prosecutors announced plans to seek the death penalty for a prisoner accused of strangling Monroe corrections officer Jayme Biendl in the chapel at the Washington State Reformatory.

Lawyers spent an hour at a hearing Monday arguing over how the case has

been handled so far and how it should move forward — more evidence that there won’t be a quick resolution in the county’s first capital punishment case in nearly a decade.

The aggravated murder trial for Byron Scherf was moved to July 29. There already are 9,000 pages of discovery and more is likely to come, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern said. Defense attorneys agreed to the July trial date but told Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne they likely will need more time to prepare.

Scherf’s attorneys had requested Monday’s hearing. Soon after their client was charged with aggravated murder they requested the judge remove from the court record a six-page probable cause affidavit that prosecutors filed with the murder charge. They argued that the affidavit was unnecessary, prejudicial and nothing more than a press release disguised as a court filing intended to poison the jury pool and heighten the public’s condemnation of their client.

The attorneys also requested in their motion that Scherf be allowed to attend all court hearings dressed in street clothes and without shackles and handcuffs. They said those measures were necessary to offset all the negative publicity.

Defense attorney Jon Scott argued Monday that the shackles prevent Scherf from being able to write notes or questions during the court proceedings.

Defendants typically wear leg restraints and handcuffs. The cuffs are generally locked to a chain around their waist. Their hands are limited from moving more than a few inches from their waist. Scherf has been shackled at court hearings. Court security, however, doesn’t allow the public in the courtroom until Scherf is seated and he isn’t led back to jail until the courtroom is empty of spectators. It’s unclear what kind of restraints he wears.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Paul Stern argued that Scherf presents a real danger. He is already serving a life sentence without chance of release and is facing a potential death sentence.

“He has nothing to lose” if he commits more violence, Stern said.

Wynne agreed Monday that Scherf can wear street clothes but he declined to order jail staff to unshackle Scherf during any pre-trial hearings. The judge said he must consider potential safety concerns for staff, Scherf and the public.

“The risk is too great,” he said.

Wynne also declined to completely remove the original probable cause affidavit from the court record. Instead, he said, that document will be sealed and in its place will be a revised version. The majority of the original is unchanged; however, specific details about Scherf’s past crimes were removed. The judge also removed two sentences about Biendl, including when she was born.

Wynne said the portions he removed were prejudicial, and not necessary to determine if there was probable cause to hold Scherf on the murder charge. He also said that some of the information wouldn’t be admissible at trial.

The judge noted that the information, primarily the details of Scherf’s criminal convictions, is available in other public documents.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.