Discovery is an ongoing thing, but it still doesn't explain why his partner could not cover this hearing for him. I feel quite certain that the LAST thing FD wants is a speedy trial.
In some states, defendants in criminal cases have the right to depose the state's witnesses, but I do not know if this right exists in CT. If so, it would seen NP would want to focus on that very fruitful area of inquiry. Even if there is no such right, however, at least publicly it would appear that NP views his job as trying to change the public narrative of a story that has already been written, as opposed to uncovering evidence to establish a plausible defense for his client.