Australia Samantha Murphy, 51, last seen leaving her property to go for a run in the Canadian State Forest, Ballarat, 4 Feb 2024 *Arrest* #12

[Whatson]

Developing... I wasn't expecting to hear much for another year, besides the possibility of finding Samantha.

 

[JLZ]

Often , once a person is represented by Legal Aid, the committal phase is skipped, it is mainly a matter of cost. and since Legal Aid have to account for every cent to Parliament, there has to be a very very strong case for Legal Aid to pursue the matter all thru the committal stage. So this is not unusual, what is unusual is the fast tracking element, to a certain extent, but there have already been delays.

Obviously, his defence has gone over all the evidence ( the preponderance of it, the extensiveness , the colossal heft of it, apparently, unprecedented amounts of it , and decided to forge ahead. A not guilty plea means he has knocked himself out already of any discount on his parole time limit should he be found guilty. )

I think perhaps they only mean that going through a committal is the slow track. He'll skip the committal, so he's on the fast track.

 

[Trooper]

I think perhaps they only mean that going through a committal is the slow track. He'll skip the committal, so he's on the fast track.

his next appearance is the 27th Nov.. pretty fast track, all things considered!!.. thats just over a fortnight away... ! The Magistrate was keen to get it moving on, in light of the extension already granted to the defence when the DPP handed over all their goodies way back in winter.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Samantha Murphy: Ballarat murder trial fast-tracked after Patrick Stephenson pleads not guilty

Court hears Stephenson denies murdering Ballarat woman after her family last saw her leaving to go on a run

www.theguardian.com

 

[Trooper]

'''Asked by magistrate Mark Stratmann how he pleaded, Stephenson said: “not guilty, your honour.”

( so he is still able to speak )

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Samantha Murphy: Ballarat murder trial fast-tracked after Patrick Stephenson pleads not guilty

Court hears Stephenson denies murdering Ballarat woman after her family last saw her leaving to go on a run

www.theguardian.com

More to this .....

 

[JLZ]

his next appearance is the 27th Nov.. pretty fast track, all things considered!!.. thats just over a fortnight away... ! The Magistrate was keen to get it moving on, in light of the extension already granted to the defence when the DPP handed over all their goodies way back in winter.

Yes it is. But I wonder how much influence the local court magistrate has over the schedule of the Supreme Court.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

'''Asked by magistrate Mark Stratmann how he pleaded, Stephenson said: “not guilty, your honour.”

( so he is still able to speak )

He made certain his voice was heard on this one

 

[Trooper]

Just in case it gets a bit lost, the defence doesn't have all the rockstar barristers, the DPP has a few of their own, and one of them is the Crown Prosecutor for this case.. Raymond Gibson KC, he wrote the book on Prosecuting, a teaching tool in law lectures throughout AU,

 

[drsleuth]

He made certain his voice was heard on this one

He had to answer, courts don't accept nods & shakes of the head!

 

[Trooper]

He had to answer, courts don't accept nods & shakes of the head!

Its a bit of progress from his last appearance, where he said ' yes' . nothing more, just ' yes' ..

( the question asked was.. 'can you hear me , Mr Stephenson?" from the magistrate )


And I would assume his parents and sisters were electronically ushered into this hearing, . maybe even able to phone into the court, I doubt if they would be actually in Ballarat , since Patrick was being broadcast from Melbourne. .....what a terrible forced journey for them, also. . that answer from Patrick would be all they would see and hear, too.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

He had to answer, courts don't accept nods & shakes of the head!

I am very aware of that, but he wanted it made clear and loud..!

 

[Trooper]

I can only think his defence will be either, he is not in full possession of his faculties, or, he was in Broome , WA at the time. And has proof thereof..

or. .. the whole thing was an accident, and she got up and walked away......to where, he has no idea. Got nothing to do with him.

Anyways... referencing the traffic bizzo.........it has not been dropped, it has been merely delayed...

Samantha Murphy: Ballarat murder trial fast-tracked after Patrick Stephenson pleads not guilty

Court hears Stephenson denies murdering Ballarat woman after her family last saw her leaving to go on a run

www.theguardian.com

Police in May also charged Stephenson with careless driving, drink-driving and drug-driving offences. The single-vehicle collision, involving a motorcycle in Ballarat occurred in October last year.

Stratmann adjourned that matter for a hearing in the Ballarat magistrates court on 2 December.

So what they did today was bundle the traffic and the hearing into one session...........


Also, it may be significant, he has grown a large beard. (!)

 

[ZombieKittie]

Who asked for the fast-tracking the defence or the court??

 

[Trooper]

Who asked for the fast-tracking the defence or the court??

It is probable that the date Nov 27 was pencilled in regardless of whatever decision was made today.. all it means is that a trial now commences on the 27th Nov. ...It could have been just a sentencing, but the Supreme Court has the capacity to move into a murder trial, in the event of a not guilty plea being made.

The defence doesn''t have much say in the date chosen, that's the court's business, mainly, but way back , when an extension was given to the defence, they would have been given a deadline, and then a date to provisionally get ready for the process. That deadline would have been around the end of Nov, 2024,.. Xmas is coming up, people take leave, things slow down, get it moving. It is already 3 months behind. So it would be no surprise to the defence, and they would not expect any more time, considering the court had already granted a reasonably large extension previously.

But it is , by any measure, fast tracked. A bit faster that things are normally tracked.

 

[Lemony]

Samantha Murphy's husband, Mick Murphy, was in the courtroom to listen to the case.

Outside the court, he declined to speak to media.

Husband in courtroom as man accused of murdering Samantha Murphy pleads not guilty

Patrick Orren Stephenson, 23, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder after the disappearance of Ballarat mum Samantha Murphy.

www.abc.net.au

 

[JLZ]

It is probable that the date Nov 27 was pencilled in regardless of whatever decision was made today.. all it means is that a trial now commences on the 27th Nov. ...It could have been just a sentencing, but the Supreme Court has the capacity to move into a murder trial, in the event of a not guilty plea being made.

The defence doesn''t have much say in the date chosen, that's the court's business, mainly, but way back , when an extension was given to the defence, they would have been given a deadline, and then a date to provisionally get ready for the process. That deadline would have been around the end of Nov, 2024,.. Xmas is coming up, people take leave, things slow down, get it moving. It is already 3 months behind. So it would be no surprise to the defence, and they would not expect any more time, considering the court had already granted a reasonably large extension previously.

But it is , by any measure, fast tracked. A bit faster that things are normally tracked.

Nov 27 is a directions hearing. Much easier to find a small spot than to open up a trial-length gap at short notice.

 

[Trooper]

Nov 27 is a directions hearing. Much easier to find a small spot than to open up a trial-length gap at short notice.

COuld be the court will delay continuance until after Xmas, but no one would be pleased with that, the magistrate was a bit edgy about granting the extension originally.. things will progress at the courts usual stately pace , regardless of what you and I think, anyways!!. The question is, since he has pled not guilty, will the trial take place in Melbourne, or Ballarat,... I think it will take place in Ballarat, they'll move all the panoply of Supreme Court paraphernalia up to Ballarat for however long it takes, ( along with Lachlan Young's murder trial ) and that could expedite matters.. Then, ,they have to move the accused back to Ballarat, too..

 

[JLZ]

COuld be the court will delay continuance until after Xmas, but no one would be pleased with that, the magistrate was a bit edgy about granting the extension originally.. things will progress at the courts usual stately pace , regardless of what you and I think, anyways!!. The question is, since he has pled not guilty, will the trial take place in Melbourne, or Ballarat,... I think it will take place in Ballarat, they'll move all the panoply of Supreme Court paraphernalia up to Ballarat for however long it takes, ( along with Lachlan Young's murder trial ) and that could expedite matters.. Then, ,they have to move the accused back to Ballarat, too..

I'd be very surprised if the trial begins before Christmas.

 

[Whatson]

Alot of information will be revealed to the public sooner than expected...