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Judge grants request to re-interview state witness in Nouman Raja case

Posted at 5:46 AM, Apr 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-18 11:19:09-04

A hearing was held Wednesday morning for a former Palm Beach Gardens officer accused of shooting and killing a local musician at the PGA Boulevard exit in 2015.

RELATED: More Corey Jones coverage

During the hearing, Raja's lawyer argued he does not believe the state has turned over all of the evidence in the case, citing conflicting deposition and expert witness opinions.

Defense attorney Scott Richardson referred to a deposition where the state's expert witness said he did not have an opinion on whether the use of force was justifiable. At a later deposition, the defense says the witness said he thought the use of force was not justifiable. 

"We felt there was an inconsistency and discrepancy between what the state's expert witness had testified to," Richardson said.

Raja’s lawyer asked the court to make the state turn over all opinions from their retained expert.

Chief assistant prosecutor Adrienne Ellis said, "It's not our job to do our job for them."

The judge said she would allow Raja's lawyer to interview the witness over the phone with limited questions. Richardson said he wanted to know when he arrived at his opinion and when he disclosed his opinion to the state. 

Raja's defense team has also filed a motion to exclude the expert witness testimony for a different issue. That hearing is scheduled for April 27 at 1:30 p.m.

Several of Jones' family members were in the courtroom Wednesday. His father, Clinton Jones spoke briefly about the continuous motions and Stand Your Ground pre-trial hearings that will take place in May. 

"This has been 30 months since our son been murdered, so it's pretty hard on us. We are looking to get justice," said Jones. 

The judge then allowed the defense to take another deposition of that specific state witness to ask when did he reach his opinion and when did he disclose it to the state.

Raja, who was not in court for Wednesday's hearing, faces attempted murder and manslaughter charges. The trial is scheduled to begin July 16.