UPDATE: Judge Denies Postponement of Lululemon Trial

Update, 2:40 p.m: A judge today denied a request by Brittany Norwood’s defense team to delay her Oct. 24 trial date. 

Norwood, 29, is charged in the of her co-worker Jayna Murray at Bethesda’s Lululemon shop. Police and prosecutors have said she lied to police and staged the crime scene to make it appear as though the two women were attacked.

Douglas Wood, an attorney for Norwood, argued in court that the defense team needed more time to develop a possible not criminally responsible plea—Maryland’s version of the insanity defense.  The defense needs to collect records –which may include a history of concussions related to Norwood’s soccer career and possibly Norwood’s mother’s prenatal records – that could aid them in developing an insanity defense, according to Harry Trainor, a lawyer recently brought on to Norwood’s defense team.

A psychiatrist who evaluated Norwood has made a finding within the last 24 hours that Norwood has a major mental illness, but needs more time to develop a diagnosis, Trainor said.

But Montgomery County Circuit Court judge Robert Greenberg said that argument for more time "fell on deaf ears" because a psychiatrist had evaluated Norwood twice following her arrest in March and not again until Aug. 18.  Norwood’s defense team had agreed to the October trial date in July and hadn’t indicated they needed more time, Greenberg said.

In court Tuesday, the defense argued neuropsychological testing on Norwood, more interviews and gathering of Norwood’s educational and medical records still needed to be done. To develop a not criminally responsible case, “every aspect of her development” must be reviewed, Trainor said, potentially going back as far Norwood’s mother’s prenatal care. The process of collecting records has been slow and complicated, Trainor said, and the busy schedule of a psychiatrist evaluating Norwood has been another roadblock.

Trainor said Norwood, who played soccer at a high level throughout high school and college, may have had a history of concussions, which he called “very significant.”

“The nature of this case cries out for a very thorough investigation of mental health issues,” said Wood, who argued that the timeline seemed rushed for a complicated homicide case and admitted to making a mistake in agreeing to the October trial date.

Greenberg, however, questioned whether the defense was “going on a fishing expedition.”

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, one of the prosecutors on the case, countered, “She did too many headers and now she has a psychiatric condition?....Would this be a kind of defense that would even be admissible?”

Throughout the hearing, McCarthy questioned the validity of a potential not criminally responsible case.

McCarthy asked the judge to play a recording of Norwood’s first encounter with police at Suburban Hospital within 90 minutes of being found bound on the floor of the Lululemon shop, during which she “played the victim” and a police officer was “dripping with sympathy” for her, according to McCarthy. Though the judge denied the request, McCarthy described the interview, saying Norwood was lucid, spoke with normalcy, and asked about Murray’s condition.

“I do not believe mental health issues are like light switches – you’re not completely crazy one moment and the next minute you’re sane,” McCarthy said.“…If she was mentally impaired, I would suggest to you you would see it here.”

McCarthy said Norwood denied she had mental health issues to a police detective when she was interviewed on March 18. She told the officer “the only mental health issues she has are the ones caused by those men that did this to her,” McCarthy said.

That a finding of Norwood’s mental illness was made within 24 hours of a hearing set to discuss postponing the trial was “suspect on its face,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy argued that a key witness in the case was an EMT who discovered Norwood bound and injured on the floor of a restroom inside the shop, injuries prosecutors later said were self-inflicted. The witness is serving in Afghanistan and required special arrangements with the Army to return for the trial, and may not be able to testify at a later trial date, he said.

Wood countered that the EMT wasn’t an essential witness, and that Norwood’s condition when she was discovered was well-documented and not at issue in the case.

McCarthy also argued that postponing the trial would pose a hardship to Murray’s family. Though Greenberg said the wishes of families on either side wouldn’t play into his decision on postponing the trial, he allowed McCarthy to read a letter written by the Murray family opposing a delay. Murray’s brother, Hugh, and his wife, Kate, attended the court hearing.

The trial, Murray’s family wrote in the letter, was the biggest hurdle each family member faced in their healing process. “We often wonder out loud together, ‘What were the last 20 minutes of Jayna’s life like? Did she feel pain? Who would do something like this? We are desperate to put this trial behind us and move forward celebrating Jayna’s life” rather than focusing on the “gruesome details of her death,” the letter read, according to McCarthy.

In the letter, Murray’s family said her birthday, Nov. 22, would be marked not only by her absence, but “with the knowledge that the worst was yet to come” should the trial be postponed.

Norwood’s defense team will now have until Sept. 12 to file a not criminally responsible plea, if they choose to do so, and disclose their expert witnesses. 

Update, 12:10p.m.:  A judge today denied a request by Brittany Norwood’s defense team to delay her Oct. 24 trial date. 

Norwood is accused of killing her co-worker Jayna Murray in March at Bethesda's Lululemon store. Family members of both Norwood and Murray attended the court hearing Tuesday.

Douglas Wood, an attorney for Norwood, argued that the defense needed more time to develop a possible not criminally responsible plea—Maryland’s version of the insanity defense.  The defense argued they needed more time to conduct interviews and collect extensive records –which may include a history of concussions related to Norwood’s soccer career and possibly Norwood’s mother’s prenatal records – that could aid them in developing an insanity defense, according to Harry Trainor, a lawyer recently brought on to Norwood’s defense team.

A psychiatrist who evaluated Norwood has made a finding within the last 24 hours that Norwood has major mental illness, but needs more time to develop a diagnosis, Trainor said.

But Montgomery County Circuit Court judge Robert Greenberg said that argument wasn’t persuasive when a psychiatrist had evaluated Norwood twice following her arrest in March and not again until Aug. 18.  Norwood’s defense team had agreed to the October trial date in July and hadn’t indicated they needed more time, Greenberg said.

Norwood’s defense team will now have until Sept. 12 to file a not criminally responsible plea, if they choose to do so, and disclose their expert witnesses.

Stay tuned for more updates from this morning’s hearing.

Update, 11:39p.m.: A judge has denied the defense's request to postpone the Oct. 24 trial date for Brittany Norwood. This post will be updated.

Original Post: A Tuesday court hearing will focus on whether or not the October trial date for Brittany Norwood, the woman accused of killing her co-worker at Bethesda’s Lululemon store,

The hearing is set for 9:30a.m. in Montgomery County Circuit Court, according to online court records.

Lawyers for Brittany Norwood, 29, will likely enter a not criminally responsible plea – Maryland’s equivalent of the insanity defense.  Norwood is charged in the March

The defense has requested more time to build their case, but prosecutors have opposed a postponement, according to news reports. They argue that a postponement would pose a hardship to Murray’s family, and have requested that Murray’s father be allowed to address the judge via Skype at the hearing, according to the Washington Post.

Stay tuned to Patch for updates.