Dennis Bauer, charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder, is pictured at an Aug. 17 Clallam County Superior Court hearing. (Paul Gottlieb/Peninsula Daily News)

Dennis Bauer, charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder, is pictured at an Aug. 17 Clallam County Superior Court hearing. (Paul Gottlieb/Peninsula Daily News)

Courts postpone jury trials

PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Superior and District courts are continuing the suspension of jury trials due to a surge of COVID-19.

Superior Court Judge Brent Badsen on Wednesday suspended all civil and criminal jury trials through Oct. 31 and to resume on Nov. 1. Trials had been put on hold Aug. 27 and were due to resume Sept. 27.

The proceedings put on hold include the trial of Dennis Marvin Bauer, 52, charged with three counts of aggravated first-degree murder and 18 additional charges related to a Dec. 26, 2019, triple homicide in a rural area east of Port Angeles.

The trial, set to begin Sept. 27, was rescheduled Friday for Nov. 8. A status hearing is set for Oct. 14.

Port Angeles lawyer Karen Unger, representing Bauer, had filed a motion Tuesday to continue the trial “until it is safe to proceed” due to a public health emergency.

“It strains credibility to believe that, given the current fifth wave of this pandemic, with more than 43 percent (56.5 percent are fully vaccinated) of Clallam County unvaccinated, that we can safely gather more than 50 people in a room, another 50 people in a room, eventually pick a jury of 12 people and an unknown number of alternates, and have no interference from COVID-19 for six weeks, even if all of the jury pool is vaccinated,” she said during the motion.

“To add to this likelihood of trial interruption, the state’s lead investigator is unvaccinated,” she said.

“Bottom line — the defense does not want to start this trial twice. As much as all parties are committed to getting this matter tried, it is not reasonable, nor safe, to start a six-week trial, bringing in hundreds of jurors, only to have the trial halted midstream.”

Defendants in criminal trials will be rescheduled at their next court date, while civil trial parties must submit an agreed-upon time for a new trial date or appear in court during the next trial-setting date on the court calendar.

“The court finds that the serious danger presented by COVID-19 is good cause to continue criminal trials and constitutes an unavoidable circumstance,” Basden said in the order.

Clallam County District Court 1 in Port Angeles and District Court 2 in Forks also have suspended jury trials.

In District Court, jury trials set for Sept. 1-22 were initially postponed to no sooner than Sept. 29, but on Sept. 20, Judge David Neupert ruled that trials set for Sept. 22-Oct. 20 were to be postponed until Oct. 27.

Finally, in District Court 2, all jury trials have been suspended until Dec. 31 and beginning no sooner than Jan. 2.

________

Reporter Ken Park can be reached at kpark@peninsuladaily news.com.

Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@ peninsuladailynews.com.

More in Crime

Trial date set for August in Sequim hit-and-run collision

Lawyers expect case will be extended due to amount of discovery

Jury convicts man of second-degree rape

Vasquez to be sentenced Aug. 8 in case that began in 2019

Tina Marie Alcorn, right, talks with attorney John Hayden during Alcorn’s first appearance on Tuesday in Clallam County Superior Court after extradition from Arkansas in connection with the 2016 homicide of George Cecil David in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Woman charged in decade-old murder

Alcorn, 54, extradited in woodcarver’s death

Port Townsend man sentenced to two years in prison

O’Donnell pleads guilty to residential burglary, second-degree theft

Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies respond to unrelated firearms incidents

Man, 18, turns himself in after allegedly shooting from moving vehicle

Trial date moved for man charged with attempted murder

The trial date for a Port Angeles man charged… Continue reading

Woman sentenced to nearly 12 years for burglaries

Jury convicts Woods after nine-day trial

Man pleads guilty, sentenced to 15 years

Port Angeles man robbed Dollar Tree store in March 2024

Cape George fires under investigation

Sheriff’s office requests information from public

Man charged with attempted murder appears in court

A Port Angeles man accused of shooting at a… Continue reading

Police: Man dies following assault in Sequim

A man died after he was allegedly assaulted in the… Continue reading