Port Townsend: Judge Majhan will preside over murder trial
Published 12:01 am Friday, May 23, 2003
PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Majhan will preside over the trial of Ryan Neil Sorensen.
Sorensen, 30, of Spanish Fork, Utah, is charged with first-degree murder and two counts each of first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault in the April 29 shooting death of 62-year-old towing yard operator Frank M. “Skip” Smith Jr. of Port Townsend.
Sorensen is Smith’s former son-in-law.
During Sorensen’s arraignment last Friday, defense attorney Richard Davies filed an affidavit of prejudice against Majhan, claiming his client couldn’t receive a fair and impartial trial in front of the judge.
But in an opinion issued Thursday in Superior Court, Majhan said the affidavit was ill-timed and will not be honored.
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The rest of the story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition. Click on SUBSCRIBE, above, to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
