A 2018 civil case is in its final stages as testimony continues in the Scott Cheever vs. the State of Kansas bench trial.
Cheever, who was convicted of murdering Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels on Jan. 19, 2006, filed a 60-1507 motion claiming his legal counsel had been ineffective in regards to aspects of his trial and proceedings. This filing came after Cheever had exhausted all appeal efforts.
Since 2018, Cheever’s attorney’s, Paul Oller, Julia Spainhour and Brianna Harris, have argued that the lack of testimony from Dr. Robert Smith during the mitigation phase of Cheever’s trial impacted the jury’s findings. They also referenced voir dire errors (note: voir dire is the process of selecting impartial jurors).
On Tuesday, Oct. 15, the bench trial began. The court heard from those that represented Cheever in the 2006 case, as well as Dr. Smith. In 2006, the case was originally going to be tried at the federal level; however, was moved back to the state. Prior to the transition, Dr. Smith was hired as an expert witness. Once moved back to the state, defense counsel again planned to have Dr. Smith testify; however, during testimony last Friday, Dr. Smith stated that he believed Cheever’s lead counsel was disorganized. It was noted that defense counsel contacted him shortly before the trial was set to begin. With vacation scheduled and less than a week’s time between his return and work, he didn’t feel he would be able to adequately prepare for trial. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Smith was notified he was released from his subpoena.
Several witnesses were planned to testify Friday afternoon and Monday; however, the state argued they had no bearing on Dr. Smith not being called as a witness or related to voir dire and Judge Mike Ward agreed.
Testimony is expected to resume on Tuesday, Oct. 22, with the closing arguments being shared on Thursday, Oct. 24
