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Attorney for Freeman School shooting suspect asks judge to recuse himself

The attorney for Freeman School shooting suspect Caleb Sharpe has filed a motion for Judge Michael Price to recuse himself over concerns regarding impartiality.

SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The defense in the murder trial for Freeman High School shooting suspect Caleb Sharpe has submitted a motion for Judge Michael Price to recuse himself from the rest of the case.

According to a motion filed in Spokane County Superior Court on Nov. 4, Sharpe's defense attorney Brooke Foley filed a motion for recusal, claiming that Judge Michael Price "can no longer appear impartial in further proceeding against Mr. Sharpe."

The defense argued in the motion that Price showed he wasn't impartial or appearing to be impartial in a declination hearing on July 24, when Price ruled Sharpe will be tried as an adult.

The first instance of this, the defense argues, came in Price's preamble to his declination ruling, in which he spoke about Sharpe's alleged planning for the attack, including tricking a bus driver into allowing him to bring a golf bag containing weapons onto a school bus.

RELATED: Freeman High School hosts candlelight vigil to honor those impacted by 2017 shooting

The defense said Price's statements "make it appear that the issue of premeditation and intent is a foregone conclusion based on evidence that has not yet been admitted at trial." They also argued this issue was not relevant to the decision of whether to try Sharpe as an adult or a minor.

The second part of the defense's recusal motion claimed that Price ruled against any future evidence suppression or exclusion motions by saying that law enforcement officers had done everything correctly and to policy. They claim this shows that the evidence has been prejudged by Price.

In the third part of the motion, Sharpe's defense claims the wording of Price's ruling on whether there is enough evidence for probable cause to try Sharpe as an adult was troubling.

The exact wording Price used was saying there was a "wealth of evidence" against Sharpe and that he had "essentially admitted to all of this in his recorded interview." The defense argued this indicates a belief on the part of the court instead of solely being comments on the weight of the evidence presented at the declination hearing.

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The next issue raised by the defense about Price's choice of words during the declination hearing involves Price saying that nothing in Sharpe's life leading up to the shooting seemed particularly distressing or exceptional.

The defense claims this shows Price won't be impartial to a defense of not guilty by reason of insanity or diminished capacity. Sharpe's legal team is not required to disclose what type of defense they will use until Dec. 18, 2019, according to the motion.

The defense also argued that Price's comments about how much the case has affected the Freeman community and Spokane County as a whole were unnecessary and irrelevant to the declination hearing.

The last part of the defense's recusal motion claims that it is normal practice for a new judge to be assigned to a case in Spokane County when it transfers from juvenile court to a higher court, which hasn't happened in Sharpe's case.

Both a motion to compel evidence discovery and the motion of recusal are scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday, November 22. 

RELATED: Judge says Freeman shooting suspect will be tried as an adult

RELATED: Freeman HS suspect told detective he planned shooting for 2 years

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