Court Denies Motions To Remove Judge And Limit Petit Access

February 21, 2011 by Josh Morgan

A series of motions have been filed by the defense team for Joshua Komisarjevsky, with two already being denied last week.
The defense filed a motion to have New Haven Superior Court Judge Jon C. Blue removed, stating that he had shown bias while presiding over the trial for Steven Hayes, who was convicted of murdering Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters, Hayley and Michaela, during a 2007 home invasion. Komisarjevsky is accused of the same crimes and faces capital punishment if convicted. Hayes was sentenced to death in the fall of last year.
Another motion sought to restrict Dr. William Petit, the lone survivor of the home invasion, from attending pre-trial and jury selection hearing. During the Hayes trial, Petit and his family were a fixture in the courtroom throughout the entire process.
Both motions were denied last week, meaning Blue will remain the judge for the rest of the
Blue has now begun hearing a handful of other defense motions, including seating at the trial, the use of electronic devices and social media in the courtroom, and a change of venue to Fairfield County. Rulings on those motions are expected over the course of the next few weeks.
For the complete story, see this week's Cheshire Herald.