DA wants judge removed from mauling case

The Oklahoma County district attorney has requested a judge be disqualified from a fatal dog mauling trial, saying she has shown bias toward a d e f e n s e attorney a n d h a d a personal experience wi t h a d o g attack. Short District

Attorney David Prater filed a motion Tuesday t o have Di s t r i c t J u d g e K e n d r a C o l e m a n removed from the case after she twice refused to recuse herself.

Chief District Judge Amy Palumbo will set a date to consider the request after p r o s e c u t o r s s u b mi t t h e motion before Coleman.

T h e d i s p u t e h a s p u t on hol d t he j ur y t r i a l f or Antwon Demetris Burks, 31, of Oklahoma City.

Burks was charged with second-degree manslaughter after his two pit bull terriers mauled 82-year-old Cecille Short to death April 6, 2017. Prosecutors alleged Burks was responsible for Short's death by owning “mischievous dogs” and f ai l i ng t o confine them.

In his motion to disqualify, Prater said Coleman showed bias toward defense attorney Ed Blau by ruling in the defendant's favor “on virtually every motion the defense has filed.”

B l a u d o n a t e d $ 5 0 0 t o Coleman's el ecti on campaign last year and co-hosted a fundraiser for her.

Coleman did not return calls seeking comment. She defeated i ncumbent Judge Mi c h e l e McEl wee i n t h e November general election.

“T h e O k l a h o m a Cons t i t u t i o n g u a r a n t e e s every l i t i gant t he ri ght t o have hi s c a s e hear d by a j udi c i a l of f i c e r f r e e f r om bias or prejudice,” Prater wrote in his motion. “Both Oklahoma statutory law and Antwon Burks sits at a defense table during his preliminary hearing Nov. 27, 2017. Burks was charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of Cecille Short, 82, after his two dogs mauled her to death April 6, 2017. [JIM BECKEL/ THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES]

ethics rules require a judge to disqualify herself from a proceeding where there is but an `appearance' of impropriety or prejudice.”

Bl a u s a i d hi s c a mpaign contributions should have no bearing on Coleman's ability to hear the case.

Blau s ai d he, l i ke many attorneys, donated t hous a nds of dol l a r s t o ot her judges' campaigns, but he has never seen their impartiality called into question.

Col e man r u l e d a g a i n s t showing any photographs of t he victim's i njuries at trial. She banned the j ury from seeing any police body camera footage and a firefighter helmet video of the dogs circling t he victim's body.

Prater stated the images should be allowed, citing a 1993 state Court of Criminal A p p e a l s d e c i s i o n t h a t “gruesome crimes result in gruesome photos.”

However, Coleman sti l l has discretion on whether to include the images, Blau said.

She decided the graphic

pictures aren't necessary for prosecutors to make a case against Burks.

“The DA's office wanted to turn the trial into bloodbath,” he said. The judge's ruling was that (the pictures) would be prejudicial against my client.

Officers responded to the 1 1 600 bl o c k o f Windmill Road and found the pit bulls attacking Short and her small dog.

Witnesses said the dogs were dragging the woman “by the head and neck area, causing her death,” accordi n g t o a c o u r t a f f i d a v i t . S h o r t ' s s ma l l Y o r k s h i r e Terrier was also killed.

Police were unable to assist Short as the dogs continued to attack. Officers then shot at the dogs, killing one and capturing the other.

Neighbors reported seeing t h e d o g s r u n n i n g l o o s e from Burks' yard multiple times before the i ncident. Investigators found a large hole in a gate at Burks' home, police said.

I t a p p e a r e d s o m e o n e had attempted to cover the h o l e wi t h wood, a r e c y - cling container and an i ce chest.

One d o g was f o u n d t o weigh about 100 pounds and the other 80 to 90 pounds.

Blau said his client “did e v e r y t h i n g h e c o u l d t o repair the gates” and never considered the dogs to be dangerous.

Bur k s b o u g h t t h e m f o r $3,500 each from one of the top pit bull breeders in the country, Blau said.

“Antwon Burks is a college graduate and small business owner who could never have f oreseen these two l oving p e t s o f h i s d o i n g s o mething like this,” Blau said. “The s e d o g s wer e h o u s e pets. They slept in bed with his kids.”

The judge restricted witnesses from calling the dogs “dangerous” and ordered prosecutors from referring to any prior aggressive actions by the dogs as “attacks.” She prohibited prosecutors from having a witness testify to carrying a firearm out of fear after he interacted with the dogs while they “roamed at large.”

Prater argued t he j udge can't view the case objectively because of a personal incident with her own dog. The district attorney stated Coleman's pet bit another dog a t a dog par k , c a us - ing the judge to incur costs of the animal's veterinary treatment.

“I will leave it to everybody else to make the decision as to whether or not her Maltipoo biti ng another dog would cause her to be so biased in a case involving the death of a human, that her impartiality should be questioned,” Blau said.

J u d g e Nat a l i e Mai was originally intended to hear t he t r i al . Burks' case was moved to Coleman's courtroom after Mai was scheduled t o oversee a f i r s t - degree murder trial this week. Had Coleman agreed to recuse, t he t ri al would have gone back to Mai or another judge for rescheduling.