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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Judge Allows Police Statements in Hot Car Case

MARIETTA, Ga. (CN) - The defense team of a father whose toddler died in a hot car took another loss in court, as a Georgia judge denied a motion to strike their client's initial statements to investigators.

Justin Ross Harris' counsel had argued that their client had not been read his Miranda rights when he first spoke to authorities last summer, when he discovered his 22-month-old son dead in his car after being left there for several hours.

On Tuesday, Cobb County Superior Judge Mary Staley said the officers were not required to read Ross Harris his rights because he was not being arrested at the time.

It was the second time in two days Staley shut down Ross Harris' defense counsel. She denied their motion on Monday to ban the media from pretrial hearings, which they argued would impede their client's ability to receive a fair trial.

Ross Harris, who has been in jail without bond since pleading not guilty to murder and child cruelty charges a year ago, watched as a videotape of his interaction with investigators played in the courtroom. The video showed a calm Ross Harris speaking with authorities in the parking lot where his son's body was discovered.

Hearings will resume on Oct. 12, when Staley has said she will set a trial date. The trial is expected to begin in 2016.

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