Court denies change of judge request in Wyandotte County jail death case
A judge recently denied a prosecuting attorney’s attempt to remove all Wyandotte County District Court judges from a case where a jail employee is charged with murder.
Richard Fatherley, a corrections officer at the Wyandotte County Detention Center, is charged with second-degree murder, or in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter, in Wyandotte County District Court.
The charges come after the death of Charles Adair, 50, who was found unresponsive in his jail cell following an altercation with deputies. A medical examiner ruled Adair’s death a homicide in September, stating that he had died from “mechanical asphyxia,” or when an object or force prevents someone from breathing.
According to a sworn affidavit from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Adair had medical treatment for a pre-existing leg wound around 8:30 p.m. July 5. Adair then refused to comply with officers as he was being transported back to his cell, the affidavit said.
Eventually, Fatherley is seen in surveillance footage kneeling on Adair’s back in his jail cell for 1 minute and 26 seconds while deputies tried to gain control during a struggle.
Fatherley continued to kneel on Adair’s back and put pressure on his shoulder even after other deputies believed Adair had stopped resisting, according to statements in the KBI affidavit.
Medical staff found Adair unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at 9:19 p.m. despite life-saving measures, the KBI said.
Judge denies state’s request
Senior Assistant District Attorney Adam D. Stolte argued in a Nov. 6 filing that judges depend on the sheriff’s office for safety, security and transport of inmates. Since the case involves a sheriff’s office employee charged with murder, Stolte argued, there are questions about whether Wyandotte County district judges are able to conduct a fair and impartial trial.
“This case has attracted considerable media attention both locally and nationally, thereby amplifying the affiant’s concerns about the appearance of bias, whether or not such bias actually exists in the mind of a particular Wyandotte County Judge,” Stolte said in his filing.
A judge in another Kansas jurisdiction ruled Monday that the request to disqualify Wyandotte County District Court judges was legally insufficient.
Joan Lowdon, chief judge of Kansas’ first judicial district, said prosecuting attorneys also rely on the sheriff’s office for security and that Stolte failed to provide specific facts about what would prevent a fair trial.
“... It is unclear, then, how under (Stolte’s) logic, the entire judiciary of Wyandotte County would be unable to conduct a fair and impartial trial, but he and his office are capable of professionally and ethically prosecuting the same case, with the exact same reliance on the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department,” Lowdon’s ruling stated.
Lowdon further explained that a change of judge does not result in a change of venue and that any out of county judges brought on the case would also rely on the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Department for security and inmate transport.
“(Stolte) provides no facts supporting his request for disqualification,” Lowdon said in her ruling. “He speculates that every single Wyandotte County judge possesses “psychological interest” or “inexorable pressure” in this case without providing a single example of that occurring.”
“An affidavit in support of a motion to disqualify a judge must contain facts and reasons that give fair support for the belief that, because of the bias or prejudice of the judge, the affiant cannot obtain a fair trial; where the allegations in the affidavit are speculation only, they do not reach the threshold necessary to sustain the motion.”
Fatherley is due in court next week on Nov. 18 for a hearing on the case, according to online court records.
