Judge Says No Delay In Stayner Trial

Lawyers for Yosemite killer Cary Stayner have lost their bid to postpone the trial for three weeks. The defense says a key expert witness can’t testify. But Judge Thomas Hastings today said the defense will have to call a different expert.

Defense lawyer Michael Burt says expert Doctor George Woods wrote the definitive 34-page report on Stayner’s psychiatric condition that all other expert witnesses relied upon. Woods said he’s unavailable for at least two months.

The news media was barred from part of the hearing. In open court, Woods said he’s unavailable for as long as two months so he can attend to his dying father and his wife’s dying grandmother.

Hastings Thursday also clarified an earlier order barring news media interviews near the courthouse. He set a 25-foot buffer zone in which no interviews can be performed.