HANCOCK COUNTY — A Greenfield man who asked for a different judge for his rape trial had his request denied Tuesday morning by the judge who will preside over the case next week.
Judge Terry Snow told Hayden J. Nix and his attorney, Denise Turner, he would not recuse himself from the case, noting he wouldn’t recognize Nix if he walked into the courtroom dressed in street clothes.
Nix, 22, is facing a Level 3 felony charge of rape when compelled by force and a Level 5 felony charge of sexual misconduct with a minor from an incident in October of 2017.
In making his decision, Snow, who presides in Hancock County Superior Court 1, noted the state requires a case to be tried within 90 days and said this case against Nix has been in the court system for nine months, since January, and therefore would go forward as scheduled.
A jury trial is set for 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 28, with Snow as the judge.
“This court has a well-earned history of moving cases along, and this is going to be one of those that I’m moving along,” Snow said. “We need to make sure justice is not delayed.”
Nix’s attorney argued the court has a history of interfering with Nix’s rights to counsel but presented no evidence indicating that to be true or that the judge would be or had been biased. Still, Turner said she didn’t feel her client could get a fair trial.
The deputy prosecutor did not agree with Turner and said the prosecutor’s office did not think the judge would be biased. The state did acknowledge the case had been delayed because Nix has had different lawyers working on his case since January.
“It’s true, if the defendant is hiring his attorney, he has a right to hire whomever he wants, but that right in and of itself is limited,” deputy prosecutor Kevin Kelly said. “It can’t be used as a tool or a ploy to necessarily delay the case.”
Nix, who had been working with a court-appointed attorney, hired a lawyer in late September. That lawyer was officially released from the case Tuesday. Turner informed the court she had only been working with Nix for the past 21 days.
Monday’s trial will be the fourth criminal case against Nix to make its way through the county courts this year. In April, Nix pleaded guilty to three Level 5 felony charges of sexual misconduct with a minor from an another incident in October of 2017. During the sentencing hearing, Nix was identified as a sexual predator by court officials and given a 12-year prison sentence.
In May, Nix was found guilty by a county jury of a Level 6 felony count of battery and a Class A misdemeanor of domestic battery from an incident in September 2017. Nix received 910 days in jail.
In July, Nix was found guilty in a bench trial by Court Commissioner Cody Coombs of two Level 5 felony charges of sexual misconduct with a minor and was given seven years in prison from yet another incident in October 2017.
While Snow denied a change in judge for the case, an earlier request for change of venue has yet to be settled. Kelly said that would only happen if both sides are unable to select a jury from the pool of citizens Monday.
