Court Discusses Continuance of Juvenile Hearing as Defendant’s Criminal Jury Date Nears

Presiding Judge said the court was “on record for a pretrial on this matter” and asked participants to identify themselves as the panel considered whether to continue a juvenile adjudicatory hearing until after the defendant’s pending criminal jury trial.

The discussion matters because the petition in the juvenile case was filed April 22, 2025, and the court noted it is “under the obligation to conduct the hearing within 6 months because there's no formal removal,” placing the six-month deadline within roughly 30 days of this pretrial session.

Michael McFarland, attorney for Dustin Smith, told the court Smith “actually has a jury trial and criminal case scheduled for October 17,” and asked that the juvenile matter be continued until after that date to allow the parties to see how the criminal case resolves. The defense attorney said there are “a couple earlier dates before that possible pleas in from circuit court,” indicating other opportunities to resolve the criminal case prior to October.

Counsel for the department and other participants discussed the department’s interest in limiting the minor’s need to testify multiple times. Sasha Thomas, counsel for the department, expressed concern for the minor, saying, “I think her concern is for the minor. We don't want her to have to testify more than necessary.” The department indicated it would consider options including pulling transcripts or records to avoid repeated live testimony.

The court and counsel also discussed a possible dismissal and refile by the department so the department could gather information needed before deciding whether to pursue adjudication; the department raised that approach as one possible way to avoid duplicative testimony while preserving the ability to proceed later. Thomas also noted a new internal policy requiring director approval for aggravated-circumstances determinations before seeking an alternative disposition, which could affect whether dismissal-and-refile is pursued.

The record shows Dustin Smith appeared from jail. The presiding judge asked the parties to caucus briefly: “we have until 10:00 on this matter. So we're gonna take a few minutes and let Miss Thomas talk with her people about it and probably talk to Mister McFarland, and we'll come back on record.” No formal order or written continuance was entered on the record during the portion of the hearing in the transcript provided.

Next steps presented to the court were limited to counsel conferencing and returning on the record with a proposed course — either a continuance past the October criminal trial, a dismissal with intent to refile after the department obtains more information, or an on-time adjudicatory hearing to meet the six-month statutory deadline.