PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Eight months before his trial is set to begin, accused MAX train killer Jeremy Christian appeared in court Monday for the first of 3 days in a pre-trial motion hearing.
Over the next few days, prosecutors and his defense team will debate hundreds of motions in front of a judge to decide what can and cannot be brought up at trial. How the jury will be chosen is also one of the topics to be handled.
The trial is currently scheduled to begin in late June 2019.
Christian has pleaded not guilty to more than a dozen charges, including 2 counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder.
Jeremy Christian allegedly went on an anti-Muslim tirade before allegedly stabbing to death Ricky Best and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, plus Micah Fletcher, who survived his injuries.
The Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting this as a capital case.
Christian’s defense will raise questions about the constitutionality of the death penalty.
Although the death penalty is allowed in Oregon, recent Oregon governors — including Kate Brown — have put a moratorium on putting any prisoner to death.