A California murder trial ended in a mistrial after the defendant’s lawyer was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence and later failed to appear in court.
Attorney Christopher Loethen was arrested Sept. 16 at the Stanislaus County courthouse after officials became concerned about his condition during the murder trial of Kelley Marie Ball, the Modesto Bee reported.
Ball is charged in connection with the 2020 DUI hit-and-run death of a 12-year-old girl in Modesto.
Loethen was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on suspicion of public intoxication, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possessing a controlled substance. He was released later that evening.
However, the courtroom disruption continued after Loethen’s release.
When Ball’s trial resumed Thursday, Loethen did not appear. The court made “extensive efforts” to contact him by phone and email, but he could not be reached, according to the Bee.
A second hearing was set for Friday. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Valli Israels left messages informing Loethen that he was required to attend.
He again failed to show up.
Israels also discussed what she described as a noticeable change in Loethen’s demeanor before his arrest.
“It just seemed like there was an aggressiveness about Mr. Loethen, not just towards the court, but in general,” Israels said.
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Because Loethen was absent, the judge removed him from the case and appointed attorney Martin Baker to represent Ball.
Baker told the court he needed additional time to prepare before jurors were expected to return Tuesday.
Prosecutors opposed the delay, but Israels granted Baker’s request.
The trial began Aug. 25 and had reached its seventh day when Israels declared a mistrial without prejudice. That ruling allows prosecutors to try Ball again.
Ball faces charges of murder, driving under the influence of a drug causing injury, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and vandalism.
Court documents show that she also had several previous DUI convictions dating from 1997 to 2007.
Ball is scheduled to return to court Sept. 24 and remains in custody on $2.195 million bail.
The arrest has also created uncertainty at Loethen’s law office. A person there told the Bee that she had not spoken with him and did not know anything about the arrest.
The California Post contacted Loethen’s law office seeking comment.
