PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — A case that caught national attention is headed back to court for the first time since the Florida Supreme Court ruled that decisions reached in Stand Your Ground hearings before the 2017 law change should remain intact.
Curtis Reeves is set for a hearing at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 5 in Pasco County. It is here, nearly six years later, a new trial date could be set.
In February 2014, Reeves, a former Tampa police captain, is accused of opening fire inside a Pasco movie theater, killing Chad Oulson after the two men argued over Oulson texting during the movie previews.
Then in 2018, Reeves' case was put on hold when a judge decided that too much confusion regarding the changes to Florida’s Stand Your Ground law remained for the proceedings to continue, causing devastation for Oulson’s family.
“[She] has to now explain to a little girl who is old enough to understand that her dad is no longer here," Oulson family attorney T.J. Grimaldi said to 10News at the time. "And, she has to continue to explain to her why this continues to drag on."
The 2017 ruling shifted the burden to the prosecution, leaving enough space for mixed rulings on whether the change should be retroactive and in turn, entitle defendants, like Reeves, to a new hearing.
Then, in December 2019, the Florida Supreme Court cleared things up.
The court ruled that decisions in Stand Your Ground hearings before 2017, when the law changed, should remain intact -- causing a judge’s 2017 decision, made months before the law change, to deny Reeves' Stand Your Ground motion, to stand.
Speaking to 10News reporter Eric Glasser after the Florida Supreme Court ruling came down, the Oulson’s family attorney seemed to believe that a new trial date being set was promising.
“In my opinion, they have nothing left,” Grimaldi said. “Unless they’re going to attempt a plea deal or something else, they have no other avenues to go down or ways to delay this any further than they already have.”
Reeves faces one count of murder in the second degree and one count of aggravated battery.
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