Alleged Apalachee High School Shooter’s Trial Moved

Added: 2026-05-29

[00:00:10]All right. Good morning again. This is State of Georgia versus Colt Gray 24C 594. We're here for a status hearing. Um council for both sides are present. Mr. Gray is present. Um few things to discuss. Let me start with discovery. Has all the discovery been a been made available to Mr. Allen?

[00:00:32]>> Uh yes, judge. We have received all the discovery uh from the DA and they have been helpful and helping us open some of the files that are more difficult.

[00:00:40]>> Okay. Anything left to serve, Miss Brooks?

[00:00:43]>> I don't believe so, your honor. Um obviously, we'll have ongoing calls from the YDC that we would continue to give, but other than that, I don't anticipate us having any substantial new discovery.

[00:00:57]>> Okay. So, aside from any recorded calls that are obtained moving forward, everything's been provided.

[00:01:02]>> Yes, sir.

[00:01:03]>> All right. Um, Mr. Allen, previous council filed a motion to change venue. I wasn't sure what your position is on that.

[00:01:14]>> Uh, judge, in the event we have a jury trial, I would be adopting that motion, but I do think that we would need to consider an alternate location for any trial.

[00:01:22]>> All right. States POS. So let's we're proceeding presently as though we are going to have a trial. Um obviously that can change but um so with Mr. Allen adopting that motion to change venue, what's the state's position?

[00:01:37]>> This state does not object to a change of venue.

[00:01:41]>> Um all right, I'll enter an order changing venue. Um, I can tell y'all in and in in an anticipation, I've reached out to a couple of other locations trying to find places outside of the Atlanta Metro media. Um, I got a fair amount of radio silence from some of those jurisdictions. Um, do you have any suggestions, Mr. Allen?

[00:02:10]Um, not off the top of my head, judge. Some of the places that I have had cases farther down south are relatively small jurisdictions, and I don't know that they would have a large enough jury pool.

[00:02:25]Um, yeah, it's it's hard trying to get outside the the metro Atlanta media circle um and still find a place that's got the ability to to host a trial like this. Uh, I know the state had recommendations before. Do you have any presently?

[00:02:41]>> No. I'm sure we'll have opinions on whatever you bring forward, but recommendations.

[00:02:46]>> Well, I I can tell you the leading candidate right now is Columbia County um which is part of the Augusta um area.

[00:02:54]Their their media is pulled from Augusta as opposed to Atlanta. Um they are the the chief judge there said they're more than likely willing to accommodate and to accept um us having a trial in their their courthouse. They're doing some renovations right now that should be ready. Um I I would like to have it scheduled in in the fall. um states still think about two to three weeks or >> I I do we do think this case will take less time than um Colin Ray's trial. Okay.

[00:03:33]>> I I anticipate including jury selection being done within two weeks >> probably yeah into the third with jury selection but we do not think it would go full three weeks.

[00:03:46]>> Okay. Mr. Allan.

[00:03:48]>> Um, judge, I would anticipate between three and five witnesses. Um, one of them would be take a substantial length of time, perhaps an entire day.

[00:03:57]>> Okay.

[00:03:57]>> Uh, so if their case is going to be couple of weeks, then we probably need to be, you know, two and a half weeks.

[00:04:05]So, >> okay. Um, well, if it's okay with everybody, and I I know I just now told you all, so you can sleep on it and get back to me, but I'll kind of move forward in in some preliminary discussions with Columbia County to to try and make arrangements and, um, again, some of that is going to be whether or not their courthouse renovations are on track, but um, they anticipate that it shouldn't be a problem.

[00:04:30]>> Okay.

[00:04:31]>> And as a potential time range, I think the court just mentioned something in fall. I'm assuming somewhere from September October range is what McCord is thinking.

[00:04:39]>> Yeah, I I can tell you um with their timeline with the renovations if Colombia County is ultimately where we're doing it doing doing it, we would probably be starting midocctober and then running through potentially into that first week of November.

[00:04:54]Um, and I can after I have further conversations with them and if everybody's okay with that, if y'all don't have objections to that venue, then um I can circle back with you guys and we can kind of >> iron out a time frame. But that seemed to work for them if if they're going to host it. Um, all right. As far as a a scheduling order, have y'all had any discussions regarding a scheduling order?

[00:05:24]>> Yeah, sure. Mr. Allen and I discussed kind of potential time frames based on a scheduled trial week and, you know, like 45 days before trial, that kind of stuff.

[00:05:35]>> Okay.

[00:05:35]>> Um, so we can, if the court wants us to, we can sort of fashion a proposed order based on like an October 10th date. Um, And then that'll kind of give us a better idea of an actual schedule. Even though we don't have a specific time yet, I think we can go ahead and just say um that date. And so it it kind of time frames are, you know, motions filed 45 days prior to trial. Um we serve our witness list on them 40 days prior to trial. They serve their witness list on us 30 days prior to trial. We serve dire questions 21 days prior to trial.

[00:06:17]I don't know that I'm going to review Vor Dire.

[00:06:19]>> Okay.

[00:06:20]>> I did that last time and I >> I don't think I'm going to do it again.

[00:06:24]>> We're totally fine with that.

[00:06:25]>> Okay, that's that's fine with me, Judge.

[00:06:28]>> So, those are kind of our suggestions and then the defense serve discovery 30 days before trial, which I anticipate you'll probably do that beforehand. Um, and that kind of would, I think, give everybody enough time. I I don't think our discovery to the state's going to be very complicated, judge. Once we get all the pieces lined up, I'll get them immediately to the state. So, that'll probably be a good deal of time before the trial, even well before 30 days. So, I'm sure all that will be ironed out long before we get down to a trial.

[00:06:58]>> Okay. Um >> and we um me and Mr. Allen discussed this before court. We don't anticipate there being a ton of motions. I do there will be a Jackson Deno hearing of course and potentially a motion to suppress but I think that would probably be the extent of it.

[00:07:15]>> Yeah, I'm I'm anticipating somewhere between two maybe four at max motions that I would offer at this point. May not even do that many but >> Okay. None pending presently that we need to address.

[00:07:26]>> No, judge.

[00:07:27]>> Okay. Um All right. As as far as a scheduling order, I I am going to put a plea deadline in. had actually do that in essentially all my cases. Um it would be that last week of July. That's judges conference. So courtrooms are available.

[00:07:46]Um we don't have any conflicts. I know that now Colin Gray is scheduled for that week as well. And I realize that there's got to be some sort of separation in in the event Mr. uh Colt Gray changed his mind and wanted to enter a plea. Um if he if he was going to my hope would be that we can just get victim impact testimony one time and separate everything else. But we can have further discussions about that if >> and I would probably object to that judge and I understand wanting to be uh mindful of the victim's families and having them come back and relive testimony. But uh by the same token, judge, um I think there are some due process issues that that would create. I would want to make sure that anything related directly to Colt were related only to Colt and not to any spillover from Colin and definitely I wouldn't want them in the same room or in the same hearing. Um my question to the court would be that if you're setting a deadline for a plea, are you also wanting that to be the sentencing date if we decide to plea or are we bifurcating? My request would be to bifurcate the plea date from the actual sentencing date so that I could pull together all of my mitigation witnesses and have them targeted for one day.

[00:09:03]>> I I would So the problem with doing a plea apart from sentencing is of course it can just be withdrawn as a matter of right. Um so if if we needed to split that week up everybody if people were objecting to the arrangement of um just the victim impact testimony once um then we can do Colin Gray two days and we can do Colt Gray the next two days. Um and again this is just in the event he changes his mind and and doesn't want a trial. Um, so you would you should anticipate doing the plea and the sentencing whether it's the second two days of that week or or whatever.

[00:09:45]>> And uh just for the record, judge, I I've discussed this with the court before. Uh I do have an objection to setting a deadline for a plea. I do understand that there's no absolute right with in Georgia case law for a defendant to enter a plea. However, I do think there's a framework for argument, particularly when you go with the line of cases that that have followed um North Carolina versus Alford and their interpretation of the defendant's right to enter a plea even if he does not find think that he's guilty of anything and some cases that have developed after that give us an opening for a due process argument. So I do think it would be a due process argu problem if the court refused to allow him to enter a plea following that if he changes his mind were set for trial and then he wants to enter a plea. I >> I think the issue is going to be a defendant does not have a constitutional right to enter a guilty plea. They have a constitutional right to a jury trial, but case law indicates they do not have a constitutional right to enter a guilty plea. Um, now you know if you want to submit letter briefs or anything on that issue, that's fine. Um, but I want to avoid a situation where we burden another jurisdiction to make all these arrangements to clear out their courtroom, summon their jurors early, and then, you know, the eve of a guilty p entered. Um, so if if the expense and the time is going to go into arranging the jury trial, um, I I want to plea early enough in advance that most of that can be bypassed where we don't we don't have to expend the resources, the time and burden the other jurisdiction.

[00:11:27]So that's that's the reason for the plea deadline. Um, but again, I'm I'm happy to take letter briefs or anything on that point.

[00:11:36]>> Um, just for the record, just still objecting, judge.

[00:11:39]>> Yes, sir.

[00:11:39]>> Thank you. state you have anything?

[00:11:41]>> Uh, no. We understand your plea deadline policy. We've been subject to it for a while now. So, um, the only thing I would say I know that I believe Bear County schools start that Friday, July 30th.

[00:11:54]>> 31st.

[00:11:56]>> Um, so if Mr. Gray's plea is the end of that week, um, I mean, it's up to the board. I just wanted to put that out there, >> you know, and I My wife's a teacher, I understand, the first week of school. Um, but it's going to be during school regardless, you know, so whether it's the first day when kids aren't learning anything or it's, you know, the middle of October when they're they have exams.

[00:12:22]I mean, there's no no good time to do it but summer and we're not going to be able to get it in in summer. So, >> and we can do our best to if it if it's those last two days, Thursday and Friday, we can try to get the students in the 30th to testify if they want to give a victim impact.

[00:12:39]>> Okay. Um well, let me I'll follow up with Columbia County, kind of give y'all um based on the discussions with the chief judge there, give you guys maybe a little firmer timeline.

[00:12:54]y'all can talk about the scheduling order as you as you laid it out. Um, submit that to me in word. I'll, you know, include any plea deadline information in it.

[00:13:04]>> Okay.

[00:13:05]>> Anything else we need to address today?

[00:13:08]>> Um, >> not from the state.

[00:13:10]>> I think logistically that's it for now.

[00:13:12]>> Okay. All right. Well, thank you all.

[00:13:14]>> Thank you, honor.

[00:13:15]>> Thank you, judge.

[00:13:15]>> Yes, sir.