Ott defense seeks to put murder-case proceedings on hold

Attorneys for Mark Anthony Ott want to appeal three district court rulings to the Utah Supreme Court and stop all legal proceedings in the case until these key matters are resolved.

Ott is charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Lacey Lawrence, 6, who died in a fire allegedly set in Ott's estranged wife's home Sept. 1, 2002. Ott also faces many other charges, including allegedly stealing his wife's vehicle. And his lawyers are challenging a police search of a vehicle Ott drove to the scene.

Second District Judge Michael Allphin rejected motions regarding these three matters in a written ruling issued Aug. 4.

Ott's attorneys are requesting permission to appeal the rulings to the Utah Supreme Court.

They also have filed a motion for all district court proceedings to come to a halt for now. "We want everything on hold, to strike all hearings, dates, trial dates, until the Supreme Court will say yes or no about looking at the appeals," said Aric Cramer, one of Ott's attorneys.

Allphin ruled that the police search of the vehicle Ott drove to the scene was proper because Ott relinquished any expectation of privacy when he fled the scene. Allphin also upheld another judge's decision to bind Ott over for trial on the theft and capital murder charges.

"I respect the judge. He's a good judge. I just disagree with him on his analysis, and that's the nature of the law," Cramer said.

"We don't feel that Mark was attempting to kill his wife by burning her to death. We don't think the evidence, even in the light most favorable to the prosecution, shows that. Without him attempting to knowingly and intentionally burn someone to death, they can't charge him with capital homicide."

As for the theft charge, Cramer said that prosecutors did not produce evidence in a preliminary hearing that Ott planned to permanently deprive his estranged wife of her vehicle.

And the police search of the other vehicle without a search warrant was improper because there were no pressing circumstances that warranted it, Cramer said.

The high court can choose to hear a few, none or all of these appeals.

Cramer recognizes a delay would mean pushing back Ott's trial scheduled to begin in October.