Barzee asks Utah Supreme Court to hold off on involuntary medication

Attorneys for accused Elizabeth Smart kidnapper Wanda Barzee asked the Utah Supreme Court today to extend a stay on forcibly medicating their client until the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether or not it will hear the case.

The state, however, says the likelihood of the nation's high court accepting the case is minimal and there is no reason to issue a stay in a case that has already been plagued with delays.

In December, the Utah Supreme Court decided 3-2 that 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton was correct when she ruled the standards met in Sell vs. United States, which established the guidelines for forcible medication, had been met.

Attorneys David Finlayson and Scott Williams filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking justices to review whether the correct standards were used in determining that their client could be forcibly medicated.

The attorneys requested a stay from Atherton on involuntarily medication until the U.S. Supreme Court question was answered. Atherton denied the motion and forced medication was scheduled to begin March 11. Williams and Finlayson filed an emergency request for a stay with the state's high court on the same day, which was granted later that afternoon, reportedly before any medicine was administered to Barzee, Williams said.

Thursday, Williams argued that is had been fairly routine throughout the history of the case, which turned five years old in March, to stay a decision that would have irreversible impact while there was still an avenue of appeal open on the issue of forced medication.

The defense also noted Thursday that the U.S. Supreme Court had not heard any Sell cases since its original ruling in 2003. By hearing the Barzee matter, Williams said the nation's high court would have the chance to give some guidance on unclear questions left by the ruling.

The state has until April 14 to file its response to the defense's supreme court petition. After that, it's expected to take 30 days for the nation's high court to decide whether it will hear the Barzee matter.

Prosecutors argued Thursday that there were no unanswered questions left by Sell. Although there was a small chance the U.S. Supreme Court could take the matter, Christine Soltas with the Utah Attorney General's Office said the petition filed by Barzee's defense team does not raise any questions that have not already been addressed, making the likelihood of their case being accepted even smaller.