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PROVO — After previously deciding not to delay the murder trial for Kent Cody Barlow, Utah's 4th District Judge Robert Lund filed an order Friday allowing the trial to be set back — but only by eight days.
Barlow, 28, is accused of causing the deaths of two 3-year-olds — Odin Jeffrey Ratliff and Hunter Charlie Jackson — in a crash in Eagle Mountain on May 2, 2022. The toddlers had been playing in a horse corral when Barlow's car left the road and veered into Cedar Valley Stables, charges say.
Barlow is charged with two counts of murder, a first-degree felony, and possession of a controlled substance, a class A misdemeanor.
His trial was set to begin Sept. 16, but at a July 30 hearing, co-workers of Barlow's attorney, Benjamin Aldana, explained Aldana is on leave due to his father's terminal illness. They argued he would not be able to prepare for the trial or be the lead attorney for the trial by that time.
Lund denied the request, citing the victims' rights to have the trial move forward, the court's busy schedule for the rest of the year and the effort it would take for another judge to try the case and become aware of its long history after Lund's own term ends in December.
In Friday's order, however, the judge explained that after he made his ruling, Barlow's attorneys provided additional information, specifically the length of Aldana's leave, which led Lund to rearrange the schedule to have the trial begin Sept. 24. He said Aldana would be back in time for the trial.
Barlow's attorneys with the Utah County Public Defender Association had appealed the initial decision, asking for emergency relief. They argued not delaying the trial would cause prejudice against Barlow because any attorney who stepped in would not be prepared.
"If the case is so complex that an alternate or incoming judge cannot be brought up to speed in order to simply preside over the trial sometime NEXT YEAR, it is certainly far too complex for substitute counsel to be prepared to be an effective advocate for Mr. Barlow in LESS THAN 33 WORKING DAYS," the appeal said.
That case is pending before the Utah Court of Appeals, although the judge's decision has changed since that request was filed.
In his order, Lund also referred to statements from mothers of both toddlers opposing any delay of the trial. He said the case will have been pending for 866 days when the newly delayed trial starts, adding Hunter and Odin's parents have attended almost all of the hearings in that time, which has brought financial hardship.
"The lives of Odin Ratliff and Hunter Jackson were tragically cut short with no warning and under circumstances their families could not have possibly predicted. The boys were only 3 years old at the time. ... Their families did not have the chance to express their love at parting," he said.
Lund said Melissa Flowerday, another attorney for Barlow, has been on the case and is familiar with it. He said Aldana continuing to represent Barlow is preferable, but not essential.
Aldana had previously asked to delay the trial based on the time he said he needed to prepare for the trial after the main charges were changed from manslaughter to murder. Lund, however, ruled the case had been going on for a significant amount of time and, even though the charges changed, the facts of the case had not changed.
Barlow is scheduled to be in court Aug. 16 and again Aug. 30 for motion hearings ahead of his trial.
Flowerday said in a filing on Tuesday that attorneys are prepared to argue about two defense motions to reverse the charges back to manslaughter, citing "vindictive prosecution" and Utah's constitutional statute for equal application of the law, a motion for a 12-person jury instead of eight and a motion to suppress cellphone evidence.
