Trial nears for Andrew Belant

◼ Trial nears for Andrew Belant
After a motion to delay the upcoming jury trial for Andrew Belant was denied by Superior Court Judge Bruce Watson on Friday, Belant asked the judge if he would hear a new motion to discharge his attorney.

Belant told Watson his attorney, Public Defender Andrew Truitt, would not be able to file the motion, as it would be “a conflict of interest because it questions his competency as counsel.”

Watson declined to hear Belant's request, and preserved the date for jury selection, which is set to begin Monday.
District Attorney Paul Gallegos, who will prosecute the case, said he anticipated Belant would file such a motion, calling the move a “delay tactic.”

Belant stands accused of more than 20 charges related to child pornography and the sexual abuse of four young boys between the ages of 9 and 13 between January 2007 and March 2008.

◼ Belant's motions denied
Judges at the Humboldt County Superior Court on Monday denied a series of motions, filed by Andrew Belant, which included a motion to dismiss his attorney and another to disqualify a judge.

On Monday morning, Judge Timothy Cissna denied a motion from Belant's attorney, Andrew Truitt, to delay the trial scheduled for jury selection this week. The same motion was denied in a separate courtroom Friday, and Cissna upheld the previous judge's ruling.

Belant then filed a motion that questioned the competency of his attorney in an effort to dismiss Truitt. That motion too was denied.

A third motion to disqualify Judge Bruce Watson, whose court Belant's case has been assigned to, was filed, and subsequently quashed.

The case was eventually turned over to the court of Judge Joyce Hinrichs, who said she expects attorneys will begin assembling a jury panel Wednesday.