During a special-called convening in with Judge Jamus Redd in Trigg County Circuit Court last Thursday, attorneys on both sides of the Thelma Ileen Barnett trial planned for February 2025 were able to avoid the need for a Barroso hearing — one regarding the deposition of Allison Hunter, and in regard to information pertaining to Jonathan McCoy.
A Barroso hearing is a specific legal proceeding in Kentucky, and it determines whether a defendant’s right to compulsory process must prevail over the witness’s full psychotherapist-patient privilege.
Through 90 minutes of private consult, McCoy’s defense attorneys Christy Hiance and Wesley Boyarski were able to learn the psychiatric information they needed from Hunter’s attorney Steven Ellingsworth — in which details of her medical updates and care were shared.
Per Hiance:
Upon several interviews with Kentucky State Police and other law enforcement, Hunter has mentioned McCoy’s actions before, during, and after Barnett’s 2020 murder on Will Jackson Road, and Ellingsworth said he understood the need for McCoy’s defense to have Hunter’s health information.
Hiance said they have solidified specific time frames and the terms of providers and mental treatments would have occurred, in order to maintain legal compliance.
Redd said it would be a “tough job” for the court to go through the records.
Hiance and Boyarski said it still remains a possibility that the defense will subpoena Keisha Stewart for the Lyon County trial, before she’s tried alongside McCoy with varying offenses next February.
Furthermore, Hiance told the court that an issue with the Combined DNA Index System, better known as “CODIS,” has been resolved since all parties last met — clearing the way for more discovery in the Barnett case.
McCoy, Hunter and Stewart are all expected back in Trigg County Circuit Court 9 AM August 14 for another pre-trial conference for more direction on next year’s trial.
