2nd Jewish Federation shooting trial postponed

A King County judge has postponed the second trial of accused Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle gunman Naveed Haq, which may not be scheduled until early next year.

The delay was ordered Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas so defense attorneys can review the estimated 500 to 600 recordings of telephone calls made by Haq at the King County Jail since his arrest two years ago. Defense attorneys also said they need additional time to review transcripts of Haq's first trial, which ended in a mistrial June 4 after jurors indicated they were deadlocked on 14 of 15 criminal counts.

Haq, 32, is accused of fatally shooting one woman and wounding five others when he burst into the offices of the Jewish Federation on July 28, 2006. Haq has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Haq's retrial had been set to begin in September, but Kallas said a new trial date, likely sometime early next year, will be discussed at an Aug. 6 court hearing.

During Tuesday's hearing, King County prosecutors said the state Supreme Court recently found that inmates' phone calls are not private, can be recorded and can be used as evidence in court. They said Haq made statements in the phone calls about being a "martyr" that could bolster their claims that he intentionally planned and carried out the shootings.

Defense attorney John Carpenter also said a cursory review of the recordings has yielded statements likely to help the defense. According to Carpenter, Haq is recorded saying, "I think the medications screwed me up." and "You should be proud of me. I did a good thing."

Haq's attorneys argued during his first trial that he was legally insane at the time of the shootings and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Haq's attorneys said he had suffered through an abusive childhood and increasingly paranoid teenage and college years, loathed his short stature and Muslim heritage and was reeling from a dangerous regimen of prescription medications.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this report.