The attorney who five years ago defended a teenager on first-degree murder charges at times seemed to be the individual on trial during a hearing Friday in district court to see whether a new trial is called for in the case.

Chip Davis Sutherland, now 23, was convicted of the shotgun slaying of his grandmother, Ida Jean Wancura, in a botched robbery attempt that occurred Jan. 3, 1996.

However, his defense attorney at the time, Curt Bobbitt, may have overlooked a number of important factors and opportunities that could have drastically changed the trial’s outcome, according to his new attorney, Alex Tejada.

Sutherland is currently serving a life sentence plus an additional 36 years. Two other young men were involved in the crime and are serving time for second-degree murder convictions in the attack, which also injured Wancura’s husband, Wayne.

Friday, the court heard testimony from criminal-defense expert Roger Kyle Ipson, who pointed out numerous missed opportunities by Bobbitt in Sutherland’s defense case. Ipson reviewed Sutherland’s file to determine if Bobbitt’s performance was outside what would be considered adequate.

Among his findings, Ipson testified, were a lack of cross-examination on Bobbitt’s part; failure to make motions to suppress evidence when there was question as to how it had been obtained or if it had any relevance beyond shock value; failing to use intoxication as a defense; and failing to request a change of venue — all factors that could have changed the outcome of the verdict.

"He didn’t do anything," Ipson said.

Ipson’s testimony was a reiteration of the statements of other witnesses called by Tejada on the first day of the hearing to build a claim of insufficient legal counsel. Friday’s proceedings were a continuation from Feb. 16.

Assistant District Attorney Katy Cabot called four witnesses Friday, including George Buck, who was the DA who prosecuted Sutherland’s case.

Cabot’s witnesses were called to support her argument that, for a retrial to be granted, it needed to be proven that the outcome would have been different. Cabot suggested that Bobbitt’s actions were perhaps not caused by a lack of competency but rather were just his style.

Buck, established by the court as an expert in prosecution, testified that he believed Bobbitt was an effective defense lawyer who "always had surprises." He said the physical evidence and witness testimony were overwhelmingly against Sutherland and supported the first-degree murder charge.

When asked why he did not agree to a second-degree plea bargain offered by Bobbitt, Buck said that "it was not acceptable" given the overall evidence incriminating Sutherland. He added that investigators did an "exceptionally good job" in gathering evidence in the case.

When asked by Cabot why Bobbitt might not have used diminished capacity due to alcohol as a defense, Buck responded that he doesn’t "know of any case where that (tactic) has been successful."

Also among the DA’s witnesses was Nancy Johnston, who submitted an affidavit along with Tejada’s motion for a retrial.

Johnston, who once served as a juvenile officer working with troubled youths and has since befriended Sutherland, testified that she felt he had not received a fair trial, adding that she and her husband had offered their home to the young man if and when he were he were released from prison.

"It was a joke (the trial)," Johnston said. "I knew it was an injustice."

Cabot argued that Johnston was not qualified to submit the affidavit, adding that her testimony was based on her personal feelings and opinions rather than as a professional.

Judge Sharon Hansen advised that the affidavit was not within the legal realm of information that the court would use in making any decisions.

Wayne Wancura, who attended the hearing Friday, said that although he has physically recuperated from the shooting, the possibility of a retrial reopens old emotional wounds.

"It refreshes your memory on a bunch of stuff you try to forget," he told the Journal.

The hearing was continued until Friday, March 9, at 1:30 p.m.