At a hearing for David Attias last month, Judge Thomas Adams ruled to dismiss evidence collected by the prosecution, but upheld the 13 felony counts, including four counts of murder, which the former UCSB student is charged with.

The 18-year-old defendant, who will stand trial in April, also entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. He faces felony charges for the Feb. 23, 2001 accident in which four people were struck and killed, and a fifth was seriously injured on the 6500 block of Sabado Tarde Road.

This past fall, Attias’ defense team moved to dismiss the entire case on the grounds that the prosecution committed “misconduct” on several occasions, including when authorities seized psychological records from one of Attias’ former schools, and taped a conversation between the defendant and his former lawyer. They also requested the evidence in question be suppressed from the prosecution if the case was not dismissed.

Judge Adams dismissed the evidence in question, effectively barring the prosecution, but not the defense, from using it in court. Adams refused to dismiss the case because he did not feel the prosecution’s conduct would interfere with Attias’ ability to have a fair trial.

Attias will appear again in court on Jan. 23. Jury selection will begin April 5 and the estimated eight-week trial is scheduled to start on April 8.

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